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

Command	Action	Keys
`basic.confirm`	Confirm the current selection or choice.	`Enter`
`basic.cancel`	Dismiss dialogs or cancel the current focus.	`Esc` `Ctrl+[`
`basic.quit`	Cancel the current request or quit the CLI when input is empty.	`Ctrl+C`
`basic.exit`	Exit the CLI when the input buffer is empty.	`Ctrl+D`

Cursor Movement

Command	Action	Keys
`cursor.home`	Move the cursor to the start of the line.	`Ctrl+A` `Home`
`cursor.end`	Move the cursor to the end of the line.	`Ctrl+E` `End`
`cursor.up`	Move the cursor up one line.	`Up`
`cursor.down`	Move the cursor down one line.	`Down`
`cursor.left`	Move the cursor one character to the left.	`Left`
`cursor.right`	Move the cursor one character to the right.	`Right` `Ctrl+F`
`cursor.wordLeft`	Move the cursor one word to the left.	`Ctrl+Left` `Alt+Left` `Alt+B`
`cursor.wordRight`	Move the cursor one word to the right.	`Ctrl+Right` `Alt+Right` `Alt+F`

Editing

Command	Action	Keys
`edit.deleteRightAll`	Delete from the cursor to the end of the line.	`Ctrl+K`
`edit.deleteLeftAll`	Delete from the cursor to the start of the line.	`Ctrl+U`
`edit.clear`	Clear all text in the input field.	`Ctrl+C`
`edit.deleteWordLeft`	Delete the previous word.	`Ctrl+Backspace` `Alt+Backspace` `Ctrl+W`
`edit.deleteWordRight`	Delete the next word.	`Ctrl+Delete` `Alt+Delete` `Alt+D`
`edit.deleteLeft`	Delete the character to the left.	`Backspace` `Ctrl+H`
`edit.deleteRight`	Delete the character to the right.	`Delete` `Ctrl+D`
`edit.undo`	Undo the most recent text edit.	`Cmd/Win+Z` `Alt+Z`
`edit.redo`	Redo the most recent undone text edit.	`Ctrl+Shift+Z` `Shift+Cmd/Win+Z` `Alt+Shift+Z`

Scrolling

Command	Action	Keys
`scroll.up`	Scroll content up.	`Shift+Up`
`scroll.down`	Scroll content down.	`Shift+Down`
`scroll.home`	Scroll to the top.	`Ctrl+Home` `Shift+Home`
`scroll.end`	Scroll to the bottom.	`Ctrl+End` `Shift+End`
`scroll.pageUp`	Scroll up by one page.	`Page Up`
`scroll.pageDown`	Scroll down by one page.	`Page Down`

History & Search

Command	Action	Keys
`history.previous`	Show the previous entry in history.	`Ctrl+P`
`history.next`	Show the next entry in history.	`Ctrl+N`
`history.search.start`	Start reverse search through history.	`Ctrl+R`
`history.search.submit`	Submit the selected reverse-search match.	`Enter`
`history.search.accept`	Accept a suggestion while reverse searching.	`Tab`

Command	Action	Keys
`nav.up`	Move selection up in lists.	`Up`
`nav.down`	Move selection down in lists.	`Down`
`nav.dialog.up`	Move up within dialog options.	`Up` `K`
`nav.dialog.down`	Move down within dialog options.	`Down` `J`
`nav.dialog.next`	Move to the next item or question in a dialog.	`Tab`
`nav.dialog.previous`	Move to the previous item or question in a dialog.	`Shift+Tab`

Suggestions & Completions

Command	Action	Keys
`suggest.accept`	Accept the inline suggestion.	`Tab` `Enter`
`suggest.focusPrevious`	Move to the previous completion option.	`Up` `Ctrl+P`
`suggest.focusNext`	Move to the next completion option.	`Down` `Ctrl+N`
`suggest.expand`	Expand an inline suggestion.	`Right`
`suggest.collapse`	Collapse an inline suggestion.	`Left`

Text Input

Command	Action	Keys
`input.submit`	Submit the current prompt.	`Enter`
`input.newline`	Insert a newline without submitting.	`Ctrl+Enter` `Cmd/Win+Enter` `Alt+Enter` `Shift+Enter` `Ctrl+J`
`input.openExternalEditor`	Open the current prompt or the plan in an external editor.	`Ctrl+X`
`input.paste`	Paste from the clipboard.	`Ctrl+V` `Cmd/Win+V` `Alt+V`

