Keyboard Shortcuts

Reference for key bindings in the Grok Build TUI. Bindings are built in and cannot currently be remapped.

Input Modes

Grok has two input modes that control how you navigate the scrollback:

• Simple mode (default): Arrow keys for navigation, Shift+Arrow for turn navigation, Space to focus the prompt, and any letter key auto-focuses the prompt.
• Vim mode (opt-in): j/k for navigation, H/L for selected-turn navigation, J/K for viewport-top turn jumps (same as the timeline arrows), h/l for fold, e/E for expand/collapse, and i/Tab/Space to focus the prompt.

Simple mode is active by default. To switch to Vim mode, set vim_mode = true under [ui] in ~/.cook/config.toml, or toggle it at runtime with /vim-mode. See Configuration for details.

The tables below document bindings for both modes. The "Key" column shows the Vim-mode binding, and the "Alt Key" column shows the equivalent in simple mode (arrow keys, etc.).

Vim-mode required: Single-letter and Shift+letter bindings in the Scrollback context (j/k, h/l, g/G, L/H, y/Y, o/O, r, x, e/E, and the i insert-mode alt) require [ui].vim_mode = true in ~/.cook/config.toml (or /vim-mode to toggle). Arrow keys, Tab, Esc, Space, PageUp/Down, and every Ctrl+letter shortcut work in both modes.

Navigation (Scrollback Focused)

Move through conversation entries in the scrollback pane.

PageUp and PageDown also scroll the conversation while the ordinary prompt is focused, without moving focus or changing the draft. An active prompt history, @ file search, slash menu, or completion dropdown keeps the keys for its own navigation.

View (Scrollback Focused)

Control how entries are displayed in the scrollback.

Setting respect_manual_folds = true under [scrollback.scroll] in pager.toml (opt-in, off by default — see Configuration) makes a hand-folded block pinned: streaming updates and finish events (for example a thinking block ending) leave it alone instead of resetting it, and expanding a block while auto-scroll is following the tail stops following so you can read; resume with ⇧G, j at the last entry, scrolling past the bottom, or sending a new prompt. ⇧E clears all pins, and Ctrl+E clears pins on thinking blocks.

Block Content

Focus

Switch between the prompt input and scrollback pane.

Esc is not a focus key. It follows the clear / rewind semantics below, and it never cancels a running turn (Ctrl+C does). Nothing about Esc depends on [ui].vim_mode (scrollback nav) or [ui].simple_mode (prompt editor). Overlays, modals, slash/file dropdowns, voice, search, and selection still steal Esc first.

Blocking cards

Four surfaces block the agent on your answer and take over the keyboard while they are open: the question card (ask_user_question), the MCP elicitation card (x.ai/mcp/elicit), the permission prompt, and the cancel-turn panel. When more than one is open the permission prompt has the keyboard first, then the cancel-turn panel, then question, then elicitation — and the shortcuts bar always shows the keys of whichever one is receiving them.

They share one contract:

• Tab / Shift+Tab walk that card's rows and wrap at both ends. They never move focus out of the card, so the cursor is always somewhere you can see.
• Esc steps back out, one rung at a time: it clears whatever the card has pending first, and only once there is nothing left to clear does it leave. Where it leaves to is the one thing that differs per card — the question card and the permission prompt park the keyboard in the scrollback so you can scroll up and read the context behind them (the card stays on screen), while the cancel-turn panel's "keep running" closes the panel and leaves the turn (and any subagents) running. Enter or 1–4 still pick a cancel-and-subagent choice.
• With the keyboard parked, the shortcuts bar shows the scrollback's own keys, and its focus hint names the card rather than the prompt: Tab/Space: question. That hint is pinned, so a narrow bar can never trim away the only route back.
• Inside the dashboard's session overlay there is one more rung: once the keyboard is parked, the next Esc returns to the dashboard, leaving the card pending. (Ctrl+\ still leaves from any state.)

MCP elicitation card (`x.ai/mcp/elicit`)

Shown when an MCP server asks for user input (form fields or URL consent). The title always includes the MCP server name.

Question card (`ask_user_question`)

The /feedback form is the one exception to this table: its report box has no answers to walk, so it has its own keys (below).

While typing a free-text answer, Enter submits and Esc returns to the answer rows; every other key goes to the text field.

`/feedback` form

Write tab:

Drafts tab:

When a trace upload can be offered, Enter on the report first shows an upload question (↑/↓ choose, Enter sends with your choice, Esc skips the upload and still sends the report).

Permission prompt

Typing on the "No" row starts a message back to the agent instead; Enter sends it and Esc returns to the options.

