Keybinds

Default keybinds

These are the defaults, read from packages/desktop/src/app/keybinds.zig. Override any of them under keybinds in your Verde config — see Remapping below.

App

Sidebar & panes

Pane cycling wraps at either end. When a pane is zoomed, cycling switches the zoomed pane without restoring the split layout.

Focus

Alt+arrow combos are no longer focus aliases — Alt+↑ / Alt+↓ now cycle between workspaces (see the sidebar table above).

Swap (rearrange the tiling)

Resize (grow)

Zoom

Workspace splits

Workspace splits have no direct default keybinds. With prefix mode enabled, Ctrl+B, then t creates a new chat and Ctrl+B, then Shift+T creates a separate top-level terminal pane. The v and - prefix chords create tiled splits of the configured default pane type (chat or terminal); Shift+V and Shift+- create the other type.

You can also use the pane header buttons: C| / C- for chat vertical / horizontal and T| / T- for terminal vertical / horizontal, or bind any split action directly under keybinds.workspace.

Terminal (inside a focused terminal pane)

Chat transcript scrolling

Transcript scrolling is direct — no inertia or velocity decay. When input stops, the view stops. Do not expect a multi-frame glide.

Prefix mode (tmux-style)

Prefix mode is off by default. When enabled, pressing the prefix chord (Ctrl+B by default) arms Verde for one keypress: the next key resolves against the prefix table below instead of reaching the focused pane. While armed, a one-line status bar appears along the bottom (PREFIX esc cancel Ctrl+B send prefix w workspace nav ? keybinds); press ? to open the full cheat sheet of every second key — including your own command scripts — without dropping the chord. Esc cancels, an unbound key is swallowed, and pressing the prefix twice sends the literal chord to the focused terminal (tmux send-prefix).

Every built-in command has a default seat in the prefix table, so turning it on exposes the whole command surface without remapping anything:

{ "keybinds": { "prefix": true } }

Change the prefix chord with a string (which also enables prefix mode), or use the object form for full control:

{
  "keybinds": {
    "prefix": {
      "enabled": true,
      "key": ["Ctrl+A", "Ctrl+B"],
      "defaults": true,
      "bindings": {
        "c": "new_thread",
        "g": { "command": "lazygit", "in": "pane" },
        "Shift+3": { "action": "workspace.select.3" },
        "z": null
      }
    }
  }
}

• key — one accelerator or an array. Any of them arms the prefix.

• defaults — set to false to drop the built-in table and start empty.

• bindings — keyed by the second key's accelerator ("x", "Shift+X", "Ctrl+Left", "Comma"). A string value is an action name; null removes a default; { "command": "..." } runs a shell script. Add in (or open) to choose where it runs:

  in	What happens
  omitted / background	Detached sh -lc in the project directory, with the project path as $1 (same as custom open.default actions). TUIs like lazygit will not show a pane.
  terminal	Types the command into the focused terminal. Falls back to pane if a terminal is not focused.
  pane	Opens a new terminal pane whose process is the command.
  horizontal / split_horizontal	Horizontal tiled split of the focused pane, then runs the command there.
  vertical / split_vertical	Vertical tiled split, then runs the command there.
  floating	Opens a floating quick terminal running the command.
  tab	New tab in the focused terminal dock. Falls back to pane if a terminal is not focused.

  Aliases: new_pane / new → pane; split / horizontal → split_horizontal; float / quick → floating; current / focused → terminal; detached → background.

Configured direct shortcuts work alongside prefix mode. Modifier state is exact: Ctrl+B then x is different from Ctrl+B then Ctrl+X, so release Ctrl before the second key unless the binding uses it.

Workspace menu

prefix w opens the herdr-style NAVIGATE workspace menu. The status bar switches to » NAVIGATE esc back Up Prev workspace Down Next workspace Tab Next pane …. Running any bound action closes the menu immediately; an unbound key leaves it open so you can choose again. Press Esc to close it without running anything.

Defaults: Up/Down previous/next workspace, Tab/Shift+Tab next/previous pane, h j k l focus, c new thread, v / - split the configured default pane type, Shift+V / Shift+- split the other type, x close, z zoom, p command palette, 1–0 select workspace, ? cheat sheet.

The table is overridable exactly like bindings, under "navigate":

{ "keybinds": { "prefix": { "navigate": { "Up": null, "g": { "command": "lazygit" } } } } }

Default prefix table

Terminal and chat actions only apply while a pane of that kind is focused, exactly like their direct shortcuts.

