GitHub This is the best I can come up with to handle ncurses-style key

Question

0

Asked: May 23, 20262026-05-23T19:09:01+00:00 2026-05-23T19:09:01+00:00

GitHub This is the best I can come up with to handle ncurses-style key

0

This is the best I can come up with to handle ncurses-style key presses (I’m actually writing an alternative to ncurses for various reasons).

An example app built with this code advises the user to “Quit by pressing Escape”. In truth, it requires Escape + Escape or Escape + An Arrow Key. I’d like to fix this.

#include <sys/ioctl.h>
#include <termios.h>
#include <signal.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

char *get_key() {
    char c = getchar();

    switch(c) {
        case 'a': return "a";
        case 'b': return "b";
        case 'c': return "c";

        ...

        case '\x1b':
            c = getchar();
            switch(c) {
                case '[':
                    c = getchar();
                    switch(c) {
                        case 'A': return "up";
                        case 'B': return "down";
                        case 'C': return "right";
                        case 'D': return "left";
                    }
                case '\x1b': return "escape";
            }

        default: return "unknown";
    }