Keyboard Shortcuts & Customization

Master ABOV3's keyboard shortcuts for efficient navigation and workflow acceleration. Customize keybindings to match your preferences.

🎯 Leader Key System

ABOV3 uses a leader key system inspired by Vim. The default leader key is ctrl+x, which you press followed by another key to trigger commands. This prevents conflicts with system shortcuts and provides a consistent command prefix.

Complete Keyboard Reference

All keyboard shortcuts available in the ABOV3 TUI interface:

Category	Shortcut	Action	Context
Application Control
App	<leader>h	Show help dialog with all shortcuts	Global
App	ctrl+c or <leader>q	Exit the application	Global
App	<leader>e	Open external editor	Input focused
App	esc	Interrupt current session/operation	Global
Session Management
Session	<leader>n	Create new session	Global
Session	<leader>l	List all sessions	Global
Session	<leader>g	Show session timeline	Global
Session	<leader>s	Share current session	Global
Session	ctrl+right	Next child session	Global
Session	ctrl+left	Previous child session	Global
Session	<leader>c	Compact the session	Global
Models & Agents
Model	<leader>m	List available models	Global
Model	f2	Cycle to next recent model	Global
Agent	<leader>a	List agents	Global
Agent	tab	Switch to next agent	Global
Agent	shift+tab	Switch to previous agent	Global
Navigation
Scroll	pgup / pgdown	Scroll messages by page	Message area
Scroll	ctrl+alt+u / ctrl+alt+d	Scroll by half page	Message area
Jump	ctrl+g	Go to first message	Message area
Jump	ctrl+alt+g	Go to last message	Message area
Copy	<leader>y	Copy current message to clipboard	Message focused
History	<leader>u	Undo last message	Global
History	<leader>r	Redo message	Global
Input & Editing
Submit	enter	Submit prompt	Input focused
Newline	shift+enter or ctrl+j	Insert newline	Input focused
Paste	ctrl+v	Paste from clipboard	Input focused
Clear	ctrl+c	Clear input field	Input focused
History	up / down	Navigate input history	Input focused
Word Nav	ctrl+left / ctrl+right	Move cursor by word	Input focused
Line Nav	home / end	Move to start/end of line	Input focused
View & Interface
Theme	<leader>t	List available themes	Global
Tools	<leader>d	Toggle tool details visibility	Global
Thinking	<leader>b	Toggle thinking blocks visibility	Global
Focus	f1	Focus input field	Global
Zoom	ctrl+plus / ctrl+minus	Increase/decrease font size	Global

Customizing Keybindings

You can customize all keyboard shortcuts by editing your ABOV3 configuration file:

Configuration File Location

# Linux/macOS
~/.config/abov3/abov3.json

# Windows
%APPDATA%\abov3\abov3.json

Keybinding Configuration

{
  "keybinds": {
    // Leader key (default: ctrl+x)
    "leader": "ctrl+a",

    // Application shortcuts
    "app_help": "f1",
    "app_exit": "ctrl+q",
    "app_external_editor": "ctrl+e",
    "app_interrupt": "esc",

    // Session management
    "session_new": "<leader>n",
    "session_list": "<leader>l",
    "session_timeline": "<leader>g",
    "session_share": "<leader>s",
    "session_next_child": "ctrl+right",
    "session_prev_child": "ctrl+left",
    "session_compact": "<leader>c",

    // Model and agent shortcuts
    "model_list": "<leader>m",
    "model_cycle": "f2",
    "agent_list": "<leader>a",
    "agent_next": "tab",
    "agent_prev": "shift+tab",

    // Navigation shortcuts
    "nav_page_up": "pgup",
    "nav_page_down": "pgdown",
    "nav_half_up": "ctrl+alt+u",
    "nav_half_down": "ctrl+alt+d",
    "nav_first": "ctrl+g",
    "nav_last": "ctrl+alt+g",
    "nav_copy": "<leader>y",
    "nav_undo": "<leader>u",
    "nav_redo": "<leader>r",

    // Input shortcuts
    "input_submit": "enter",
    "input_newline": "shift+enter",
    "input_newline_alt": "ctrl+j",
    "input_paste": "ctrl+v",
    "input_clear": "ctrl+c",

    // View shortcuts
    "view_themes": "<leader>t",
    "view_tools": "<leader>d",
    "view_thinking": "<leader>b",
    "view_focus": "f1",
    "view_zoom_in": "ctrl+plus",
    "view_zoom_out": "ctrl+minus"
  }
}

Key Notation Guide

Notation	Meaning	Example
`<leader>`	Leader key (default: ctrl+x)	<leader>h = ctrl+x then h
`ctrl+`	Control key modifier	ctrl+c
`shift+`	Shift key modifier	shift+enter
`alt+`	Alt key modifier	alt+n
`plus` / `minus`	Plus/minus keys	ctrl+plus
`f1`, `f2`, etc.	Function keys	f2
`space`	Spacebar	ctrl+space
`backspace`	Backspace key	ctrl+backspace

Context-Specific Shortcuts

Input Field Focused

These shortcuts only work when the input field has focus:

enter - Submit prompt
shift+enter - Add new line
ctrl+c - Clear input
up/down - Navigate input history
<leader>e - Open external editor

Message Area Focused

These shortcuts work when browsing messages:

pgup/pgdown - Scroll by page
ctrl+g - Go to first message
ctrl+alt+g - Go to last message
<leader>y - Copy current message

💡 Pro Tips

Leader Key Timing: Press and release the leader key, then press the command key. No need to hold both simultaneously.
Terminal Compatibility: Some terminal emulators may intercept certain key combinations. Try using alternative shortcuts or customize them.
Vim Users: Consider changing the leader key to match your Vim configuration for consistency.
Quick Reference: Use <leader>h to see a quick help overlay with the most common shortcuts.
Slash Commands: All shortcuts have equivalent slash commands (e.g., /help instead of <leader>h).

Advanced Customization

Creating Custom Shortcuts

{
  "keybinds": {
    // Custom shortcuts for frequently used commands
    "custom_clear_session": "ctrl+alt+c",
    "custom_quick_save": "ctrl+s",
    "custom_toggle_mode": "f3"
  },

  // Map custom shortcuts to slash commands
  "custom_commands": {
    "ctrl+alt+c": "/clear",
    "ctrl+s": "/sessions save",
    "f3": "/agents toggle"
  }
}

🔧 Configuration Validation

After modifying keybindings, use /config validate to check for conflicts or syntax errors. Restart the TUI to apply changes.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Shortcuts not working: Check if your terminal emulator is intercepting the key combination
Leader key conflicts: Change the leader key in configuration if it conflicts with other applications
Key notation errors: Ensure proper syntax in the configuration file (use quotes around key combinations)
Reset to defaults: Remove the keybinds section from config to restore default shortcuts

Testing Shortcuts

Use /config show to view current keybinding configuration
Press <leader>h to see active shortcuts
Try alternative slash commands if shortcuts fail
Check terminal documentation for intercepted key combinations