Prefix action names

Action names mirror the remapping keys below, joined with . for nested groups: refresh, open, open_editor, new_thread, new_terminal, workspace.add, command_palette, companion, sidebar, sidebar_hidden, browser, chat_up, chat_down, chat_page_up, chat_page_down, chat.model_picker, chat.run_config, terminal.toggle, prefix.keybinds, prefix.navigate, and terminal.<key> for every terminal binding. The dynamic split names are workspace.split_default_* and workspace.split_alternate_*, alongside every workspace.<key>. Positional actions take a 1-based ordinal: workspace.select.N, workspace.pane_select.N, workspace.active_select.N.

Remapping

Override any binding under keybinds in your verde.json. On Unix it is under $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/verde or ~/.config/verde; on Windows it is under %APPDATA%\Verde. Add "$schema": "https://verdeai.dev/config.schema.json" at the root of that file for editor autocomplete of every keybind and prefix action. Use a string for one shortcut, or a string array for multiple shortcuts on the same action:

Ctrl+T and Ctrl+Shift+T are unbound by default. To opt back into those direct shortcuts, use new_thread and workspace.split_terminal_horizontal as shown below.

{
  "keybinds": {
    "new_thread": "CommandOrControl+T",
    "browser": "Ctrl+Shift+B",
    "companion": "Ctrl+Shift+Space",
    "workspace": {
      "split_terminal_horizontal": "CommandOrControl+Shift+T",
      "close_current": "CommandOrControl+Shift+W",
      "focus_up": "Ctrl+K",
      "focus_down": "Ctrl+J",
      "focus_left": "Ctrl+H",
      "focus_right": "Ctrl+L",
      "pane_previous": "Ctrl+Shift+Tab",
      "pane_next": "Ctrl+Tab",
      "active_select": ["Ctrl+Shift+1", "Ctrl+Shift+2", "Ctrl+Shift+3", "Ctrl+Shift+4", "Ctrl+Shift+5", "Ctrl+Shift+6", "Ctrl+Shift+7", "Ctrl+Shift+8", "Ctrl+Shift+9", "Ctrl+Shift+0"],
      "pane_select": ["Ctrl+1", "Ctrl+2", "Ctrl+3", "Ctrl+4", "Ctrl+5", "Ctrl+6", "Ctrl+7", "Ctrl+8", "Ctrl+9", "Ctrl+0"],
      "previous": "Alt+Up",
      "next": "Alt+Down",
      "move_left": "Ctrl+Shift+H",
      "move_right": "Ctrl+Shift+L",
      "move_up": "Ctrl+Shift+K",
      "move_down": "Ctrl+Shift+J",
      "toggle_maximize": "Alt+Z",
      "close": ["CommandOrControl+W", "Alt+X"],
      "select": ["Alt+1", "Alt+2", "Alt+3", "Alt+4", "Alt+5", "Alt+6", "Alt+7", "Alt+8", "Alt+9", "Alt+0"]
    },
    "terminal": {
      "new_tab": "CommandOrControl+Alt+T",
      "close": "CommandOrControl+Shift+W",
      "rename_tab": "CommandOrControl+Shift+R",
      "tab_previous": "CommandOrControl+Shift+PageUp",
      "tab_next": "CommandOrControl+Shift+PageDown",
      "focus_up": "CommandOrControl+Alt+Up",
      "focus_down": "CommandOrControl+Alt+Down",
      "focus_left": "CommandOrControl+Alt+Left",
      "focus_right": "CommandOrControl+Alt+Right"
    }
  }
}

workspace.pane_select is positional: the first shortcut focuses the first pane shown under the current workspace in the sidebar, the second shortcut focuses the second pane, and so on.

workspace.active_select follows the sorted order currently shown in the sidebar's global Active section, including rows from other workspaces.

Disabling a binding

Set the binding to null, an empty string, or an empty array to disable it:

{
  "keybinds": {
    "terminal": {
      "toggle": null,
      "split_up": null,
      "split_down": null,
      "split_left": null,
      "split_right": null
    }
  }
}

Binding keys reference

The keybinds config uses the same accelerator grammar as the desktop defaults. The top-level keys group actions by surface; the inner values are one shortcut or an array of shortcuts.

Keybinds are loaded on startup, on app refresh (F5, Ctrl+Shift+R, or prefix then r), and whenever verde.json changes on disk. Refresh is app-owned even when a terminal TUI is focused. See Configuration & state for the hosted verde.json JSON Schema (https://verdeai.dev/config.schema.json) and where state lives.