Keyboard shortcuts
This guide lists every keyboard shortcut Slate has. Press ? anywhere for the shortcuts of the current context, or open Settings → Keyboard to change one.
Keys are written for a Mac. On Windows and Linux, ⌘ is Ctrl. Shortcuts with ⌘ or ⌃ work while you type. A shortcut on a bare key, or on ⌥ alone, waits until you stop typing, because ⌥ plus a key types a character.
Rebind a shortcut#
Settings → Keyboard lists every command in the palette. Click a command's key to record a new one. A key another command held moves over, and a note ("⌘X moved from A to B.") offers Undo. Unbind takes a key away; Reset restores the default. Reset all restores every key and offers Undo. One key per command, no multi-key sequences. The palette, the cheatsheet and tooltips read the same list, so they follow a key you rebind. The shortcuts in the tables below marked "fixed" are not in that list.
Anywhere#
These are the commands in Settings → Keyboard, grouped as the cheatsheet groups them.
Navigate#
| Keys | Command |
|---|---|
| ⌘K | Command palette |
| ⌘P | Go to file or doc |
| ⌘⇧F | Search docs and files |
| ⌘⇧K | Go to Home |
| ⌘J | Ask AI |
| ⌘⇧O | Steps Ask AI ran |
| ⌘⇧J | The session that has waited on you longest; again for the next. After the sessions come tasks waiting on you, then back to the first session |
| ⌘[ and ⌘] | Back and Forward |
⌘\ and ⌘⇧\ | Switch to next workspace and Switch to previous workspace |
| ⌃⇥ and ⌃⇧⇥ | Next tab and Previous tab, by recency while ⌃ is held: once is the tab you were just on, twice the one before |
| ⌘1 to ⌘9 | Go to tab 1‥9; with fewer than n tabs open, the last one |
| ⌘W | Close tab. A pinned tab refuses: unpin it first. Every close spares pinned tabs |
| ⌘⇧T | Reopen closed tab |
| ⌥⌘← and ⌥⌘→ | Move tab left and Move tab right |
| ⌘⇧D | Open tab beside, such as a session beside its plan doc (⌘-click does the same; also on a doc in the tree, Favorites and Recents, a link in a doc, and Open beside in a doc's right-click menu) |
| ⇧⌘\\ | Close split view |
Create#
| Keys | Command |
|---|---|
| ⌘N | New doc |
| ⌘⇧G | Generate a doc |
| ⌘⇧N | Quick capture |
| ⌃\` | Open a terminal here |
Doc, view and help#
| Keys | Command |
|---|---|
| ⌘F | Find in doc |
| ⌘\\ | Toggle sidebar |
| ⌘⇧M | Focus mode (the same keys leave it) |
| ⌘⇧L | Toggle light / dark theme (Themes) |
| ⌘+ and ⌘− | Increase app size and Decrease app size, 80% to 140% in ten-percent steps (Themes) |
| ? | Keyboard shortcuts |
Tabs and the mouse#
These gestures are fixed. See Tabs for the rules.
| Gesture | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘-click a tab, a doc or a link | Open it beside the current tab |
| Double-click a tab | Keep a temporary tab open |
| Middle-click a tab | Close it |
| Drag a tab | Reorder it; pinned tabs stay at the front |
| Right-click a tab | Keep open, pin, open beside, close, close others, close to the right, close all |
| Drag the line between two columns | Widen one column; double-click equalises all |
| Arrow keys on that line | Resize it in steps of 16 px; Shift makes the step 64 px |
Command palette and lists#
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ↑ and ↓ | Move through results |
| Enter | Open the selected row |
| Escape | Close the palette or cheatsheet |
| ⌘Enter | Add a line comment in a file or review, or commit from the Changes message box |
| ⌫ or Backspace | Move the selected docs in the Projects tree to Trash |
Sessions#
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘⇧J | Go to the session that has waited longest (Sessions) |
| ⌥⌘B | Show or hide the side panel (Details, Changes, Turns) |
| ⌥⌘I | Open the side panel on Details |
| ⌘K → Focus the sessions list | Move focus to the first row; listed only while a row is on screen |
| ⌃\` | Open a plain shell |
| ⌘⇧M | Focus mode |
| ⌘-click a row | Open beside |
| ⇧⌘\\ | Unsplit the columns |
⌥⌘B and ⌥⌘I are in Settings → Keyboard and work while the Sessions panel is on screen.
On a focused row of the rail (The keyboard), with focus inside the rail and no text field active. The cheatsheet lists these under Session list; they are fixed:
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tab, then Enter | Reach the rows and open one |
| ↑ / ↓ or k / j | Move between rows |
| Home and End | Jump to the first and last row |
| f | Start a second agent in the row's folder |
| s | Stop the session; press again within four seconds |
| Escape | Hand focus back to the terminal |
Terminal#
Over a focused terminal, every ⌘ chord belongs to the app except these. On Windows and Linux the app's chord is Ctrl+Shift, and plain Ctrl keys go to the CLI. See The terminal.
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘F | Search the session, scrollback included |
| ⌘C | Copy the selection; without one, the app's own meaning |
| ⌘V | Paste |
| ⌘+ / ⌘− / ⌘0 | Zoom the terminal font in, out, and reset it (remembered) |
| ⌥⌘K | Clear |
| Shift+Enter | New line in the prompt, without sending |
| ⌥← / ⌥→ / ⌥⌫ | Jump a word left, right; remove a word |
| Ctrl-C | Interrupt, sent to the CLI |
Files and the editor#
In a file (Reading a file). ⌥H and ⌥1‥⌥4 are in Settings → Keyboard and act on the file that has focus; like every ⌥ shortcut, they wait while you type in the editor:
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘S | Save |
| ⌘F | Search the file |
| ⌥H | Open the file's history |
| [ and ] | Step through changes (not while typing) |
| ⌥1 and ⌥2 | Switch between Preview and Read, on a Markdown or SVG file (the code holds up to four forms; today only these two exist) |
| Escape | Leave Diff or a past commit |
The editor uses VS Code's keys (Editing):
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z | Undo and redo (Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y on Windows and Linux) |
| ⌥-click | Add a cursor |
| ⌘D | Select the next match |
| ⌘⇧L | Select every match |
| ⌥⇧-drag | Column selection |
| ⌘F | Find and replace |
| Ctrl+G | Go to line |
| ⌘/ | Comment |
| ⌥↑ / ⌥↓ | Move a line |
| ⇧⌥↑ / ⇧⌥↓ | Copy a line |
| ⇧⌘K | Remove a line |
| Enter or Tab | Take an offered word |
Home#
Arrow keys turn the deck of cards on Home; left and right step back and forward.
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