Emacs: isearch by Arrow Keys

Here's very convenient keys for isearch. Put it in your emacs init.

(progn
  ;; set arrow keys in isearch. left/right is backward/forward, up/down is history. press Return to exit
  (define-key isearch-mode-map (kbd "<up>") 'isearch-ring-retreat )
  (define-key isearch-mode-map (kbd "<down>") 'isearch-ring-advance )

  (define-key isearch-mode-map (kbd "<left>") 'isearch-repeat-backward)
  (define-key isearch-mode-map (kbd "<right>") 'isearch-repeat-forward)

  (define-key minibuffer-local-isearch-map (kbd "<left>") 'isearch-reverse-exit-minibuffer)
  (define-key minibuffer-local-isearch-map (kbd "<right>") 'isearch-forward-exit-minibuffer))

when in isearch, the arrow keys will:

• → next occurrence.
• ← previous occurrence.
• ↑ previous search term.
• ↓ next search term.
• Enter exit isearch.

This way, searching forward/backward is just one single key press, no key combination.

This is especially useful with a command that searches current word. See: Emacs: isearch Current Word 🚀.

For basics of isearch, see: Emacs: Search Text in Current File.