Keybindings Reference

Complete keyboard shortcut reference for TUIOS. All keybindings are customizable through the configuration file.

Modes

Mode switching is configured in [keybindings.mode_control]. TUIOS has two main modes:

• Window Management Mode - Navigate and manage windows (default on startup)
• Terminal Mode - Input goes directly to the focused terminal

Mode Switching

• i or Enter - Enter Terminal Mode
• Alt+Esc or Opt+Esc - Exit Terminal Mode (direct shortcut)
• Ctrl+B then Esc - Return to Window Management Mode (from Terminal Mode)
• ? (Window Mode) or Ctrl+B then ? (universal) - Toggle help overlay
• q (Window Mode) or Ctrl+B then q (universal) - Quit TUIOS

Terminal Mode Shortcuts

These shortcuts work directly in Terminal Mode without requiring the prefix key. Configured in [keybindings.terminal_mode].

Alt+←↑↓→ move focus directionally between panes without leaving terminal mode (terminal_focus_left, terminal_focus_right, terminal_focus_up, terminal_focus_down).

Window Management

Window mode, from [keybindings.window_management] (and [keybindings.restore_minimized] for the last row).

• z - Toggle zoom (fullscreen focused window). Shared borders hidden when zoomed, dockbar shows Z indicator.
• n - Create new window
• w or x - Close focused window
• r - Rename focused window
• m - Minimize focused window
• Shift+M - Restore all minimized windows
• Tab - Focus next window
• Shift+Tab - Focus previous window
• 1-9 - Select window by number
• Shift+1-9 or !@#$%^&*( - Restore minimized window by number
• c - Copy the current selection (copy_selection)
• s - Focus the session rail (focus_sidebar)
• Alt+Shift+N / Alt+Shift+P - Next and previous session (next_session, prev_session)
• Shift+S - Start the screen saver now (start_screensaver)

Workspaces

TUIOS supports 9 workspaces for organizing windows. Configured in [keybindings.workspaces].

• Alt+1 through Alt+9 - Switch to workspace 1-9
• Alt+Shift+1 through Alt+Shift+9 - Move window to workspace and follow

Window Layout

Manual Snapping (Non-Tiling Mode)

Keyboard Snapping

• h - Snap window to left half
• l - Snap window to right half
• f - Fullscreen window
• u - Unsnap/restore window
• 1 - Snap to top-left corner
• 2 - Snap to top-right corner
• 3 - Snap to bottom-left corner
• 4 - Snap to bottom-right corner

Mouse Edge Snapping

In floating mode (non-tiling), drag a window to the screen edges to snap it:

Tiling Mode

TUIOS uses Binary Space Partitioning (BSP) for automatic tiling. Windows are arranged in an alternating vertical/horizontal split pattern (spiral layout).

• t - Toggle automatic tiling mode
• Shift+H or Ctrl+Left - Swap with window to the left
• Shift+L or Ctrl+Right - Swap with window to the right
• Shift+K or Ctrl+Up - Swap with window above
• Shift+J or Ctrl+Down - Swap with window below
• < or Shift+, - Decrease master window width (from right edge)
• > or Shift+. - Increase master window width (from right edge)
• { or Shift+[ - Decrease focused window height (from bottom edge)
• } or Shift+] - Increase focused window height (from bottom edge)
• . - Increase master window width from the left edge
• [ - Decrease focused window height from the top edge
• ] - Increase focused window height from the top edge

BSP Split Controls

In window mode, from [keybindings.layout]:

• - - split_horizontal
• | or \ - split_vertical
• R - rotate_split
• = - equalize_splits
• Alt+h Alt+j Alt+k Alt+l - preselect_left / preselect_down / preselect_up / preselect_right, choosing where the next window lands (Opt on macOS)

The same four split operations are also on the prefix key, as separate actions in [keybindings.prefix_mode]:

• Ctrl+B then - - prefix_split_horizontal
• Ctrl+B then | or \ - prefix_split_vertical
• Ctrl+B then R - prefix_rotate_split
• Ctrl+B then = - prefix_equalize_splits

Rebinding one does not rebind the other. They are two independent sets.

