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Shell Keybindings Reference

Zsh with vi-mode and productivity shortcuts

Vi Mode

Our shell uses vi-mode for powerful text editing right in the command line.

Mode Indicators

Insert Mode: Beam cursor, ❯ prompt symbol
Normal Mode: Block cursor, yellow ❮ prompt symbol, vi commands available

Switching Modes

Key	Action	From Mode
`ESC`	Enter Normal mode	Insert
`i`	Enter Insert mode	Normal
`a`	Append mode	Normal
`A`	Append at line end	Normal
`I`	Insert at line start	Normal

Normal Mode Commands

Movement

Key	Action	Description
`h`	Move left	Character left
`l`	Move right	Character right
`w`	Next word	Word forward
`b`	Previous word	Word backward
`e`	Word end	End of word
`0`	Line start	Beginning of line
`$`	Line end	End of line
`^`	First non-blank	First character

Editing

Key	Action	Description
`x`	Delete char	Delete under cursor
`X`	Delete before	Delete before cursor
`dd`	Delete line	Clear whole line
`D`	Delete to end	Delete to line end
`dw`	Delete word	Delete word forward
`db`	Delete word back	Delete word backward
`cc`	Change line	Replace whole line
`C`	Change to end	Replace to line end
`cw`	Change word	Replace word

Copy/Paste

Key	Action	Description
`yy`	Yank line	Copy entire line
`yw`	Yank word	Copy word
`p`	Paste after	Paste after cursor
`P`	Paste before	Paste before cursor

Undo/Redo

Key	Action	Description
`u`	Undo	Undo last change
`C-r`	Redo	Redo undone change

Insert Mode Shortcuts

Text Manipulation

Key	Action	Description
`C-w`	Delete word	Delete word backward
`C-u`	Delete to start	Clear to line beginning
`C-k`	Delete to end	Clear to line end
`C-a`	Move to start	Jump to line beginning
`C-e`	Move to end	Jump to line end
`C-f`	Move right	Forward one character
`C-b`	Move left	Backward one character

History

Key	Action	Description
`C-r`	History search	Fuzzy search history
`C-p`	Previous command	Up in history
`C-n`	Next command	Down in history
`↑`	Previous command	History up
`↓`	Next command	History down

Completion

Key	Action	Description
`TAB`	Complete	Auto-completion
`TAB TAB`	Show options	List all completions
`C-i`	Complete (alt)	Same as TAB
`C-d`	List choices	Show possibilities

Special Features

FZF Integration

Key	Action	Description
`C-r`	History search	Fuzzy history search
`C-t`	File picker	Insert file path
`M-c`	CD widget	Change directory

Key	Action	Description
`M-.`	Last argument	Insert last arg from previous
`M-h`	CD to parent	Go up one directory
`M-l`	Accept suggestion	Complete autosuggest

Custom Keybindings

Quick Commands

Key	Action	Description
`C-x C-e`	Edit command	Open current line in `$EDITOR` (works in either mode)
`ESC` `v`	Edit command	Same, from Normal mode (vim habit)
`C-q`	Push line	Stash line, run something else, get it back

C-q is also the multiline rescue: at a ∙ continuation prompt it pulls the whole half-typed construct (for/while/if…) back into ONE editable buffer instead of leaving earlier lines frozen.

Productivity

Key	Action	Description
`C-z`	Toggle background	fg/bg last job
`C-l`	Clear screen	Clear terminal

Plugin Shortcuts

zsh-autosuggestions

Key	Action	Description
`→`	Accept suggestion	Complete the suggestion
`M-f`	Accept word	Take one word
`M-l`	Accept line	Take whole suggestion
`C-g`	Clear suggestion	Dismiss suggestion

zsh-syntax-highlighting

Visual feedback only - no keybindings:

Green: Valid commands
Red: Invalid commands
Yellow: Strings
Blue: Arguments

z (Directory Jumper)

Command	Action	Example
`z pattern`	Jump to directory	`z proj`
`z -l pattern`	List matches	`z -l doc`
`z -c pattern`	Restrict to subdirs	`z -c src`
`z -e pattern`	Echo best match	`z -e dot`

Terminal Control

Job Control

Key	Action	Description
`C-c`	Interrupt	Kill current process
`C-\`	Quit	Force quit (SIGQUIT)
`C-s`	History search	Forward incremental search (flow control is off)
`C-z`	Suspend	Background process
`C-d`	EOF/Exit	Exit shell or send EOF

Terminal flow control (C-s pause / C-q resume) is disabled via setopt NO_FLOW_CONTROL so both keys reach the line editor: C-s searches history forward, C-q is push-line (see Quick Commands).

Screen Control

Key	Action	Description
`C-l`	Clear	Clear screen
`C-j`	New line	Enter/Return
`C-m`	New line (alt)	Enter/Return

Quick Reference Card

Most Used

# History search
C-r         # Fuzzy search history

# File/Directory
C-t         # Insert file path
M-c         # Change directory

# Editing
C-w         # Delete word backward
C-u         # Clear to line start
C-k         # Clear to line end

# Navigation
C-a         # Jump to start
C-e         # Jump to end

# Vi mode
ESC         # Normal mode
i           # Insert mode

Power User

# Vi normal mode
/pattern    # Search in line
n           # Next match
.           # Repeat last

# Advanced editing
ci"         # Change inside quotes
da(         # Delete around parens
yi{         # Yank inside braces

# Marks
ma          # Set mark 'a'
`a          # Jump to mark 'a'

Tips and Tricks

Efficient Editing

Quick fixes: Use ESC then b to go back and fix typos
Clear line: C-u in insert mode or dd in normal mode
History search: C-r then type any part of command
Smart completion: Type few chars then TAB

Jump words: M-f forward, M-b backward
Directory jump: z partial-name to jump anywhere
Quick parent: .. or ... for parent directories
Last location: cd - to toggle directories

Integration

FZF everywhere: C-r for history, C-t for files
Edit complex: C-x C-e to edit in Neovim
Quick git: C-g for status (custom binding)
Background jobs: C-z to suspend, fg to resume

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