modifyOtherKeys
A terminal capability that enables the terminal emulator to distinguish between modified key combinations (like Ctrl+Shift+Letter) by reporting them as unique escape sequences, allowing applications to bind actions to these combinations.
modifyOtherKeys is a terminfo capability that extends how a terminal reports keyboard input to running applications. Without it, many key combinations involving modifiers (Ctrl, Shift, Alt) are indistinguishable from unmodified keys, limiting what keyboard shortcuts an application can use.
When enabled, the terminal sends distinct escape sequences for modified key presses. For example, Ctrl+Shift+A generates a different sequence than just A or Ctrl+A. This allows terminal applications like vim, emacs, and tmux to bind commands to these combinations.
Modern terminal emulators (GNOME Terminal, Konsole, iTerm2) increasingly support this capability. Applications query the terminal's capabilities via terminfo/termcap to determine which key combinations they can reliably use.