Shortcuts
Shortcuts depend on focus. A key can be handled by the app shell, the active terminal, the embedded editor, the operating system, or a modal.
Click the surface you want first. Use the visible menus and in-product hints as the final source of truth for your build.
Workspace navigation
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+B / Ctrl+B | Toggle the left sidebar. |
Cmd+N / Ctrl+N | Open or close the active pane composer. |
Cmd+Shift+E / Ctrl+Shift+E | Toggle the editor surface. |
Cmd+Shift+T / Ctrl+Shift+T | Toggle the tasks surface. |
Cmd+Shift+A / Ctrl+Shift+A | Toggle Agent Teams. |
Cmd+Shift+H / Ctrl+Shift+H | Toggle workspace home. |
Ctrl+Backtick | Return to the terminal workspace. |
Cmd+Shift+K / Ctrl+Shift+K | Toggle QA where available. |
Agent launch
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9 | Launch the installed agents shown in the workspace home or agent shortcut list. |
Agent launch uses Ctrl on macOS too. Cmd+1 through Cmd+9 is reserved for tab switching in the terminal workspace on macOS.
Terminal panes and tabs
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+T / Ctrl+T | New terminal tab. |
Cmd+W / Ctrl+W | Close the active terminal pane or tab. |
Cmd+D | Split the active pane to the right on macOS. |
Cmd+Shift+D | Split the active pane down on macOS. |
Cmd+1 through Cmd+9 | Switch terminal workspace tabs on macOS. |
Cmd+Y / Ctrl+Y | Start a worktree where available. |
Cmd+Shift+Y / Ctrl+Shift+Y | Configure worktree scripts where available. |
Cmd+F / Ctrl+F | Search the active terminal pane. |
Cmd+K | Clear the active terminal pane on macOS. |
Terminal text editing
Coldtea forwards common editing shortcuts into the PTY:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Shift+Enter | Send an alternate newline sequence. |
Shift+Backspace | Delete the previous word. |
Cmd+Backspace | Clear back to the beginning of the line on macOS. |
Cmd+Left / Cmd+Right | Move to start or end of line on macOS. |
Option+Left / Option+Right | Move by word on macOS. |
Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right | Move by word on Windows. |
Embedded editor
Coldtea mirrors editor shortcuts that the desktop webview may otherwise steal from the embedded editor.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+N / Ctrl+N | New file. |
Cmd+P / Ctrl+P | Go to file. |
Cmd+S / Ctrl+S | Save. |
Cmd+F / Ctrl+F | Find. |
Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P | Command palette. |
Cmd+Z / Ctrl+Z | Undo. |
Cmd+Shift+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo. |
Cmd+X/C/V/A / Ctrl+X/C/V/A | Cut, copy, paste, select all. |
Selection and comments
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+Shift+Click / Ctrl+Shift+Click | Add a comment where you click in terminal or editor context. |
Cmd+Option+M / Ctrl+Alt+M | Add a comment on the current selection. |
Cmd+Enter / Ctrl+Enter | Save a plan review comment draft. |
Escape | Close many modals, popovers, and selection modes. |
If a shortcut does nothing
Check:
- The target pane has focus.
- A modal, popover, or agent prompt is not capturing input.
- The shortcut is available on your platform.
- The embedded editor or terminal app did not handle it first.
- Your OS or another app has not claimed the same shortcut.
Next: workspace tour or troubleshooting.