Ubuntu – Tab autocomplete in terminal is not behaving properly

auto-completioncommand line

There's something odd about my autocomplete in the gnome terminal.

I used to be able to type cp Downtab to get cp Downloads/, and then type Jettab to end up with cp Downloads/Jet\ Pack\ Instructions.pdf

But now, when I have cp Down typed and hit tab, I get cp Downloads with a space afterwards. And if I backspace that and make it say cp Downloads/Jet and hit tab, I get cp Downloads/Jet Pack Instructions.pdf without the backslashes.

It wasn't like this before. How do I fix this?

EDIT: There's a problem with my /etc/bash_completion file, it seems. Just not sure what.

Best Answer

It is caused due to acrobat reader. The file is -

/etc/bash_completion.d/acroread.sh

Removing this file, worked correctly for me.

Installation

Step 1: Install bash-completion

$ sudo apt-get install bash-completion

And some times it works if we re-installed it by the follwing command:

$ sudo apt-get install --reinstall bash-completion

Step 2: Enable bash-completion in your .bashrc file

Open your gedit ~/.bashrc and if these content doesn't exist there, add them at the end of it and save it.

# enable bash completion in interactive shells
if ! shopt -oq posix; then
  if [ -f /usr/share/bash-completion/bash_completion ]; then
    . /usr/share/bash-completion/bash_completion
  elif [ -f /etc/bash_completion ]; then
    . /etc/bash_completion
  fi
fi

Important: After changing the file you need to source your ~/.bashrc with source ~/.bashrc or reopen your Terminal. It should be fixed now.

Best Answer

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