Option-arrow navigation in iTerm2

Update: See the comments for more (and possibly better) solutions from readers!

I’ve been trying to get Option-arrow keys to move by word in iTerm2. I figured out a solution, but it’s weird. If anyone has an explanation or a better way to do this, let me know.

First, I had to edit my ~/.inputrc file and add these lines:

"\e[1;5C": forward-word
"\e[1;5D": backward-word

Then I had to set up in iTerm2 preferences–under Profiles->Keys–the options for both key combinations:

• Add a hotkey with the plus symbol at the bottom of the hotkey list
• Set the keyboard shortcut by pressing Option-left or Option-right
• Set the action to “Send Escape Sequence”
• Set the Esc+ field to:
  • [1;5C (Option-Right)
  • [1;5D (Option-Left)

With these in place both work swimmingly. I don’t know why I had to do both parts, though…