# Interactive mode¶
¶
> Complete reference for keyboard shortcuts, input modes, and interactive features in Claude Code sessions.¶
¶
## Keyboard shortcuts¶
¶
<Note>¶
Keyboard shortcuts may vary by platform and terminal. Press `?` to see available shortcuts for your environment. For example, Option key combinations on macOS may require configuring your terminal to use Option as a meta/escape key.¶
</Note>¶
¶
### General controls¶
¶
| Shortcut | Description | Context |¶
| :-------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------- |¶
| `Ctrl+C` | Cancel current input or generation | Standard interrupt |¶
| `Ctrl+D` | Exit Claude Code session | EOF signal |¶
| `Ctrl+L` | Clear terminal screen | Keeps conversation history |¶
| `Ctrl+O` | Toggle verbose output | Shows detailed tool usage and execution |¶
| `Ctrl+R` | Reverse search command history | Search through previous commands interactively |¶
| `Ctrl+V` (macOS/Linux) or `Alt+V` (Windows) | Paste image from clipboard | Pastes an image or path to an image file |¶
| `Up/Down arrows` | Navigate command history | Recall previous inputs |¶
| `Esc` + `Esc` | Rewind the code/conversation | Restore the code and/or conversation to a previous point |¶
| `Shift+Tab` or `Alt+M` (some configurations) | Toggle permission modes | Switch between Auto-Accept Mode, Plan Mode, and normal mode |¶
| `Option+P` (macOS) or `Alt+P` (Windows/Linux) | Switch model | Switch models without clearing your prompt |¶
¶
### Multiline input¶
¶
| Method | Shortcut | Context |¶
| :--------------- | :------------- | :-------------------------------- |¶
| Quick escape | `\` + `Enter` | Works in all terminals |¶
| macOS default | `Option+Enter` | Default on macOS |¶
| Terminal setup | `Shift+Enter` | After `/terminal-setup` |¶
| Control sequence | `Ctrl+J` | Line feed character for multiline |¶
| Paste mode | Paste directly | For code blocks, logs |¶
¶
<Tip>¶
Configure your preferred line break behavior in terminal settings. Run `/terminal-setup` to install Shift+Enter binding for iTerm2 and VS Code terminals.¶
</Tip>¶
¶
### Quick commands¶
¶
| Shortcut | Description | Notes |¶
| :----------- | :--------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------ |¶
| `#` at start | Memory shortcut - add to CLAUDE.md | Prompts for file selection |¶
| `/` at start | Slash command | See [slash commands](/en/slash-commands) |¶
| `!` at start | Bash mode | Run commands directly and add execution output to the session |¶
| `@` | File path mention | Trigger file path autocomplete |¶
¶
## Vim editor mode¶
¶
Enable vim-style editing with `/vim` command or configure permanently via `/config`.¶
¶
### Mode switching¶
¶
| Command | Action | From mode |¶
| :------ | :-------------------------- | :-------- |¶
| `Esc` | Enter NORMAL mode | INSERT |¶
| `i` | Insert before cursor | NORMAL |¶
| `I` | Insert at beginning of line | NORMAL |¶
| `a` | Insert after cursor | NORMAL |¶
| `A` | Insert at end of line | NORMAL |¶
| `o` | Open line below | NORMAL |¶
| `O` | Open line above | NORMAL |¶
¶
### Navigation (NORMAL mode)¶
¶
| Command | Action |¶
| :-------------- | :------------------------ |¶
| `h`/`j`/`k`/`l` | Move left/down/up/right |¶
| `w` | Next word |¶
| `e` | End of word |¶
| `b` | Previous word |¶
| `0` | Beginning of line |¶
| `$` | End of line |¶
| `^` | First non-blank character |¶
| `gg` | Beginning of input |¶
| `G` | End of input |¶
¶
### Editing (NORMAL mode)¶
¶
| Command | Action |¶
| :------------- | :---------------------- |¶
| `x` | Delete character |¶
| `dd` | Delete line |¶
| `D` | Delete to end of line |¶
| `dw`/`de`/`db` | Delete word/to end/back |¶
| `cc` | Change line |¶
| `C` | Change to end of line |¶
| `cw`/`ce`/`cb` | Change word/to end/back |¶
| `.` | Repeat last change |¶
¶
## Command history¶
¶
Claude Code maintains command history for the current session:¶
¶
* History is stored per working directory¶
* Cleared with `/clear` command¶
* Use Up/Down arrows to navigate (see keyboard shortcuts above)¶
* **Note**: History expansion (`!`) is disabled by default¶
¶
### Reverse search with Ctrl+R¶
¶
Press `Ctrl+R` to interactively search through your command history:¶
¶
1. **Start search**: Press `Ctrl+R` to activate reverse history search¶
2. **Type query**: Enter text to search for in previous commands - the search term will be highlighted in matching results¶
3. **Navigate matches**: Press `Ctrl+R` again to cycle through older matches¶
4. **Accept match**:¶
* Press `Tab` or `Esc` to accept the current match and continue editing¶
* Press `Enter` to accept and execute the command immediately¶
5. **Cancel search**:¶
* Press `Ctrl+C` to cancel and restore your original input¶
* Press `Backspace` on empty search to cancel¶
¶
The search displays matching commands with the search term highlighted, making it easy to find and reuse previous inputs.¶
¶
## Background bash commands¶
¶
Claude Code supports running bash commands in the background, allowing you to continue working while long-running processes execute.¶
¶
### How backgrounding works¶
¶
When Claude Code runs a command in the background, it runs the command asynchronously and immediately returns a background task ID. Claude Code can respond to new prompts while the command continues executing in the background.¶
¶
To run commands in the background, you can either:¶
¶
* Prompt Claude Code to run a command in the background¶
* Press Ctrl+B to move a regular Bash tool invocation to the background. (Tmux users must press Ctrl+B twice due to tmux's prefix key.)¶
¶
**Key features:**¶
¶
* Output is buffered and Claude can retrieve it using the BashOutput tool¶
* Background tasks have unique IDs for tracking and output retrieval¶
* Background tasks are automatically cleaned up when Claude Code exits¶
¶
**Common backgrounded commands:**¶
¶
* Build tools (webpack, vite, make)¶
* Package managers (npm, yarn, pnpm)¶
* Test runners (jest, pytest)¶
* Development servers¶
* Long-running processes (docker, terraform)¶
¶
### Bash mode with `!` prefix¶
¶
Run bash commands directly without going through Claude by prefixing your input with `!`:¶
¶
```bash theme={null}¶
! npm test¶
! git status¶
! ls -la¶
```¶
¶
Bash mode:¶
¶
* Adds the command and its output to the conversation context¶
* Shows real-time progress and output¶
* Supports the same `Ctrl+B` backgrounding for long-running commands¶
* Does not require Claude to interpret or approve the command¶
¶
This is useful for quick shell operations while maintaining conversation context.¶
¶
## See also¶
¶
* [Slash commands](/en/slash-commands) - Interactive session commands¶
* [Checkpointing](/en/checkpointing) - Rewind Claude's edits and restore previous states¶
* [CLI reference](/en/cli-reference) - Command-line flags and options¶
* [Settings](/en/settings) - Configuration options¶
* [Memory management](/en/memory) - Managing CLAUDE.md files¶
¶
¶
---¶
¶
> To find navigation and other pages in this documentation, fetch the llms.txt file at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt