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# Gemini CLI keyboard shortcuts
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Gemini CLI ships with a set of default keyboard shortcuts for editing input,
navigating history, and controlling the UI. Use this reference to learn the
available combinations.
<!-- KEYBINDINGS-AUTOGEN:START -->
#### Basic Controls
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| Action | Keys |
| --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| Confirm the current selection or choice. | `Enter` |
| Dismiss dialogs or cancel the current focus. | `Esc` <br />`Ctrl+[` |
| Cancel the current request or quit the CLI when input is empty. | `Ctrl+C` |
| Exit the CLI when the input buffer is empty. | `Ctrl+D` |
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#### Cursor Movement
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| Action | Keys |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Move the cursor to the start of the line. | `Ctrl+A` <br />`Home` |
| Move the cursor to the end of the line. | `Ctrl+E` <br />`End` |
| Move the cursor up one line. | `Up` |
| Move the cursor down one line. | `Down` |
| Move the cursor one character to the left. | `Left` |
| Move the cursor one character to the right. | `Right` <br />`Ctrl+F` |
| Move the cursor one word to the left. | `Ctrl+Left` <br />`Alt+Left` <br />`Alt+B` |
| Move the cursor one word to the right. | `Ctrl+Right` <br />`Alt+Right` <br />`Alt+F` |
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#### Editing
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| Action | Keys |
| ------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| Delete from the cursor to the end of the line. | `Ctrl+K` |
| Delete from the cursor to the start of the line. | `Ctrl+U` |
| Clear all text in the input field. | `Ctrl+C` |
| Delete the previous word. | `Ctrl+Backspace` <br />`Alt+Backspace` <br />`Ctrl+W` |
| Delete the next word. | `Ctrl+Delete` <br />`Alt+Delete` <br />`Alt+D` |
| Delete the character to the left. | `Backspace` <br />`Ctrl+H` |
| Delete the character to the right. | `Delete` <br />`Ctrl+D` |
| Undo the most recent text edit. | `Cmd/Win+Z` <br />`Alt+Z` |
| Redo the most recent undone text edit. | `Ctrl+Shift+Z` <br />`Shift+Cmd/Win+Z` <br />`Alt+Shift+Z` |
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#### Scrolling
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| Action | Keys |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| Scroll content up. | `Shift+Up` |
| Scroll content down. | `Shift+Down` |
| Scroll to the top. | `Ctrl+Home` <br />`Shift+Home` |
| Scroll to the bottom. | `Ctrl+End` <br />`Shift+End` |
| Scroll up by one page. | `Page Up` |
| Scroll down by one page. | `Page Down` |
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#### History & Search
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| Action | Keys |
| -------------------------------------------- | ------------ |
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| Show the previous entry in history. | `Ctrl+P` |
| Show the next entry in history. | `Ctrl+N` |
| Start reverse search through history. | `Ctrl+R` |
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| Submit the selected reverse-search match. | `Enter` |
| Accept a suggestion while reverse searching. | `Tab` |
| Browse and rewind previous interactions. | `Double Esc` |
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#### Navigation
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| Action | Keys |
| -------------------------------------------------- | --------------- |
| Move selection up in lists. | `Up` |
| Move selection down in lists. | `Down` |
| Move up within dialog options. | `Up` <br />`K` |
| Move down within dialog options. | `Down` <br />`J` |
| Move to the next item or question in a dialog. | `Tab` |
| Move to the previous item or question in a dialog. | `Shift+Tab` |
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#### Suggestions & Completions
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| Action | Keys |
| --------------------------------------- | -------------------- |
| Accept the inline suggestion. | `Tab` <br />`Enter` |
| Move to the previous completion option. | `Up` <br />`Ctrl+P` |
| Move to the next completion option. | `Down` <br />`Ctrl+N` |
| Expand an inline suggestion. | `Right` |
| Collapse an inline suggestion. | `Left` |
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#### Text Input
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| Action | Keys |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Submit the current prompt. | `Enter` |
| Insert a newline without submitting. | `Ctrl+Enter` <br />`Cmd/Win+Enter` <br />`Alt+Enter` <br />`Shift+Enter` <br />`Ctrl+J` |
