Keyboard Shortcuts
Shortcuts depend on where you are working. When the same key has more than one action, the action in the most specific active layer takes priority.
Shortcut Layers
From lowest to highest priority:
- App: always active
- Project Tab: active when a repository or worktree Project Tab is focused
- Content Tab: active for the current content tab type
- Mode: active for the current mode within a content tab
Viewing All Shortcuts
Press F1 to open the keyboard shortcuts dialog. It shows all shortcuts across the hierarchy, including which layers are currently active or inactive.
The keyboard diagram includes the main keys, arrow keys, Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down. Keys with a shortcut are tinted and marked with a dot. A wider dot means that several actions share the key. Hover over a key to see its actions and their layers. Click the key to keep the panel open so you can scroll or select its text. Click outside the panel or press Esc to release it. Press Esc again to close the dialog.
Key names on the diagram, and in the list below it, follow the US layout. Shortcuts are matched by physical key position, so on any other layout the key the diagram highlights is still the correct one to press. Only the character printed on the keycap may differ. On a German QWERTZ keyboard, for example, Ctrl+Z is the key whose cap reads Y.
Click the modifier buttons to select a combination. On Windows and Linux, these are Ctrl, Shift, and Alt. On macOS, they are Cmd, Shift, and Option. Outside the search field, you can also press the physical Control, Shift, or Alt keys. Type in Search shortcuts to highlight matching keys. Press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on macOS) to focus the field.
App Shortcuts
On macOS, Ctrl maps to Cmd, except tab cycling (Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab) which stays on the physical Control key, since Cmd+Tab is the macOS application switcher.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+/ | Open a new Zide Assist session tab |
| Ctrl+Shift+/ | Open or focus Ask Zide for the focused tab or Docs panel |
| Ctrl+Alt+/ | Open Docs and focus its Ask Zide message box |
| F1 | Open keyboard shortcuts |
| Ctrl+Tab | Next content tab |
| Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Previous content tab |
| Ctrl+W | Close active content tab |
| Ctrl+Alt+S | Save All (all dirty file tabs across all Project Tabs) |
| Ctrl+Shift+A | Open Session Watch |
| Ctrl+K | Open Universal Finder |
Switching content tabs with Ctrl+Tab
Ctrl+Tab opens the most-recently-used (MRU) tab switcher. Hold Control to keep it open, move the selection, then release Control to switch. Enter also confirms and Esc cancels.
- Windows / Linux: move the selection with Tab / Shift+Tab or the arrow keys.
- macOS: move the selection with Tab / Shift+Tab. The arrow keys are not available here because macOS reserves Control+arrow for Mission Control and Spaces, so those keypresses never reach Zide while Control is held.
Dialogs
While a dialog is open, Tab and Shift+Tab move only between the controls in that dialog. After the last control, focus goes back to the first. Hidden and disabled controls are skipped. In a group of options, Tab stops on the selected option; use the arrow keys to select a different one. When a dialog opens on top of another dialog, only the top dialog responds to Tab.
A dialog also takes all other keyboard input. Shortcuts for the app behind it do nothing. For example, they do not open a terminal, switch tabs, or start dictation in Zide Assist. These shortcuts still work over any dialog, because they change the whole window:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| F11 | Toggle full screen |
| Ctrl+Shift+= / Ctrl+Shift+- | Zoom in / Zoom out |
| Ctrl+0 | Reset zoom |
| Ctrl+Shift+Alt+0 | Reset to Zide Dark |
| Ctrl+Alt+P | Capture the app window |
F11 does nothing while a text field has focus. Move focus to a button first, for example Cancel.
On macOS, use Cmd for Ctrl. With the macOS menu bar, the menu commands for the app behind a dialog also do nothing while it is open. Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, and Select All still work in the dialog’s fields.
If focus is outside the dialog, for example after you click an empty part of it, your next key goes to the dialog, and focus moves to the dialog’s first control. A menu that you open from a dialog, such as the Cut, Copy, Paste menu of a text field, keeps its keys. Esc closes only that menu.
