How do I change bash history completion to complete what’s already on the line?

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Probably something like

# ~/.inputrc
"\e[A": history-search-backward
"\e[B": history-search-forward

or equivalently,

# ~/.bashrc
if [[ $- == *i* ]]
then
    bind '"\e[A": history-search-backward'
    bind '"\e[B": history-search-forward'
fi

(the if statement checks for interactive mode)

Normally, Up and Down are bound to the Readline functions previous-history and next-history respectively. I prefer to bind PgUp/PgDn to these functions, instead of displacing the normal operation of Up/Down.

# ~/.inputrc
"\e[5~": history-search-backward
"\e[6~": history-search-forward

After you modify ~/.inputrc, restart your shell or use Ctrl+X, Ctrl+R to tell it to re-read ~/.inputrc.

By the way, if you’re looking for relevant documentation:

Bash uses The GNU Readline Library for the shell prompt and history.

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