Quick reference

Category	Shortcut	Purpose
Navigation	`Ctrl+A` , `Ctrl+E` , `↑` `↓` `←` `→`	Move through text and history
Editing	`Ctrl+K` , `Ctrl+U` , `Ctrl+W`	Modify and edit text
Application control	`Ctrl+C` , `Ctrl+D` , `Ctrl+L`	Control Bob Shell's behavior
Special features	`Ctrl+Y` , `Ctrl+T` , `Ctrl+G`	Access advanced functionality

Efficiently move through text and command history:

Cursor movement

Shortcut	macOS Alternative	Description
`Ctrl+A` / `Home`		Move cursor to beginning of line
`Ctrl+E` / `End`		Move cursor to end of line
`Ctrl+B` / `Left Arrow`		Move cursor one character left
`Ctrl+F` / `Right Arrow`		Move cursor one character right
`Ctrl+Left Arrow`	`Option+Left Arrow`	Move cursor one word left
`Ctrl+Right Arrow`	`Option+Right Arrow`	Move cursor one word right

Shortcut	Alternative	Description
`Up Arrow`	`Ctrl+P`	Navigate up through input history
`Down Arrow`	`Ctrl+N`	Navigate down through input history

Editing shortcuts

Efficiently edit and modify text:

Text deletion

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl+H` / `Backspace`	Delete character to left of cursor
`Ctrl+D` / `Delete`	Delete character to right of cursor
`Ctrl+W` / `Ctrl+Backspace`	Delete word to left of cursor
`Ctrl+Delete`	Delete word to right of cursor
`Ctrl+U`	Delete from cursor to beginning of line
`Ctrl+K`	Delete from cursor to end of line

Text manipulation

Shortcut	Description
`\` + `Enter`	Insert a newline (when at end of line)
`Ctrl+V`	Paste clipboard content (text or image)
`Ctrl+X` / `Alt+Enter`	Open current input in external editor
`Tab`	Autocomplete current suggestion
`Esc` (double press)	Clear the input prompt

Application control

Control Bob Shell's core functionality:

Session management

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl+C`	Cancel ongoing request and clear input Press twice to exit application
`Ctrl+D`	Exit application (when input is empty) Press twice to confirm
`Ctrl+L`	Clear the screen
`Esc`	Close dialogs and suggestions

Mode toggles

Shortcut	Description
`!` (empty prompt)	Toggle shell mode
`Ctrl+Y`	Toggle auto-approval (YOLO mode) for all tool calls
`Ctrl+O`	Toggle debug console display
`Ctrl+S`	Toggle response truncation Allow long responses to print fully
`Ctrl+T`	Toggle tool descriptions display
`Tab`	Cycle through available modes

Special features

Access specialized functionality:

Suggestions and selections

Shortcut	Description
`Tab` / `Enter`	Accept selected suggestion
`Up Arrow`	Navigate up through suggestions
`Down Arrow`	Navigate down through suggestions

Radio button selection

Shortcut	Description
`Up Arrow` / `k`	Move selection up
`Down Arrow` / `j`	Move selection down
`Enter`	Confirm selection
`1-9`	Select item by number
Multi-digit numbers	Press digits in quick succession for items >9

IDE integration

Shortcut	Description
`Ctrl+G`	View context received from IDE

Platform-specific notes

macOS users

On macOS, many shortcuts use the Option key (also called Alt or ⌥) instead of Ctrl for word-based operations:

Use Option+Left/Right instead of Ctrl+Left/Right for word movement
Use Option+Backspace instead of Ctrl+W for deleting the previous word

Terminal compatibility

Some shortcuts may be intercepted by your terminal emulator before reaching Bob Shell:

If Ctrl+C doesn't work as expected, try Ctrl+C twice
If Ctrl+Left/Right doesn't work, check your terminal's keyboard settings

Keyboard shortcut tips

Learn incrementally: Start with basic navigation (Ctrl+A , Ctrl+E , ↑ ↓ ← →)
Practice deletion shortcuts: Ctrl+U and Ctrl+K are particularly useful
Use history navigation: Up/Down arrows save time when repeating commands
Try shell mode: Type ! at an empty prompt to quickly run shell commands
Customize your terminal: Some terminals allow remapping keys for better compatibility

Keyboard shortcut