Layout Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Layout |
|---|---|
| Alt+1 | Single Pane |
| Alt+2 | Side by Side |
| Alt+3 | Stacked Right |
| Alt+4 | Three Columns |
Project Tab Shortcuts
These require the relevant repository capability (git, issues, etc.):
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+1 | Open issues |
| Ctrl+Shift+1 | Create an issue |
| Ctrl+2 | Open pull or merge requests |
| Ctrl+Shift+2 | Create a pull or merge request |
| Ctrl+3 | Open automation runs (Actions or Pipelines) |
| Ctrl+4 | Open releases or downloads |
| Ctrl+Shift+4 | Create a release, where supported |
| Ctrl+Shift+Up | Push |
| Ctrl+Shift+Down | Pull |
| Ctrl+Alt+C | Open Commits |
| Ctrl+Alt+G | Open Staging |
| Ctrl+Shift+B | Open Branches |
| Ctrl+Shift+G | Open Tags |
| Ctrl+Shift+H | Open Stashes |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Open Reflog |
| Ctrl+Shift+R | Open Worktrees |
| Ctrl+Alt+F | Open File Browser |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Open Find in Files |
| Ctrl+F | Find in the focused tab or activity panel, or focus its filter |
| Ctrl+Alt+R | Open Script Runner |
| Ctrl+Alt+T | Open a new Terminal |
| Alt+Shift+B | Open Browser |
Content Tab Shortcuts
Some content tabs define their own shortcuts when active:
File Browser
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+F | Show the file filter or select its text |
| Esc | Close and clear the focused file filter |
| Up/Down or J/K | Navigate files |
| Left/Right | Collapse/expand folders |
Commits, File Browser, and Issues lists
These keys work when a row in the list has focus. For details, see Select more than one item.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Add or remove the focused item |
| Shift+Up/Down, Shift+Home/End | Extend or shrink the selected range |
| Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on macOS) | Select all items in the list |
| Esc | Clear the selection |
| Menu key or Shift+F10 | Open the menu for the focused row |
Terminal and CLI Agent
On macOS, use Cmd+F to open Find.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+F | Find in the focused pane |
| Enter / Shift+Enter | Next / previous match, in the Find input |
| Alt+C | Toggle Match Case, in the Find bar |
| Esc | Close Find, in the Find bar |
In the saved output of a closed terminal, Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on macOS) copies the selected text, and Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on macOS) selects all of the output.
Reflog
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Up/Down | Select entry |
| Enter | Open the entry in a detail tab |
| C | Reset to entry |
| R | Refresh |
Actions
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Up/Down or j/k | Select run |
| Enter | Open run details |
PR Changed Files
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Up/Down or j/k | Next/previous file |
| n/p | Next/previous unviewed file |
| Enter | Open side-by-side diff |
| e | Mark the file viewed or not viewed |
File Edit Mode
These shortcuts are active while you’re editing a file in the Edit view. On macOS, Ctrl maps to Cmd; on Windows and Linux it stays Ctrl.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+/ | Toggle line comment |
| Shift+Alt+A | Toggle block comment |
| Alt+Up / Alt+Down | Move line up / down |
| Shift+Alt+Up / Shift+Alt+Down | Duplicate line up / down |
| Ctrl+Shift+K | Delete line |
| Ctrl+J | Join lines |
| Ctrl+F | Find in the file |
| Enter / Shift+Enter | Next / previous match, in the Find input |
| F3 / Shift+F3 | Next / previous match |
| Alt+C / Alt+R / Alt+W | Toggle Match Case / Use Regex / Match Whole Word, in the Find bar |
| Esc | Close Find, in the Find bar |
Multiple cursors
Multiple cursors let you edit several places in a file at once. Typing, pasting, and deleting apply at every cursor.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+click (Cmd+click on macOS) | Add another cursor or selection |
| Ctrl+Alt+Up / Ctrl+Alt+Down (Option+Cmd+Up / Down on macOS) | Add cursor above / below |
| Ctrl+D (Cmd+D on macOS) | Select next occurrence |
| Ctrl+Shift+D (Cmd+Shift+D on macOS) | Skip occurrence |
| Ctrl+Shift+L (Cmd+Shift+L on macOS) | Select all occurrences |
| Ctrl+U (Cmd+U on macOS) | Remove the most recently added cursor or selection |
| Escape | Remove secondary cursors and keep the primary selection |
Press Escape once to drop back to a single cursor, keeping whatever the primary one had selected; press it again to clear that selection.
The status bar reports the current state: 3 cursors while every cursor sits in
the text, 3 selections · 18 chars once they are selecting, and both counts
when only some of them are. Ln and Col always follow the primary cursor.
Column selection
Hold Shift+Alt (Shift+Option on macOS) and drag vertically to select a rectangular block, with one cursor or selection per line aligned to the columns you dragged through. The pointer turns into a crosshair while both keys are held, so you can see the gesture is armed before you press the button.
| Gesture | Action |
|---|---|
| Shift+Alt+drag (Shift+Option+drag on macOS) | Select a column of text |
| Shift+Alt+drag straight down | Place a cursor on each line at one column |
Lines shorter than the block contribute a cursor at their end rather than a selection, and columns are measured as they appear on screen, so tab-indented lines stay aligned with spaced ones. The result is an ordinary multi-cursor selection: typing, pasting, undo, and Escape all behave as they do above.
In Edit mode, the multi-cursor bindings take priority over shortcuts that use the same keys. For example, Ctrl+Shift+L selects all occurrences here instead of opening the Reflog, and Ctrl+/ toggles a line comment instead of opening a new Zide Assist session tab. Those application and project shortcuts return whenever the editor isn’t focused.