App Controls

Command	Action	Keys
`app.showErrorDetails`	Toggle detailed error information.	`F12`
`app.showFullTodos`	Toggle the full TODO list.	`Ctrl+T`
`app.showIdeContextDetail`	Show IDE context details.	`Ctrl+G`
`app.toggleMarkdown`	Toggle Markdown rendering.	`Alt+M`
`app.toggleCopyMode`	Toggle copy mode when in alternate buffer mode.	`Ctrl+S`
`app.toggleYolo`	Toggle YOLO (auto-approval) mode for tool calls.	`Ctrl+Y`
`app.cycleApprovalMode`	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`
`app.showMoreLines`	Expand and collapse blocks of content when not in alternate buffer mode.	`Ctrl+O`
`app.expandPaste`	Expand or collapse a paste placeholder when cursor is over placeholder.	`Ctrl+O`
`app.focusShellInput`	Move focus from Gemini to the active shell.	`Tab`
`app.unfocusShellInput`	Move focus from the shell back to Gemini.	`Shift+Tab`
`app.clearScreen`	Clear the terminal screen and redraw the UI.	`Ctrl+L`
`app.restart`	Restart the application.	`R` `Shift+R`
`app.suspend`	Suspend the CLI and move it to the background.	`Ctrl+Z`
`app.showShellUnfocusWarning`	Show warning when trying to move focus away from shell input.	`Tab`

Background Shell Controls

Command	Action	Keys
`background.escape`	Dismiss background shell list.	`Esc`
`background.select`	Confirm selection in background shell list.	`Enter`
`background.toggle`	Toggle current background shell visibility.	`Ctrl+B`
`background.toggleList`	Toggle background shell list.	`Ctrl+L`
`background.kill`	Kill the active background shell.	`Ctrl+K`
`background.unfocus`	Move focus from background shell to Gemini.	`Shift+Tab`
`background.unfocusList`	Move focus from background shell list to Gemini.	`Tab`
`background.unfocusWarning`	Show warning when trying to move focus away from background shell.	`Tab`

Customizing Keybindings

You can add alternative keybindings or remove default keybindings by creating a keybindings.json file in your home gemini directory (typically ~/.gemini/keybindings.json).

Configuration Format

The configuration uses a JSON array of objects, similar to VS Code's keybinding schema. Each object must specify a command from the reference tables above and a key combination.

[
  {
    "command": "edit.clear",
    "key": "cmd+l"
  },
  {
    // prefix "-" to unbind a key
    "command": "-app.toggleYolo",
    "key": "ctrl+y"
  },
  {
    "command": "input.submit",
    "key": "ctrl+y"
  },
  {
    // multiple modifiers
    "command": "cursor.right",
    "key": "shift+alt+a"
  },
  {
    // Some mac keyboards send "Å" instead of "shift+option+a"
    "command": "cursor.right",
    "key": "Å"
  },
  {
    // some base keys have special multi-char names
    "command": "cursor.right",
    "key": "shift+pageup"
  }
]

Unbinding To remove an existing or default keybinding, prefix a minus sign (-) to the command name.
No Auto-unbinding The same key can be bound to multiple commands in different contexts at the same time. Therefore, creating a binding does not automatically unbind the key from other commands.
Explicit Modifiers: Key matching is explicit. For example, a binding for ctrl+f will only trigger on exactly ctrl+f, not ctrl+shift+f or alt+ctrl+f.
Literal Characters: Terminals often translate complex key combinations (especially on macOS with the Option key) into special characters, losing modifier and keystroke information along the way. For example,shift+5 might be sent as %. In these cases, you must bind to the literal character % as bindings to shift+5 will never fire. To see precisely what is being sent, enable Debug Keystroke Logging and hit f12 to open the debug log console.
Key Modifiers: The supported key modifiers are:
- ctrl
- shift,
- alt (synonyms: opt, option)
- cmd (synonym: meta)
Base Key: The base key can be any single unicode code point or any of the following special keys:
- Navigation: up, down, left, right, home, end, pageup, pagedown
- Actions: enter, escape, tab, space, backspace, delete, clear, insert, printscreen
- Toggles: capslock, numlock, scrolllock, pausebreak
- Function Keys: f1 through f35
- Numpad: numpad0 through numpad9, numpad_add, numpad_subtract, numpad_multiply, numpad_divide, numpad_decimal, numpad_separator

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:
- shift+enter is only supported in version 1.25 and higher.
- shift+tab is not supported on Node 20 and earlier versions of Node 22.
On macOS's Terminal:
- shift+enter is not supported.

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