# Gemini CLI keyboard shortcuts
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.
#### Basic Controls
| Action | Keys |
| --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| Confirm the current selection or choice. | `Enter` |
| Dismiss dialogs or cancel the current focus. | `Esc`
`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` |
#### Cursor Movement
| Action | Keys |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Move the cursor to the start of the line. | `Ctrl+A`
`Home` |
| Move the cursor to the end of the line. | `Ctrl+E`
`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`
`Ctrl+F` |
| Move the cursor one word to the left. | `Ctrl+Left`
`Alt+Left`
`Alt+B` |
| Move the cursor one word to the right. | `Ctrl+Right`
`Alt+Right`
`Alt+F` |
#### Editing
| 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`
`Alt+Backspace`
`Ctrl+W` |
| Delete the next word. | `Ctrl+Delete`
`Alt+Delete`
`Alt+D` |
| Delete the character to the left. | `Backspace`
`Ctrl+H` |
| Delete the character to the right. | `Delete`
`Ctrl+D` |
| Undo the most recent text edit. | `Cmd/Win+Z`
`Alt+Z` |
| Redo the most recent undone text edit. | `Ctrl+Shift+Z`
`Shift+Cmd/Win+Z`
`Alt+Shift+Z` |
#### Scrolling
| Action | Keys |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| Scroll content up. | `Shift+Up` |
| Scroll content down. | `Shift+Down` |
| Scroll to the top. | `Ctrl+Home`
`Shift+Home` |
| Scroll to the bottom. | `Ctrl+End`
`Shift+End` |
| Scroll up by one page. | `Page Up` |
| Scroll down by one page. | `Page Down` |
#### History & Search
| Action | Keys |
| -------------------------------------------- | -------- |
| Show the previous entry in history. | `Ctrl+P` |
| Show the next entry in history. | `Ctrl+N` |
| Start reverse search through history. | `Ctrl+R` |
| Submit the selected reverse-search match. | `Enter` |
| Accept a suggestion while reverse searching. | `Tab` |
#### Navigation
| Action | Keys |
| -------------------------------------------------- | --------------- |
| Move selection up in lists. | `Up` |
| Move selection down in lists. | `Down` |
| Move up within dialog options. | `Up`
`K` |
| Move down within dialog options. | `Down`
`J` |
| Move to the next item or question in a dialog. | `Tab` |
| Move to the previous item or question in a dialog. | `Shift+Tab` |
#### Suggestions & Completions
| Action | Keys |
| --------------------------------------- | -------------------- |
| Accept the inline suggestion. | `Tab`
`Enter` |
| Move to the previous completion option. | `Up`
`Ctrl+P` |
| Move to the next completion option. | `Down`
`Ctrl+N` |
| Expand an inline suggestion. | `Right` |
| Collapse an inline suggestion. | `Left` |
#### Text Input
| Action | Keys |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Submit the current prompt. | `Enter` |
| Insert a newline without submitting. | `Ctrl+Enter`
`Cmd/Win+Enter`
`Alt+Enter`
`Shift+Enter`
`Ctrl+J` |
| Open the current prompt or the plan in an external editor. | `Ctrl+X` |
| Paste from the clipboard. | `Ctrl+V`
`Cmd/Win+V`
`Alt+V` |
#### App Controls
| 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` |
| 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`
`Shift+R` |
| Suspend the CLI and move it to the background. | `Ctrl+Z` |
| Show warning when trying to move focus away from shell input. | `Tab` |
#### Background Shell Controls
| Action | Keys |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------- |
| Dismiss background shell list. | `Esc` |
| Confirm selection in background shell list. | `Enter` |
| Toggle current background shell visibility. | `Ctrl+B` |
| Toggle background shell list. | `Ctrl+L` |
| Kill the active background shell. | `Ctrl+K` |
| 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` |
## Additional context-specific shortcuts
- `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.
- `!` on an empty prompt: Enter or exit shell mode.
- `?` on an empty prompt: Toggle the shortcuts panel above the input. Press
`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.
- `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.
- `Shift + Tab` (while typing in the prompt): Cycle approval modes: default,
auto-edit, and plan (skipped when agent is busy).
- `\` (at end of a line) + `Enter`: Insert a newline without leaving single-line
mode.
- `Esc` pressed twice quickly: Clear the input prompt if it is not empty,
otherwise browse and rewind previous interactions.
- `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.
- `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.
## Limitations
- On [Windows Terminal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Terminal):
- `shift+enter` is only supported in version 1.25 and higher.
- `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]():
- `shift+enter` is not supported.