Docs Shortcuts
These shortcuts apply while the Docs panel or window has focus. On macOS, use Cmd+F to open Find.
In the docked Docs panel, Ctrl+Shift+/ opens or focuses Ask Zide. From anywhere in the main window, Ctrl+Alt+/ opens Docs and focuses the Ask Zide message box. On macOS, use Cmd+Shift+/ and Cmd+Option+/. These commands preserve the draft and conversation and do not send a message. If Docs is detached, Ctrl+Alt+/ returns it to the main window, where Ask Zide is available.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+F | Find in page: search the open guide |
| Enter / Shift+Enter | Next / previous match, in the Find input |
| Alt+C | Toggle Match Case, in the Find bar |
| Esc | Close Find, in the Find bar |
| Esc | Close the guide dropdown in the docked panel, keep its search query, and return focus to Docs |
| Esc | Clear the focused Search all docs… field in the separate Docs window |
| [ / ] | Previous / next guide in the category, outside text fields |
Settings Shortcuts
These shortcuts apply on the Settings tab. On macOS, use Cmd+F.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+F | Go to Search settings… and select its text |
| Down | Move from Search settings… to the first result |
| Enter | Open the first result, in Search settings… |
| Up / Down, Home / End | Move between results |
| Esc | Return from the results to Search settings… |
Tab Navigation History
Navigate Back and Navigate Forward move a single tab through the items it has already shown, like a browser’s Back and Forward buttons. This is not the same as switching between open tabs (that’s Ctrl+Tab, above).
| Platform | Navigate Back | Navigate Forward |
|---|---|---|
| Windows, Linux | Alt+Left | Alt+Right |
| macOS | Control+- | Control+Shift+- |
On macOS these use the physical Control key, not Command: Option+Arrow is word navigation in text fields and terminals, and Command+- zooms out.
Each step restores the item, cursor, selection, scroll position, and view.
Going Back creates a Forward step. If you go Back and then open something new, the forward steps are discarded, exactly as a browser does.
History belongs to the tab, not to the items: when opening something replaces what a tab was showing, Back still returns to the previous item. Detail tabs have history; navigation surfaces such as the file browser do not.
Both directions are also on the tab’s right-click menu, alongside a History submenu that jumps straight to any earlier item, and on the Back/Forward buttons in the tab’s header. A direction that has nowhere to go is shown greyed out, and its tooltip says why.
Trackpad and mouse
A two-finger horizontal swipe on a trackpad navigates the active tab, the way it does in a browser: swipe right for Back, left for Forward. A mouse with Back and Forward thumb buttons works too.
One swipe moves one step. The native WebView recognizes the physical gesture, so repeated and alternating swipes follow the same behavior as the platform browser rather than relying on application timing thresholds.
The swipe animation appears only when navigation is available. A horizontal swipe has no effect on Settings, Open Project, or a tab with no history to visit. The same applies to a pinned tab or one with unsaved changes, which are protected from in-place navigation.
Anything you have scrolled sideways keeps the gesture for scrolling. Swipe over a wide diff, table or editor that you have scrolled to the right and it goes on scrolling; scroll it back to the left and swiping navigates again. Terminal and CLI agent tabs never navigate on a swipe.
Each visit to a file is its own entry in the tab’s history, so opening a file you have already seen adds it again rather than jumping back to where it was. Swiping back through a long history can therefore pass the same file twice, which is what a browser’s Back button does too.
Turn the whole thing off with Trackpad Swipe Navigation in Settings > Other Settings > Input. The Back and Forward buttons, keyboard shortcuts and mouse buttons are unaffected either way.
A Browser tab is a special case, because the web page inside it is a real browser view rather than part of Zide’s own window. Swiping over the page uses the browser engine’s own back/forward gesture, with the peek animation your platform draws; swiping over the tab’s toolbar moves the page too. Either way, a swipe in a Browser tab never moves the tab through Zide’s history.
Back and Forward are disabled on pinned tabs and tabs with unsaved changes. The tooltip explains why. Opening an item from one of these tabs creates a new tab instead. The tab keeps its history: unpin it, or save your changes, and Back and Forward light up again.
Notes
- Shortcuts use key position (
event.code), so they work consistently across keyboard layouts - When Terminal or CLI Agent output is focused, most shortcuts pass through to it. On Windows and Linux, Ctrl+F opens Find unless Ctrl+F in Terminal is set to Send to shell in Settings > Terminal. On macOS, Cmd+F opens Find and Ctrl+F passes through.
- Text input fields take priority over single-key shortcuts
- When a minimap has focus, the arrow keys, Home, End, Enter, Space, and Esc move through its marks and open or close the preview instead of running a shortcut. Tab moves focus away again.