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 (no Shift, Ctrl)
Move the cursor to the end of the line.	Ctrl + E End (no Shift, Ctrl)
Move the cursor up one line.	Up Arrow (no Shift, Alt, Ctrl, Cmd)
Move the cursor down one line.	Down Arrow (no Shift, Alt, Ctrl, Cmd)
Move the cursor one character to the left.	Left Arrow (no Shift, Alt, Ctrl, Cmd)
Move the cursor one character to the right.	Right Arrow (no Shift, Alt, Ctrl, Cmd) Ctrl + F
Move the cursor one word to the left.	Ctrl + Left Arrow Alt + Left Arrow Alt + B
Move the cursor one word to the right.	Ctrl + Right Arrow Alt + Right Arrow 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 + Z (no Shift) Alt + Z (no Shift)
Redo the most recent undone text edit.	Shift + Ctrl + Z Shift + Cmd + Z Shift + Alt + Z

Scrolling

Action	Keys
Scroll content up.	Shift + Up Arrow
Scroll content down.	Shift + Down Arrow
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 (no Shift)
Show the next entry in history.	Ctrl + N (no Shift)
Start reverse search through history.	Ctrl + R
Submit the selected reverse-search match.	Enter (no Ctrl)
Accept a suggestion while reverse searching.	Tab (no Shift)
Browse and rewind previous interactions.	Double Esc

Navigation

Action	Keys
Move selection up in lists.	Up Arrow (no Shift)
Move selection down in lists.	Down Arrow (no Shift)
Move up within dialog options.	Up Arrow (no Shift) K (no Shift)
Move down within dialog options.	Down Arrow (no Shift) J (no Shift)
Move to the next item or question in a dialog.	Tab (no Shift)
Move to the previous item or question in a dialog.	Shift + Tab

Suggestions & Completions

Action	Keys
Accept the inline suggestion.	Tab (no Shift) Enter (no Ctrl)
Move to the previous completion option.	Up Arrow (no Shift) Ctrl + P (no Shift)
Move to the next completion option.	Down Arrow (no Shift) Ctrl + N (no Shift)
Expand an inline suggestion.	Right Arrow
Collapse an inline suggestion.	Left Arrow

Text Input

Action	Keys
Submit the current prompt.	Enter (no Shift, Alt, Ctrl, Cmd)
Insert a newline without submitting.	Ctrl + Enter Cmd + Enter Alt + Enter Shift + Enter Ctrl + J
Open the current prompt in an external editor.	Ctrl + X
Paste from the clipboard.	Ctrl + V Cmd + 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
Toggle current background shell visibility.	Ctrl + B
Toggle background shell list.	Ctrl + L
Kill the active background shell.	Ctrl + K
Confirm selection in background shell list.	Enter
Dismiss background shell list.	Esc
Move focus from background shell to Gemini.	Shift + Tab
Move focus from background shell list to Gemini.	Tab (no Shift)
Show warning when trying to move focus away from background shell.	Tab (no Shift)
Show warning when trying to move focus away from shell input.	Tab (no Shift)
Move focus from Gemini to the active shell.	Tab (no Shift)
Move focus from the shell back to Gemini.	Shift + Tab
Clear the terminal screen and redraw the UI.	Ctrl + L
Restart the application.	R
Suspend the CLI and move it to the background.	Ctrl + Z

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.