Copy Mode

Enter copy mode with Ctrl+B then [ to navigate scrollback and select text using vim-style commands.

Basic Navigation

• Ctrl+B then [ - Enter copy mode
• h j k l - Move cursor left/down/up/right
• w b e - Word forward / word backward / word end
• 0 ^ $ - Start of line / first non-blank / end of line
• gg - Jump to top of scrollback
• G - Jump to bottom (live output)
• {number}G - Jump to line number (e.g., 10G)
• { } - Jump to previous/next paragraph
• Ctrl+U Ctrl+D - Half page up/down
• Ctrl+B Ctrl+F - Full page up/down
• i - Return to terminal mode
• q or Esc - Exit copy mode

Count Prefix

Prefix any motion with a number to repeat it:

• 10j - Move down 10 lines
• 5w - Move forward 5 words
• 3{ - Jump up 3 paragraphs

Character Search

• f{char} - Find next occurrence of char on line
• F{char} - Find previous occurrence of char on line
• t{char} - Move cursor before next char
• T{char} - Move cursor after previous char
• ; - Repeat last character search
• , - Repeat last search (opposite direction)

Search

• / - Search forward
• ? - Search backward
• n - Next match
• N - Previous match
• Ctrl+L - Clear search highlights

Visual Selection

• v - Enter visual character mode
• V - Enter visual line mode
• y or c - Yank (copy) selection to clipboard
• Esc or q - Exit visual mode

Command Palette

• Ctrl+P - Open Command Palette (works from any mode)
• Ctrl+B then P - Open Command Palette (prefix alternative)

The command palette provides fuzzy-searchable access to all TUIOS commands, keybindings, and actions, plus sessions and windows. An @ prefix filters panes by agent state, for example @n for needs input. Programs live in their own overlay, the app launcher, and the palette keeps one row that opens it.

App Launcher

• Alt+Space - Open the app launcher (works from any mode)

The launcher lists every executable on $PATH, fuzzy-matched and frecency-ranked, with names and icons from desktop entries on platforms that have them. Enter execs the selection in a new pane, with no shell in between, so what you launched is what runs. Tab types the command into the focused shell instead, for when you want to add arguments.

Both this key and Ctrl+P live in [keybindings.global], a section consulted in window mode and terminal mode alike.

Prefix Commands

Press Ctrl+B, release, then press the command key (tmux-style).

Main Prefix (Ctrl+B)

Every row below is an action in [keybindings.prefix_mode] and can be rebound.

Ctrl+B then Ctrl+B sends a literal Ctrl+B to the terminal.

Window Prefix (Ctrl+B then t)

Configured in [keybindings.window_prefix].

• n - window_prefix_new, create new window
• x - window_prefix_close, close current window
• r - window_prefix_rename, rename window
• Tab - window_prefix_next, next window
• Shift+Tab - window_prefix_prev, previous window
• t - window_prefix_tiling, toggle tiling mode
• Esc - window_prefix_cancel, cancel

Minimize Prefix (Ctrl+B then m)

Configured in [keybindings.minimize_prefix].

• m - minimize_prefix_focused, minimize the focused window
• 1-9 - minimize_prefix_restore_1 to minimize_prefix_restore_9, restore minimized window by position
• M - minimize_prefix_restore_all, restore all minimized windows
• Esc - minimize_prefix_cancel, cancel

Tape Prefix (Ctrl+B then T)

Record and replay .tape automation scripts. Configured in [keybindings.tape_prefix].

• m - tape_prefix_manager, open the tape manager
• r - tape_prefix_record, start recording
• s - tape_prefix_stop, stop recording
• t - tape_prefix_review, review a detected project tape
• Esc - tape_prefix_cancel, cancel

Workspace Prefix (Ctrl+B then w)

Configured in [keybindings.workspace_prefix].

• 1-9 - workspace_prefix_switch_1 to workspace_prefix_switch_9, switch to workspace
• ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( - workspace_prefix_move_1 to workspace_prefix_move_9, move window to workspace and follow
• r - workspace_prefix_rename, rename the current workspace
• Esc - workspace_prefix_cancel, cancel

Debug Prefix (Ctrl+B then D)

Debug and development tools. Configured in [keybindings.debug_prefix].

