A solution frequently recommended for k and q is rlwrap.

I find rlwrap too big and slow, especially for the tiny, fast k and q interpreters. It feels sluggish.

I have begun experimenting with "lile", a modified version of "ile" which apparently dates back to 1988. I have not seen it discussed anywhere on today's www.

It is small and fast. Custom key commands can be assigned per application using configuration files.

More info:

ftp://ftp7.FreeBSD.org/sites/ftp.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/current/pkgsrc/misc/lile/DESCR

ftp://ftp6.us.freebsd.org/mirror/FreeBSD-Archive/ports/distfiles/lile-2.0.tar.z

ftp://ftp.sra.co.jp/pub/os/NetBSD/NetBSD-current/pkgsrc/misc/lile/patches/patch-aa

Do HN readers have other suggestions?

Below are some familiar options I have explored.

Dates may be wrong.

linenoise (2010)

https://github.com/antirez/linenoise

libtecla (2001)

http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~mcs/tecla/

editline (1992)

https://thrysoee.dk/editline/

editline (1992)

https://github.com/troglobit/editline

readline (1989)

https://tiswww.case.edu/php/chet/readline/rltop.html