Claude Code Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Learning keyboard shortcuts makes Claude Code significantly faster to use. Here are the essential ones.

Basic Navigation

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+C	Cancel current operation
Ctrl+D	Exit Claude Code
Ctrl+L	Clear screen
Ctrl+R	Search command history
Up/Down	Navigate through history

Input Editing

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+A	Move to beginning of line
Ctrl+E	Move to end of line
Ctrl+W	Delete word before cursor
Ctrl+U	Delete entire line
Ctrl+K	Delete from cursor to end
Alt+B	Move back one word
Alt+F	Move forward one word

Multi-line Input

Shortcut	Action
Shift+Enter	New line without sending
Enter	Send message
Ctrl+Enter	Send message (alternative)

Use Shift+Enter for multi-line prompts:

Create a function that:
- Takes a user object
- Validates the email
- Returns a formatted string

Response Control

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+C	Stop generation
Space	Pause/resume scrolling
q	Stop scrolling and return to input

Permission Prompts

When Claude asks for permission:

Key	Action
y	Yes, allow once
n	No, deny
a	Always allow this type
Enter	Accept default (usually yes)

Vim Mode

Enable vim mode for vim-style editing:

claude config set vim-mode true

Then you get:

Mode	Shortcut	Action
Normal	i	Enter insert mode
Normal	a	Enter insert mode after cursor
Normal	dd	Delete line
Normal	yy	Yank (copy) line
Normal	p	Paste
Normal	/	Search
Insert	Esc	Return to normal mode
Normal	h/j/k/l	Navigate
Normal	w/b	Word forward/back
Normal	0/$	Line start/end

Quick Commands

Type these at the prompt:

Command	Action
/help	Show all commands
/clear	Clear conversation
/compact	Reduce context size
/model sonnet	Switch to Sonnet
/model haiku	Switch to Haiku
/model opus	Switch to Opus
/exit	Exit Claude Code

Session Management

Command	Action
/session list	Show all sessions
/session save	Save current session
/session load <name>	Load a session

File Operations

Command	Action
/read <file>	Read a file
/edit <file>	Focus on editing a file

Tips for Faster Workflow

1. Use history navigation

Press Up to recall previous prompts. Edit and resend.

2. Abbreviate when possible

Claude understands context:

# Instead of this
Read the file located at src/components/Button.tsx

# Just type
Read src/components/Button.tsx

3. Use tab completion

Tab completes file paths (in most terminals):

Read src/com[TAB] → src/components/

4. Chain commands with semicolons

Read package.json; show me the dependencies

5. Use multi-line for complex prompts

[Shift+Enter]
Create a function that:
[Shift+Enter]
1. Fetches user data
[Shift+Enter]
2. Validates the response
[Shift+Enter]
3. Caches the result
[Enter]

Customizing Shortcuts

You can customize shortcuts in settings:

claude config set shortcuts.clear "Ctrl+K"
claude config set shortcuts.exit "Ctrl+Q"

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

• Use Cmd instead of Ctrl for some operations
• Cmd+K clears terminal in most terminal apps

Windows

• All Ctrl shortcuts work as expected
• Some terminals may capture shortcuts differently

Linux

• Standard terminal shortcuts apply
• May vary by terminal emulator

Quick Reference Card

Print this for your desk:

ESSENTIAL
─────────────────────────────
Ctrl+C      Cancel/Stop
Ctrl+L      Clear screen
Up/Down     History
Shift+Enter Multi-line

EDITING
─────────────────────────────
Ctrl+A      Start of line
Ctrl+E      End of line
Ctrl+W      Delete word
Ctrl+U      Delete line

COMMANDS
─────────────────────────────
/help       Show help
/clear      Clear chat
/compact    Save tokens
/model X    Switch model

PERMISSIONS
─────────────────────────────
y           Allow once
n           Deny
a           Always allow

Practice Exercise

Try this sequence to practice:

1. Start Claude Code: claude
2. Type a prompt, press Up to see history
3. Use Ctrl+A to go to start, Ctrl+E to end
4. Try multi-line with Shift+Enter
5. Use /clear to reset
6. Try /model haiku then /model sonnet
7. Exit with Ctrl+D or /exit

Within a few days, these become muscle memory.