Keybindings Reference

Complete keyboard shortcut reference for TUIOS window management

Complete keyboard shortcut reference for TUIOS. All keybindings are customizable through the configuration file.

The leader key (default: Ctrl+B) is configurable via the leader_key option in your config file.

Modes

TUIOS has two main modes:

• Window Management Mode - Navigate and manage windows (default on startup)
• Terminal Mode - Input goes directly to the focused terminal

Key	Action
i or Enter	Enter Terminal Mode
Ctrl+B then d or Esc	Return to Window Management Mode (from Terminal Mode)
? (Window Mode) or Ctrl+B ? (universal)	Toggle help overlay
q (Window Mode) or Ctrl+B q (universal)	Quit TUIOS

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Window Management

Key	Action
n	Create new window
w or x	Close focused window
r	Rename focused window
m	Minimize focused window
Shift+M	Restore all minimized windows
Tab	Focus next window
Shift+Tab	Focus previous window
1-9	Select window by number
Shift+1-9 or !@#$%^&*(	Restore minimized window by number

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Workspaces

TUIOS supports 9 workspaces for organizing windows.

macOS

Key	Action
Option+1 through Option+9	Switch to workspace 1-9
Option+Shift+1 through Option+Shift+9	Move window to workspace and follow

In your terminal, you can still type Option key unicode characters (¡™£¢∞§¶•ª) in Terminal Mode.

Linux

Key	Action
Alt+1 through Alt+9	Switch to workspace 1-9
Alt+Shift+1 through Alt+Shift+9	Move window to workspace and follow

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Window Layout

Manual Snapping (Non-Tiling Mode)

Keyboard Snapping

Key	Action
h	Snap window to left half
l	Snap window to right half
f	Fullscreen window
u	Unsnap/restore window
1	Snap to top-left corner
2	Snap to top-right corner
3	Snap to bottom-left corner
4	Snap to bottom-right corner

Mouse Edge Snapping

In floating mode (non-tiling), drag a window to the screen edges to snap it:

Edge	Action
Top center	Fullscreen
Left edge	Snap to left half
Right edge	Snap to right half
Top-left corner	Snap to top-left quarter
Top-right corner	Snap to top-right quarter
Bottom-left corner	Snap to bottom-left quarter
Bottom-right corner	Snap to bottom-right quarter

The edge detection zone is 5 pixels from the screen edge. Simply drag a window by its title bar and release when the cursor reaches the desired edge.

Tiling Mode

TUIOS uses Binary Space Partitioning (BSP) for automatic tiling. Windows are arranged in an alternating vertical/horizontal split pattern (spiral layout).

Key	Action
t	Toggle automatic tiling mode
Shift+H or Ctrl+Left	Swap with window to the left
Shift+L or Ctrl+Right	Swap with window to the right
Shift+K or Ctrl+Up	Swap with window above
Shift+J or Ctrl+Down	Swap with window below
< or Shift+,	Decrease master window width (from right edge)
> or Shift+.	Increase master window width (from right edge)
{ or Shift+[	Decrease focused window height (from bottom edge)
} or Shift+]	Increase focused window height (from bottom edge)
,	Decrease master window width (from left edge)
.	Increase master window width (from left edge)
[	Decrease focused window height (from top edge)
]	Increase focused window height (from top edge)

BSP Split Controls

These commands are available in tiling mode via the prefix key:

Key Sequence	Action
Ctrl+B -	Split focused window horizontally (top/bottom)
Ctrl+B | or \	Split focused window vertically (left/right)
Ctrl+B R	Rotate split direction at focused window
Ctrl+B =	Equalize all splits (reset to 50/50 ratios)

The dock shows the next split direction (V for vertical, H for horizontal) when tiling mode is active.

BSP Preselection

Control where the next window spawns relative to the focused window:

Key Sequence	Action
Alt+h	Next window appears left of focused
Alt+l	Next window appears right of focused
Alt+k	Next window appears above focused
Alt+j	Next window appears below focused

On macOS, use Option+h/l/k/j instead of Alt+h/l/k/j.

After preselecting a direction, create a new window with n or Ctrl+B c. The preselection is consumed after one window creation.

Note: Preselection only works when tiling mode is enabled (press t to enable).

Use Case: Creating asymmetric layouts (sidebars, specific window placement).

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Copy Mode

Enter copy mode with Ctrl+B [ to navigate scrollback and select text using vim-style commands.

Basic Navigation

Key	Action
Ctrl+B [	Enter copy mode
h j k l	Move cursor left/down/up/right
w b e	Word forward / word backward / word end
0 ^ $	Start of line / first non-blank / end of line
gg	Jump to top of scrollback
G	Jump to bottom (live output)
{number}G	Jump to line number (e.g., 10G)
{ }	Jump to previous/next paragraph
Ctrl+U Ctrl+D	Half page up/down
Ctrl+B Ctrl+F	Full page up/down
i	Return to terminal mode
q or Esc	Exit copy mode

Count Prefix

Prefix any motion with a number to repeat it:

• 10j - Move down 10 lines
• 5w - Move forward 5 words
• 3{ - Jump up 3 paragraphs

Character Search

Key	Action
f{char}	Find next occurrence of char on line
F{char}	Find previous occurrence of char on line
t{char}	Move cursor before next char
T{char}	Move cursor after previous char
;	Repeat last character search
,	Repeat last search (opposite direction)

Search

Key	Action
/	Search forward
?	Search backward
n	Next match
N	Previous match
Ctrl+L	Clear search highlights

Visual Selection

Key	Action
v	Enter visual character mode
V	Enter visual line mode
y or c	Yank (copy) selection to clipboard
Esc or q	Exit visual mode

Other Commands

Key	Action
%	Jump to matching bracket

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Prefix Commands

Press Ctrl+B, release, then press the command key (tmux-style).

