key_defined(3x)

key_defined3x

Obtain key code for an ncurses function key definition

Usage

#include <curses.h>

int key_defined(const char * definition);

Overview

The key_defined ncurses extension permits a curses application to determine the function key code, if any, to which the string definition is bound.

Return value

key_defined returns the first key code to which definition is bound if any exists. If none does, it returns 0. If definition is a prefix of another bound definition, key_defined returns -1.

Extensions

key_defined is an ncurses extension.

Portability

Applications employing ncurses extensions should condition their use on the visibility of the NCURSES_VERSION preprocessor macro.

Authors

Thomas Dickey

From ncurses 6.6-2 in Arch Linux 2026-11-01. Parsed by carta from the page's man source.