• l - debug_prefix_logs, toggle log viewer
• c - debug_prefix_cache, toggle cache statistics
• k - debug_prefix_showkeys, toggle showkeys overlay
• a - debug_prefix_animations, toggle animations
• Esc - debug_prefix_cancel, cancel

Layout Prefix (Ctrl+B then L)

Save and load window layout templates:

• Ctrl+B then L then l - Load layout template
• Ctrl+B then L then s - Save layout template
• Ctrl+B then L then Esc - Cancel

Layout loading is non-destructive: existing windows are repositioned to match the template rather than being killed. Extra windows are minimized.

Mouse Controls

• Left Click - Focus window
• Left Drag - Move window (non-tiling) or swap windows (tiling)
• Right Drag - Resize window (non-tiling only)
• Title Bar Buttons - Minimize, maximize, or close window
• Click Dock Item - Restore minimized window
• Copy Mode Click - Move cursor to position
• Copy Mode Drag - Select text (enters visual mode). Dragging above/below the pane auto-scrolls via a timer.
• Mouse Wheel Up - Enter copy mode and scroll up (when the application is not tracking the mouse and is not on the alternate screen)
• Right Border Click/Drag - Interactive scrollbar for navigating scrollback history

Session Rail

When the rail owns the keyboard (s in window mode, or Ctrl+B then e), it has a keybinding section of its own, [keybindings.sidebar]: j/k move, g/G jump to the ends, Tab switches section, Enter activates, J/K reorder, f and o filter and sort the agents section, n makes a new session, / opens the palette, </> narrow and widen, 1-9 jump by number, and ? shows the rail's own help.

While the cursor is on a row of the files section, a second section answers first, [keybindings.sidebar_files]: a creates, r renames, d deletes to the trash, D deletes permanently, y copies, x cuts, and p pastes. They are a section of their own because three of them collide with a rail key that already exists, so the row under the cursor decides which map answers. See The files section.

Mouse links

Shift and the left mouse button on a link in a pane opens it. Shift is the terminal's own "this click is mine, not the program's" modifier, so it reaches past a program that is tracking the mouse. appearance.links decides what counts as a link. See links.

Customization

Every binding on this page lives in one of 19 sections under [keybindings] in config.toml, and every one is rebindable. The section is named next to each group above. See the Configuration Guide for the full list and the key syntax.

# Edit your keybindings
tuios config edit

# View current configuration
tuios keybinds list

# View your customizations
tuios keybinds list-custom

# Audit for conflicts, with evidence tiers
tuios keybinds doctor

# Everything one key does, and who else wants it
tuios keybinds explain ctrl+b

Keybind Manager

Ctrl+B then k opens the keybind manager inside the app: four tabs over one analysis. Bindings lists every binding, searchable. Conflicts shows keys claimed twice inside TUIOS. Guests shows keys TUIOS takes that the pane's program also wants. Record captures the next key you press and reports all three answers for it.

The same analysis runs headlessly: tuios keybinds doctor reports duplicate claims and keys taken from the pane, each finding tagged with how it knows, certain from TUIOS routing, observed from the pane, or reference from a curated list of program defaults. tuios keybinds explain <key> answers for one key. Both take --json and --guest <program>.

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

Default workspace switching uses Option key:

• Option+1 through Option+9 - Switch workspace
• Option+Shift+1 through Option+Shift+9 - Move window to workspace

Terminal mode shortcuts:

• Opt+Tab / Opt+Shift+Tab - Cycle windows
• Opt+Esc - Exit terminal mode

You can still type Option key unicode characters (¡™£¢∞§¶•ª) in Terminal Mode.

Linux/Windows

Uses standard Alt key for workspace switching:

• Alt+1 through Alt+9
• Alt+Shift+1 through Alt+Shift+9

Terminal mode shortcuts:

• Alt+N / Alt+P - Cycle windows (next/previous)
• Alt+Esc - Exit terminal mode

Related Documentation