The leader key (Ctrl+B by default) is configurable via the leader_key option in your config file.

Main Prefix (Ctrl+B)

Key Sequence	Action
Ctrl+B c	Create new window
Ctrl+B x	Close current window
Ctrl+B , or r	Rename window
Ctrl+B n or Tab	Next window
Ctrl+B p or Shift+Tab	Previous window
Ctrl+B 0-9	Jump to window
Ctrl+B Space	Toggle tiling mode
Ctrl+B z	Fullscreen current window
Ctrl+B w	Enter workspace prefix menu
Ctrl+B m	Enter minimize prefix menu
Ctrl+B t	Enter window prefix menu
Ctrl+B D	Enter debug prefix menu
Ctrl+B T	Enter tape manager prefix menu
Ctrl+B [	Enter copy mode
Ctrl+B s	Enter scrollback browser
Ctrl+B d or Esc	Detach (exit terminal mode)
Ctrl+B q	Quit TUIOS
Ctrl+B ?	Toggle help
Ctrl+B Ctrl+B	Send literal Ctrl+B to terminal

Workspace Prefix (Ctrl+B w)

Key Sequence	Action
Ctrl+B w 1-9	Switch to workspace
Ctrl+B w Shift+1-9	Move window to workspace and follow
Ctrl+B w Esc	Cancel

Minimize Prefix (Ctrl+B m)

Key Sequence	Action
Ctrl+B m m	Minimize focused window
Ctrl+B m 1-9	Restore minimized window by number
Ctrl+B m Shift+M	Restore all minimized windows
Ctrl+B m Esc	Cancel

Window Prefix (Ctrl+B t)

Alternative prefix-based access to window commands:

Key Sequence	Action
Ctrl+B t n	Create new window
Ctrl+B t x	Close window
Ctrl+B t r	Rename window
Ctrl+B t Tab	Next window
Ctrl+B t Shift+Tab	Previous window
Ctrl+B t t	Toggle tiling mode
Ctrl+B t Esc	Cancel

Tape Prefix (Ctrl+B T)

Record and manage tape sessions:

Key Sequence	Action
Ctrl+B T m	Open tape manager
Ctrl+B T r	Start recording (prompts for name)
Ctrl+B T s	Stop recording and save
Ctrl+B T Esc	Cancel tape menu

Debug Prefix (Ctrl+B D)

Access debug and development tools:

Key Sequence	Action
Ctrl+B D l	Toggle log viewer
Ctrl+B D c	Toggle cache statistics
Ctrl+B D k	Toggle showkeys overlay
Ctrl+B D a	Toggle animations
Ctrl+B D Esc	Cancel

Log Viewer Keys:

• q, Esc - Exit log viewer
• j, k, ↑, ↓ - Scroll up/down one line
• Ctrl+U, Ctrl+D, PgUp, PgDn - Scroll half page
• g, Home - Go to top
• G, End - Go to bottom

Cache Statistics Keys:

• q, Esc, c - Exit cache stats viewer
• r - Reset cache statistics

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Mouse Controls

• Left Click - Focus window
• Left Drag - Move window (non-tiling) or swap windows (tiling)
• Right Drag - Resize window (non-tiling only)
• Title Bar Buttons - Minimize, maximize, or close window
• Click Dock Item - Restore minimized window
• Copy Mode Click - Move cursor to position
• Copy Mode Drag - Select text (enters visual mode)
• Mouse Wheel ↑ - Enter scrollback mode

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Customization

All keybindings can be customized in the configuration file.

Quick Customization

# Edit your keybindings
tuios config edit

# View current configuration
tuios keybinds list

# View only your customizations
tuios keybinds list-custom

Configuration Example

[keybindings]
leader_key = "ctrl+b"  # Change leader key

[keybindings.window_management]
new_window = ["n", "ctrl+n"]  # Multiple bindings
close_window = ["x"]
rename_window = ["r"]

[keybindings.workspaces]
switch_workspace_1 = ["alt+1"]
switch_workspace_2 = ["alt+2"]
# ... and so on

See the Configuration Guide for complete customization options.

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Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

Default workspace switching uses Option key:

• Option+1 through Option+9 - Switch workspace
• Option+Shift+1 through Option+Shift+9 - Move window to workspace

In your terminal, you can still type Option key unicode characters (¡™£¢∞§¶•ª) in Terminal Mode.

Linux

Uses standard Alt key for workspace switching:

• Alt+1 through Alt+9
• Alt+Shift+1 through Alt+Shift+9

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See Also

• CLI Flags Reference - Command-line options
• Tape Syntax Reference - Tape scripting language
• Configuration Guide - TOML configuration options