Cancel-turn panel

Escape

Mid-turn Esc grace: for about a second after a mid-turn Esc, the idle rewind arm stays suppressed — mashing Esc at a turn that then ends cannot silently open the rewind picker. Only the rewind arm is held; every other Esc behavior is unaffected.

Steal-Esc (runs before the mid-turn hint and clear / rewind): overlays, modals, slash/file/completion dropdowns, history search, scrollback search, text selection, link highlight, voice, and Bash / Remember mode exit when the prompt is empty (Esc leaves ! / # mode and returns to the normal prompt, even while a turn is running). Bare /feedback opens the feedback form; Esc closes it.

Ctrl+C vs Esc: with a non-empty draft while a turn is running, Ctrl+C clears the draft and keeps the turn; a second Ctrl+C on an empty prompt cancels. Esc never cancels: mid-turn it only points you at Ctrl+C and leaves the draft alone. Idle non-empty Ctrl+C clears in one press; Esc requires two presses within 800ms. The two clears differ in what they leave behind: Esc Esc stashes the draft, so Ctrl+S (or Ctrl+Z pressed right after) brings it back, while Ctrl+C discards it (Ctrl+Z still undoes that clear, text only).

Agent-Level

Actions that affect the agent session, available from the agent screen.

Note: While a subagent fullscreen view is open, the composer is hidden. Root-only chords (Ctrl+P, Ctrl+M, Ctrl+R, Ctrl+O, Ctrl+B, settings, extensions, Shift+Tab) do nothing. Ctrl+C cancels the child's turn. q / Esc closes the view. Ctrl+Q still quits (Ctrl+D on VS Code family). See Viewing Subagents in the TUI.

Note: Ctrl+M is context-dependent. When the prompt is focused, it toggles multiline input mode. Otherwise, it opens the model picker.

Note: While a draft is stashed, the prompt's top border reads Stashed (next to the /rename title, if you set one). Minimal mode draws no border, so it prints a line in the scrollback each time you stash or restore. The stash lives in memory only: it is gone when you quit, and it does not travel to a resumed session. A new stash replaces the old one; the replaced draft is discarded.

Note: External editing works in every render mode: minimal mode binds Ctrl+G, and the full TUI uses /edit-prompt or the command palette. Grok resolves $VISUAL, then $EDITOR, then vi. Values may include quoted arguments. Saving replaces only the draft (the final newline editors append on save is stripped); an empty file clears it. Drafts with pasted/file/image chips must be edited in the composer so attachments are not flattened.

Note: Ctrl+' is a Windows alt for Ctrl+; — some Windows consoles drop the Ctrl modifier on punctuation keys.

Note: Ctrl+. needs the Kitty keyboard protocol (or tmux extended-keys on so that protocol can pass through). On VS Code / Cursor / Windsurf / Zed integrated terminals, VTE, Apple Terminal, Windows Terminal, JetBrains, tmux with extended-keys off, screen, and similar no-KKP setups, Grok advertises Ctrl+X as the primary shortcuts-cheatsheet key instead. Ctrl+X always works as a classic control character even when Ctrl+. does not. Run /doctor if modified keys misbehave in tmux.

Image Paste & Drag-and-Drop

Non-image files insert their absolute path as text instead of a chip.

Alt+V on Windows is grok-specific. Windows Terminal's default Ctrl+V only pastes plain text and silently drops image clipboards; Alt+V bypasses the interceptor. To use Ctrl+V for images too, add { "command": null, "keys": "ctrl+v" } to actions in your Windows Terminal settings.json.

Linux PRIMARY and CLIPBOARD

Linux X11 has two independent text selections:

• Ctrl+V reads CLIPBOARD, the explicit copy/cut selection. It never falls back to PRIMARY. To put text there with xclip, use printf %s "text" | xclip -selection clipboard.
• An unmodified middle click in Grok reads PRIMARY, the current mouse selection, only when DISPLAY is non-empty. Pure X11 can use its native reader fallback; XWayland requires xclip or xsel on PATH so Grok reads the X11 selection rather than Wayland PRIMARY. The press is handled once; the release does not paste again.
• Shift+Insert is the terminal-native way to paste selected text. Many terminals also use Shift+middle click to bypass application mouse reporting.

Over SSH, the remote Grok process usually cannot access the terminal's local X11 selection. Use terminal-native Shift+Insert or Shift+middle click so the local terminal sends the selected text through the PTY.

