# Interactive mode¶
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> Complete reference for keyboard shortcuts, input modes, and interactive features in Claude Code sessions.¶
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## Keyboard shortcuts¶
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<Note>¶
Keyboard shortcuts may vary by platform and terminal. Press `?` to see available shortcuts for your environment.¶
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**macOS users**: Option/Alt key shortcuts (`Alt+B`, `Alt+F`, `Alt+Y`, `Alt+M`, `Alt+P`) require configuring Option as Meta in your terminal:¶
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* **iTerm2**: Settings → Profiles → Keys → Set Left/Right Option key to "Esc+"¶
* **Terminal.app**: Settings → Profiles → Keyboard → Check "Use Option as Meta Key"¶
* **VS Code**: Settings → Profiles → Keys → Set Left/Right Option key to "Esc+"¶
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See [Terminal configuration](/en/terminal-config) for details.¶
</Note>¶
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### General controls¶
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| 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` or `Cmd+V` (iTerm2) or `Alt+V` (Windows) | Paste image from clipboard | Pastes an image or path to an image file |¶
| `Ctrl+B` | Background running tasks | Backgrounds bash commands and agents. Tmux users press twice |¶
| `Left/Right arrows` | Cycle through dialog tabs | Navigate between tabs in permission dialogs and menus |¶
| `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 |¶
| `Option+T` (macOS) or `Alt+T` (Windows/Linux) | Toggle extended thinking | Enable or disable extended thinking mode. Run `/terminal-setup` first to enable this shortcut |¶
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### Text editing¶
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| Shortcut | Description | Context |¶
| :----------------------- | :--------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |¶
| `Ctrl+K` | Delete to end of line | Stores deleted text for pasting |¶
| `Ctrl+U` | Delete entire line | Stores deleted text for pasting |¶
| `Ctrl+Y` | Paste deleted text | Paste text deleted with `Ctrl+K` or `Ctrl+U` |¶
| `Alt+Y` (after `Ctrl+Y`) | Cycle paste history | After pasting, cycle through previously deleted text. Requires [Option as Meta](#keyboard-shortcuts) on macOS |¶
| `Alt+B` | Move cursor back one word | Word navigation. Requires [Option as Meta](#keyboard-shortcuts) on macOS |¶
| `Alt+F` | Move cursor forward one word | Word navigation. Requires [Option as Meta](#keyboard-shortcuts) on macOS |¶
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### Theme and display¶
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| Shortcut | Description | Context |¶
| :------- | :----------------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |¶
| `Ctrl+T` | Toggle syntax highlighting for code blocks | Only works inside the `/theme` picker menu. Controls whether code in Claude's responses uses syntax coloring |¶
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<Note>¶
Syntax highlighting is only available in the native build of Claude Code.¶
</Note>¶
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### Multiline input¶
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| Method | Shortcut | Context |¶
| :--------------- | :------------- | :------------------------------------------------------ |¶
| Quick escape | `\` + `Enter` | Works in all terminals |¶
| macOS default | `Option+Enter` | Default on macOS |¶
| Shift+Enter | `Shift+Enter` | Works out of the box in iTerm2, WezTerm, Ghostty, Kitty |¶
| Control sequence | `Ctrl+J` | Line feed character for multiline |¶
| Paste mode | Paste directly | For code blocks, logs |¶
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<Tip>¶
Shift+Enter works without configuration in iTerm2, WezTerm, Ghostty, and Kitty. For other terminals (VS Code, Alacritty, Zed, Warp), run `/terminal-setup` to install the binding.¶
</Tip>¶
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### Quick commands¶
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| Shortcut | Description | Notes |¶
| :----------- | :---------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------ |¶
| `/` 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 |¶
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## Vim editor mode¶
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Enable vim-style editing with `/vim` command or configure permanently via `/config`.¶
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### Mode switching¶
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| 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 |¶
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### Navigation (NORMAL mode)¶
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| 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 |¶
| `f{char}` | Jump to next occurrence of character |¶
| `F{char}` | Jump to previous occurrence of character |¶
| `t{char}` | Jump to just before next occurrence of character |¶
| `T{char}` | Jump to just after previous occurrence of character |¶
| `;` | Repeat last f/F/t/T motion |¶
| `,` | Repeat last f/F/t/T motion in reverse |¶
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### Editing (NORMAL mode)¶
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| 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 |¶
| `yy`/`Y` | Yank (copy) line |¶
| `yw`/`ye`/`yb` | Yank word/to end/back |¶
| `p` | Paste after cursor |¶
| `P` | Paste before cursor |¶
| `>>` | Indent line |¶
| `<<` | Dedent line |¶
| `J` | Join lines |¶
| `.` | Repeat last change |¶
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### Text objects (NORMAL mode)¶
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Text objects work with operators like `d`, `c`, and `y`:¶
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| Command | Action |¶
| :-------- | :--------------------------------------- |¶
| `iw`/`aw` | Inner/around word |¶
| `iW`/`aW` | Inner/around WORD (whitespace-delimited) |¶
| `i"`/`a"` | Inner/around double quotes |¶
| `i'`/`a'` | Inner/around single quotes |¶
| `i(`/`a(` | Inner/around parentheses |¶
| `i[`/`a[` | Inner/around brackets |¶
| `i{`/`a{` | Inner/around braces |¶
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## Command history¶
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Claude Code maintains command history for the current session:¶
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* 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¶
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### Reverse search with Ctrl+R¶
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Press `Ctrl+R` to interactively search through your command history:¶
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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¶
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The search displays matching commands with the search term highlighted, making it easy to find and reuse previous inputs.¶
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## Background bash commands¶
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Claude Code supports running bash commands in the background, allowing you to continue working while long-running processes execute.¶
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### How backgrounding works¶
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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.¶
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To run commands in the background, you can either:¶
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* 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.)¶
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**Key features:**¶
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* 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¶
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To disable all background task functionality, set the `CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS` environment variable to `1`. See [Environment variables](/en/settings#environment-variables) for details.¶
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**Common backgrounded commands:**¶
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* Build tools (webpack, vite, make)¶
* Package managers (npm, yarn, pnpm)¶
* Test runners (jest, pytest)¶
* Development servers¶
* Long-running processes (docker, terraform)¶
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### Bash mode with `!` prefix¶
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Run bash commands directly without going through Claude by prefixing your input with `!`:¶
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```bash theme={null}¶
! npm test¶
! git status¶
! ls -la¶
```¶
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Bash mode:¶
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* 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¶
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This is useful for quick shell operations while maintaining conversation context.¶
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## See also¶
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* [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¶
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---¶
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> To find navigation and other pages in this documentation, fetch the llms.txt file at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt