Shortcuts
Every kittymux key and mouse gesture in one place, grouped by task, plus leader mode and the keymap overlay that lists your own shortcuts too.
Press ctrl+alt+/ at any time to open the keymap overlay. It reads your generated configuration, so it cannot drift from what is really bound. This page is the same information, grouped by what you want to do.
Where kittymux's keys live
kittymux-keys.conf is rendered from kittymux-keys.conf.tpl. To change a key, edit the template
and run install.sh again, or override a chord in your own kitty.conf below the kittymux
include lines. See Your own shortcuts.
Tabs and sessions
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
ctrl+shift+space | Kitty Home: every session operation. |
ctrl+alt+, and ctrl+alt+. | Previous and next session. |
ctrl+alt+shift+a | Last session. |
ctrl+alt+t and ctrl+alt+shift+t | New tab beside this one, and at the end. |
shift+← and shift+→ | Previous and next tab, within the session. |
alt+1 to 9, and alt+0 | Jump to tab N within the session; alt+0 is the last tab (not the scratch tab). |
ctrl+alt+` | Flip to the previously active tab. |
ctrl+alt+shift+← → ↑ ↓ | Move the tab. Arrows follow the bar: ← → on a horizontal bar, ↑ ↓ on a vertical one. Both always work. |
ctrl+alt+shift+s | Save the session now. |
Panes
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
ctrl+alt+h j k l | Focus the pane to the left, below, above and right. shift+alt+ an arrow does the same. |
ctrl+alt+o | The last pane. |
ctrl+alt+e | Number every pane, then press its digit to focus it. |
ctrl+alt+1 to 9, and ctrl+alt+0 | Focus pane N directly, using those numbers; ctrl+alt+0 is the last pane. |
ctrl+alt+shift+y | Number every pane, then press a digit to swap with it. |
ctrl+alt+enter and ctrl+shift+enter | Split below, and split to the right. |
ctrl+alt+z and alt+shift+= | Zoom a pane, and equalize (every split the same size again). |
alt+shift+h j k l | Resize a pane, about 3 columns a press. |
ctrl+alt+q | Close the pane. It asks if a process is running. |
ctrl+alt+d | Turn the pane into its own tab. |
ctrl+alt+shift+d | Send the pane to a tab you choose. |
ctrl+alt+shift+space | Command palette: find a tab, an agent that needs you, a conversation to reopen, a new agent or an action. See the command palette. |
ctrl+alt+shift+j | Join this whole tab into another as splits. See Tabs and panes. |
ctrl+alt+shift+c | Show or hide pane title bars. |
Agents
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
ctrl+alt+y | Jump to the next agent waiting on you, longest-waiting first. |
ctrl+alt+shift+q | Quick look: the peek card of the agent that has waited longest. ⏎ goes there, esc stays. |
ctrl+alt+v | Pick: what needs you, every agent, closed conversations and a new agent, in one list. |
ctrl+alt+g | Agent picker: every agent pane, with a live preview, status and message. |
ctrl+alt+shift+o, then a letter | Spawn c claude, x codex, d devin, u cursor, o opencode, a agy, g grok. With shift, a split on the right. |
ctrl+alt+shift+u | Reopen the agent conversation you closed last. It asks before resuming. |
ctrl+alt+shift+g | A new agent in its own git worktree and tab. |
ctrl+alt+; | Send a prompt to a background agent pane without switching to it. |
ctrl+alt+shift+semicolon | Native pane controls: swap neighbours, rotate, exchange sides, equalize. |
ctrl+alt+u | Usage HUD. |
Bar, deck and panel
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
ctrl+alt+b | The deck. See Peek, deck and panel. |
ctrl+alt+shift+b | Toggle the docked panel (Wayland). |
ctrl+alt+\ | Bar mode: full, slim rail, hidden. |
ctrl+alt+shift+e | Move the bar: left, bottom, top, right. Applies to this kitty only. |
ctrl+alt+shift+[ and ctrl+alt+shift+] | Narrower and wider sidebar. |
ctrl+alt+shift+l | Pick a layout preset: sidebar, rail, right-sidebar, bottom, top, zen. |
ctrl+alt+i and ctrl+alt+shift+i | Location pill, and its detail card. |
Scrollback and output
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
ctrl+alt+PgUp and ctrl+alt+PgDn | Scroll a page back and forward. |
ctrl+alt+Home and ctrl+alt+End | Go to the oldest output, and back to the live screen. |
ctrl+alt+[ and ctrl+alt+] | Jump between shell prompts in the scrollback. |
ctrl+alt+shift+/ | Show the last command's output in a pager. |
ctrl+alt+/ | The keymap overlay. |
kitty's own keys stay on. A few worth knowing: ctrl+shift+h opens the scrollback in a pager where / searches, ctrl+shift+g shows the last command's output, ctrl+shift+e opens a URL by letter, ctrl+shift+p then n picks a file:line, and ctrl+shift+f3 opens kitty's command palette, which searches every action.
When tmux has focus, only the keys tmux really binds pass through: shift+←, shift+→, ctrl+alt+←, ctrl+alt+→ and ctrl+alt+z. Everything else stays kitty's.
Mouse
| Gesture | Result |
|---|---|
| Click a tab | Activate it. A click still counts if your hand drifts up to about 14 pixels or you hold the button up to 1.5 seconds. |
| Right-click a tab | Open its peek card. |
| Double-click a tab | Rename it (kitty's own). |
| Middle-click a tab | Close a plain tab. A tab running an agent ignores it. |
| Drag a tab | Reorder. |
| Drag the bar's inner edge | Resize the bar. |
Click « or » in the header | Collapse to the rail, or expand. |
| Drag a pane's title bar | Move a split to a tab, to the bar's empty space, or onto another pane. |
ctrl+shift+click on src/app.py:42:7 | Open the file in your editor at that line. |
| Hover a deck or panel row | Preview that tab or pane. Click to go there. |
Leader mode
Leader mode is optional. Install with install.sh --leader, or --leader=ctrl+a for another prefix. Tap the leader, then one key. An unmapped key or two seconds of silence cancels it, and the bar shows a LEADER badge while it is armed. The default leader is ctrl+space.
| After the leader | Action |
|---|---|
h j k l, o | Focus a pane, last pane. |
\, -, z, =, x, d | Split right, split down, zoom, equalize, close pane, pane to tab. |
c n p 1…9 r X | New, next, previous and Nth tab, rename, close tab. |
s, P | Kitty Home, project picker. |
a w g ; | Agent picker, next waiting agent, new worktree agent, send prompt. |
b B u i e | Deck, docked panel, usage HUD, location pill, bar edge. |
? | The full card, generated from your leader configuration. |
The keymap overlay
ctrl+alt+/ shows every key, mouse gesture and kittymux command, in one, two or three columns depending on width.
- Type to search. All words must match, in any of section, key or description.
- Scroll with
↑↓,jkor the wheel.PgUpPgDn,spaceandbpage.gandGgo to the ends. - Close with
esc,qor the same chord again. The firstescclears a search and the next closes. - Your own shortcuts appear under YOURS sections. See Your own shortcuts.
kitty can bind a chord but never a held modifier, so there is no "hold ctrl and alt to show it". The overlay is one chord away.
Sessions and restore
Save a workspace and restore it, with each agent window asking to resume its own conversation. Autosave, templates and what does not come back.
Your own shortcuts
How kittymux treats the keys you already use: which chords it avoids, how to find and resolve clashes, and how to rebind a kittymux key.