During an active turn (agent running)

While the agent is generating:

• Plain Enter (with text in the composer) queues a follow-up for later. By default ([ui].follow_up_behavior = "steer") the shell injects it mid-turn at the next tool or model safe gap, so the running request keeps going. With "queue" those follow-ups run after the current turn ends — and they deliberately hold while the agent is blocked waiting on background tasks or a subagent (a hint explains the hold and how to send one now). See Configuration.
• Enter again on the emptied composer (double-Enter) sends the top queued follow-up now.
• The send now chord is cancel-and-send: it stops the current turn (background tasks, subagents, and the rest of the queue keep running) and sends your message as the next turn, so it always appears at the bottom of the transcript:
  • Non-empty composer → cancel and send that text now.
  • Empty composer + a queued follow-up → send the top queued follow-up now (no need to focus the queue pane). On the queue pane, the same chord (or the [Send now] button) sends the selected row.
  • Idle, or empty composer with nothing queued → no-op for that key.
• While the agent is blocked waiting (on task output or a subagent), plain Enter with text also delivers immediately — the shell cancels the blocked turn and runs your message next.

In /multiline mode, Shift+Enter (or Alt+Enter) sends while plain Enter inserts a newline — except on an empty composer mid-turn with a queued follow-up, where plain Enter still send nows the top row (same as normal mode). (Ctrl+Enter is send-now mid-turn when bound on non–VS Code family; it does not submit a new idle turn.)

Send-now is intentionally interruptive — it reads as "stop what you're doing and take this". To hand the agent a note without stopping it, queue with plain Enter; the agent picks it up at the next turn boundary.

WezTerm: These modified Enter keys need enable_kitty_keyboard = true in your WezTerm config. Full steps and a one-line workaround are in the terminal support guide.

Windows (non–VS Code family): Some consoles drop the Ctrl modifier on Ctrl+Enter (it can collapse to bare Enter or Ctrl+J). Use Ctrl+I as the alt — letter-key Ctrl chords are stable everywhere. On VS Code family, use Ctrl+L.

VS Code family Ctrl+L: Grok uses it for interject and leaves the extensions shortcut unbound (open plugins with /plugins or the command palette). If your terminal profile still maps Clear (or another command) to Ctrl+L, that host binding can steal the chord — rebind or remove it so the PTY receives form feed (\x0c).

Global

Actions available from any screen.

VS Code family terminal (VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed integrated terminals): Ctrl+Q is captured by the host, so Grok makes Ctrl+D the sole quit key (Ctrl+Q is not bound). Half-page-down is rebound to bare Shift+D. Mid-turn interject uses Ctrl+L (no alternates) because Ctrl+Enter / Ctrl+I do not reliably reach the PTY; extensions are opened via /plugins instead of Ctrl+L.

Returning to the welcome screen has no key binding — use the /home slash command (alias /welcome) from inside a session. See Slash Commands.

Destructive Action Confirmation

Actions marked with "Yes" in the confirmation column require a double-press within 1000ms. Press the key once to see a confirmation prompt, then press again to confirm. This prevents accidental session loss.

Welcome Screen

Bindings that only fire on the welcome screen (before any agent session is open).

Ctrl+W, Ctrl+I, and Ctrl+Shift+I are only active on the welcome screen. Ctrl+R opens the session picker on both the welcome screen and inside an agent session (where it opens as a modal overlay, same as the /resume command). With ui.mouse_reporting_toggle enabled, Ctrl+R toggles mouse capture while the scrollback pane is focused; the picker is still on Ctrl+R from the prompt. Ctrl+S is the prompt stash inside a session (it does nothing on the welcome screen, which has no draft to set aside). Ctrl+Q is the same global Quit binding documented above, not a welcome-specific handler.

Agent Dashboard

Bindings while the Agent Dashboard is focused (Ctrl+\ or /dashboard).

Details (peek vs dispatch, search prefixes, persistence): Agent Dashboard.

Command Palette

Press Ctrl+P or ? to open the command palette -- a searchable list of common actions, each showing its key binding or slash command. It includes session actions, the extensions modal tabs (Hooks, Plugins, Marketplace, Skills, Workflows, MCP Servers), and more.

Type to filter, then press Enter to execute the selected action.