| Open the current prompt or the plan in an external editor. | `Ctrl+X` |
| Paste from the clipboard. | `Ctrl+V` <br />`Cmd/Win+V` <br />`Alt+V` |
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#### App Controls
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| Action | Keys |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Toggle detailed error information. | `F12` |
| Toggle the full TODO list. | `Ctrl+T` |
| Show IDE context details. | `Ctrl+G` |
| Toggle Markdown rendering. | `Alt+M` |
| Toggle copy mode when in alternate buffer mode. | `Ctrl+S` |
| Toggle YOLO (auto-approval) mode for tool calls. | `Ctrl+Y` |
| Cycle through approval modes: default (prompt), auto_edit (auto-approve edits), and plan (read-only). Plan mode is skipped when the agent is busy. | `Shift+Tab` |
| Expand and collapse blocks of content when not in alternate buffer mode. | `Ctrl+O` |
| Expand or collapse a paste placeholder when cursor is over placeholder. | `Ctrl+O` |
| Toggle current background shell visibility. | `Ctrl+B` |
| Toggle background shell list. | `Ctrl+L` |
| Kill the active background shell. | `Ctrl+K` |
| Confirm selection in background shell list. | `Enter` |
| Dismiss background shell list. | `Esc` |
| Move focus from background shell to Gemini. | `Shift+Tab` |
| Move focus from background shell list to Gemini. | `Tab` |
| Show warning when trying to move focus away from background shell. | `Tab` |
| Show warning when trying to move focus away from shell input. | `Tab` |
| Move focus from Gemini to the active shell. | `Tab` |
| Move focus from the shell back to Gemini. | `Shift+Tab` |
| Clear the terminal screen and redraw the UI. | `Ctrl+L` |
| Restart the application. | `R` <br />`Shift+R` |
| Suspend the CLI and move it to the background. | `Ctrl+Z` |
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<!-- KEYBINDINGS-AUTOGEN:END -->
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## Additional context-specific shortcuts
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- `Option+B/F/M` (macOS only): Are interpreted as `Cmd+B/F/M` even if your
terminal isn't configured to send Meta with Option.
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- `!` on an empty prompt: Enter or exit shell mode.
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- `?` on an empty prompt: Toggle the shortcuts panel above the input. Press
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`Esc` , `Backspace` , any printable key, or a registered app hotkey to close it.
The panel also auto-hides while the agent is running/streaming or when
action-required dialogs are shown. Press `?` again to close the panel and
insert a `?` into the prompt.
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- `Tab` + `Tab` (while typing in the prompt): Toggle between minimal and full UI
details when no completion/search interaction is active. The selected mode is
remembered for future sessions. Full UI remains the default on first run, and
single `Tab` keeps its existing completion/focus behavior.
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- `Shift + Tab` (while typing in the prompt): Cycle approval modes: default,
auto-edit, and plan (skipped when agent is busy).
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- `\` (at end of a line) + `Enter` : Insert a newline without leaving single-line
mode.
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- `Esc` pressed twice quickly: Clear the input prompt if it is not empty,
otherwise browse and rewind previous interactions.
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- `Up Arrow` / `Down Arrow` : When the cursor is at the top or bottom of a
single-line input, navigate backward or forward through prompt history.
- `Number keys (1-9, multi-digit)` inside selection dialogs: Jump directly to
the numbered radio option and confirm when the full number is entered.
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- `Ctrl + O` : Expand or collapse paste placeholders (`[Pasted Text: X lines]` )
inline when the cursor is over the placeholder.
- `Double-click` on a paste placeholder (alternate buffer mode only): Expand to
view full content inline. Double-click again to collapse.
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## Limitations
- On [Windows Terminal ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Terminal ):
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- `shift+enter` is only supported in version 1.25 and higher.
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- `shift+tab`
[is not supported ](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/issues/20314 )
on Node 20 and earlier versions of Node 22.
- On macOS's [Terminal ](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_(macOS )>):
- `shift+enter` is not supported.
