Keybindings

Keyboard shortcut system for the CrabCode TUI. Defaults plus user customization.

What it is

CrabCode ships with a built-in keybinding engine. Every UI action (submit, undo, autocomplete, confirm, scroll, etc.) has a unique action name that can be bound to one or more key combinations. Custom entries in ~/.crabcode/keybindings.json override the defaults.

When you see this doc

Following the keybindings tab from /help inside the TUI
While editing keybindings.json

Default core bindings (selected)

Bindings are scoped by context — the same key can trigger different actions in different contexts.

Global

Key	Action	Description
`Ctrl+C`	`app:interrupt`	Interrupt the model; press twice to quit
`Ctrl+D`	`app:exit`	Quit
`Ctrl+L`	`app:redraw`	Redraw the screen
`Ctrl+T`	`app:toggleTodos`	Toggle the todo panel
`Ctrl+O`	`app:toggleTranscript`	Toggle transcript view
`Ctrl+R`	`history:search`	Search session history

Chat (input box)

Key	Action	Description
`Enter`	`chat:submit`	Submit input
`Esc`	`chat:cancel`	Cancel / dismiss overlay
`↑` / `↓`	`history:previous` / `history:next`	Navigate input history
`Shift+Tab`	`chat:cycleMode`	Cycle interaction mode (falls back to `Meta+M` on some Windows terminals)
`Meta+P`	`chat:modelPicker`	Open model picker
`Meta+T`	`chat:thinkingToggle`	Toggle thinking effort
`Meta+O`	`chat:fastMode`	Toggle Fast mode
`Ctrl+_` or `Ctrl+Shift+-`	`chat:undo`	Undo input
`Ctrl+G` or `Ctrl+X Ctrl+E`	`chat:externalEditor`	Open current prompt in `$EDITOR`
`Ctrl+S`	`chat:stash`	Stash current input

Key	Action
`Tab`	`autocomplete:accept`
`Esc`	`autocomplete:dismiss`
`↑` / `↓`	`autocomplete:previous` / `autocomplete:next`

Browse the full default set via /help → keybindings tab inside the TUI.

Customize

Edit ~/.crabcode/keybindings.json:

json

{
  "bindings": {
    "chat:submit": ["enter", "cmd+enter"],
    "chat:cancel": ["escape"],
    "app:interrupt": ["ctrl+g"]
  }
}
{
  "bindings": {
    "chat:submit": ["enter", "cmd+enter"],
    "chat:cancel": ["escape"],
    "app:interrupt": ["ctrl+g"]
  }
}

Modifiers: ctrl, cmd, meta, alt, shift. Chords (two-key sequences): ["ctrl+x ctrl+s"] — space-separated means "press these in order".

Limits

Reserved keys cannot be rebound: Ctrl+C, Ctrl+D, Ctrl+M (terminals deliver Ctrl+M as Enter, so any binding to it conflicts) — see src/keybindings/reservedShortcuts.ts
Keys swallowed by the terminal / OS: Ctrl+Z (SIGTSTP), Ctrl+\ (SIGQUIT) and similar; you can still write a binding, but the event won't reach the app
Conflict detection: when duplicate bindings are detected at startup, crabcode --debug logs a warning