Shortcuts Bar

The bottom of the TUI displays a contextual shortcuts bar showing the most relevant key bindings for the current state. The hints change based on:

• Which pane is focused (scrollback vs. prompt)
• Whether the agent is currently running
• What type of entry is selected

Mouse Support

The TUI supports mouse interaction:

• Click on a scrollback entry to select it
• Scroll wheel to scroll through the scrollback
• Click on the prompt area to focus it
• Hover over the prompt to see a highlight (configurable via pager.toml)
• Middle click on Linux X11/XWayland to paste the PRIMARY selection

Quick Reference Card

When scrollback is focused (Simple mode — default)

Navigation:       Up/Down (prev/next entry)  Shift+Left/Right (prev/next turn)
Scrolling:        Ctrl+J/K (line)  PgUp/PgDn (page)  Ctrl+U/D (half page)
Focus prompt:     Space or any letter key (auto-focuses and types)

When scrollback is focused (Vim mode)

Navigation:       j/k (up/down)  H/L (prev/next turn)  K/J (viewport-top turn)  g/G (top/bottom)
Scrolling:        Ctrl+J/K (line)  Ctrl+U/D (half page; D=Shift+D in VSCode)  PgUp/PgDn (page)
Folding:          h/l (collapse/expand)  e (toggle)  E (all)
Content:          y (copy)  Y (copy cmd)  Enter (fullscreen)
View:             r (raw markdown)  Ctrl+E (thinking)
Focus prompt:     i, Tab, or Space

When prompt is focused

Send:             Enter
Newline:          Shift+Enter or Alt+Enter
Multiline:        Ctrl+M (toggle)
Paste:            Ctrl+V (text, files, screenshots on macOS/Linux)
Selected text:    Middle click or Shift+Insert (Linux X11/XWayland PRIMARY)
Paste image:      Alt+V (Windows only — for screenshots / "Copy Image")
Select all:       Cmd+A (macOS, Ghostty only — see note below)
Select text:      Shift+←/→ (char) · Alt+Shift+←/→ (word) ·
                  Cmd+Shift+←/→ (visual row) · Shift+Home/End (logical line) ·
                  Shift+↑/↓ (row)
Copy / Cut:       Cmd+C / Cmd+X (with a selection; Kitty-protocol terminals)
Leave:            Tab (back to scrollback)
Cancel (running): Ctrl+C (empty prompt; non-empty draft clears first)
Clear (idle):     Esc Esc within 800ms (non-empty prompt)
Rewind (idle):    Esc Esc within 800ms (empty prompt + messages)

The composer footer shows the newline chord next to Enter:send (or Enter:queue while a turn is running) once the draft is non-empty (including /btw and other arg-required slash commands). Over SSH, old tmux, or terminals that cannot tell Shift+Enter from Enter, the footer prefers Alt+Enter.

Cmd+Enter is not an advertised send or newline chord. Many terminals bind it to fullscreen, so SUPER is excluded from the Shift/Alt newline matcher and from the agent's bare-Enter send binding. When a terminal that speaks the Kitty keyboard protocol delivers SUPER+Enter, the composer still inserts a newline: the key misses send and lands in the textarea, which treats any Enter as a line break. Apple Terminal is a separate local path: CoreGraphics rescue treats held Cmd as modified Enter and inserts a newline on what arrives as bare Enter. Over SSH the Cmd/SUPER modifier never arrives (iTerm2 + tmux included), so the chord looks like bare Enter and sends. Remotely, use Alt+Enter, a trailing \ then Enter, or /ml.

With a selection active, typing / Enter / paste replace it, delete and word-kill chords delete just the selection, arrows collapse it to the matching edge (word/line moves continue from that edge), and Esc or Tab drop the highlight while still performing their normal action. Note Shift+←/→ only selects while the prompt is focused; with scrollback focused the same chords jump between turns (see Navigation above).

Cmd+A is gated to Ghostty. Grok's in-app Cmd+A handler is only wired up when the detected terminal is Ghostty. Other terminals either swallow Cmd+A at the terminal layer (Apple Terminal, default iTerm2) or apply their own in-terminal "Select All" behaviour (Kitty, WezTerm). On a non-Ghostty terminal, the binding does nothing and the key falls through to the terminal's native behaviour.

On Ghostty, add the one-line unbind to ~/.config/ghostty/config so the keystroke reaches the running TUI:

keybind = cmd+a=unbind

After Ghostty reloads (it watches the config file), Cmd+A in the prompt selects every character in the prompt buffer, including pasted image chips. Image chips are always path-free ([Image #N]); the filepath (when known) appears only in the image preview overlay on hover or when the cursor is on/right after the chip. [Image #N] text that comes back as plain text (Ctrl+K then Ctrl+Y, undo, a plain-text paste) re-attaches as a chip while the composer still holds the image; a placeholder for an image it no longer holds is sent as text with a toast saying so.

Always available

Command palette:  Ctrl+P or ?
Model picker:     Ctrl+M (from scrollback)
Cancel:           Ctrl+C (see Escape table)
Always-approve:   Ctrl+O (toggle YOLO)
New session:      Ctrl+N (press again, then choose normal/worktree)
Quit:             Ctrl+Q (or Ctrl+D in VSCode)