1# Key bindings
2
3Zed has a very customizable key binding system—you can tweak everything to work exactly how your fingers expect!
4
5## Predefined keymaps
6
7If you're used to a specific editor's defaults, you can set a `base_keymap` in your [settings file](./configuring-zed.md).
8We currently support:
9
10- VS Code (default)
11- Atom
12- Emacs (Beta)
13- JetBrains
14- Sublime Text
15- TextMate
16- Cursor
17- None (disables _all_ key bindings)
18
19This setting can also be changed via the command palette through the `zed: toggle base keymap selector` action.
20
21You can also enable `vim_mode` or `helix_mode`, which add modal bindings.
22For more information, see the documentation for [Vim mode](./vim.md) and [Helix mode](./helix.md).
23
24## User keymaps
25
26Zed reads your keymap from `~/.config/zed/keymap.json`, which you can open with the {#action zed::OpenKeymap} action from the command palette.
27You can also edit your keymap through the Zed Keymap Editor, accessible via the {#action zed::OpenKeymapEditor} action or the {#kb zed::OpenKeymapEditor} keybinding.
28
29The `keymap.json` file contains a JSON array of objects with `"bindings"`. If no `"context"` is set, the bindings are always active. If it is set, the binding is only active when the [context matches](#contexts).
30
31Within each binding section, a [key sequence](#keybinding-syntax) is mapped to [an action](#actions). If conflicts are detected, they are resolved as [described below](#precedence).
32
33If you are using a non-QWERTY, Latin-character keyboard, you may want to set `use_key_equivalents` to `true`. See [Non-QWERTY keyboards](#non-qwerty-keyboards) for more information.
34
35For example:
36
37```json
38[
39 {
40 "bindings": {
41 "ctrl-right": "editor::SelectLargerSyntaxNode",
42 "ctrl-left": "editor::SelectSmallerSyntaxNode"
43 }
44 },
45 {
46 "context": "ProjectPanel && not_editing",
47 "bindings": {
48 "o": "project_panel::Open"
49 }
50 }
51]
52```
53
54You can see all of Zed's default bindings in the default keymaps for [macOS](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/assets/keymaps/default-macos.json) or [Linux](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/assets/keymaps/default-linux.json).
55
56If you want to debug problems with custom keymaps, you can use `dev: Open Key Context View` from the command palette. Please file [an issue](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed) if you run into something you think should work but isn't.
57
58### Keybinding syntax
59
60Zed has the ability to match against not just a single keypress, but a sequence of keys typed in order. Each key in the `"bindings"` map is a sequence of keypresses separated with a space.
61
62Each keypress is a sequence of modifiers followed by a key. The modifiers are:
63
64- `ctrl-` The control key
65- `cmd-`, `win-` or `super-` for the platform modifier (Command on macOS, Windows key on Windows, and the Super key on Linux).
66- `alt-` for alt (option on macOS)
67- `shift-` The shift key
68- `fn-` The function key
69- `secondary-` Equivalent to `cmd` when Zed is running on macOS and `ctrl` when on Windows and Linux
70
71The keys can be any single Unicode codepoint that your keyboard generates (for example `a`, `0`, `£` or `ç`), or any named key (`tab`, `f1`, `shift`, or `cmd`). If you are using a non-Latin layout (e.g. Cyrillic), you can bind either to the Cyrillic character or the Latin character that key generates with `cmd` pressed.
72
73A few examples:
74
75```json
76 "bindings": {
77 "cmd-k cmd-s": "zed::OpenKeymap", // matches ⌘-k then ⌘-s
78 "space e": "editor::Complete", // type space then e
79 "ç": "editor::Complete", // matches ⌥-c
80 "shift shift": "file_finder::Toggle", // matches pressing and releasing shift twice
81 }
82```
83
84The `shift-` modifier can only be used in combination with a letter to indicate the uppercase version. For example, `shift-g` matches typing `G`. Although on many keyboards shift is used to type punctuation characters like `(`, the keypress is not considered to be modified, and so `shift-(` does not match.
85
86The `alt-` modifier can be used on many layouts to generate a different key. For example, on a macOS US keyboard, the combination `alt-c` types `ç`. You can match against either in your keymap file, though by convention, Zed spells this combination as `alt-c`.
87
88It is possible to match against typing a modifier key on its own. For example, `shift shift` can be used to implement JetBrains' 'Search Everywhere' shortcut. In this case, the binding happens on key release instead of on keypress.
89
90### Contexts
91
92If a binding group has a `"context"` key, it will be matched against the currently active contexts in Zed.
93
94Zed's contexts make up a tree, with the root being `Workspace`. Workspaces contain Panes and Panels, and Panes contain Editors, etc. The easiest way to see what contexts are active at a given moment is the key context view, which you can get to with the `dev: open key context view` command in the command palette.
95
96For example:
97
98```
99# in an editor, it might look like this:
100Workspace os=macos keyboard_layout=com.apple.keylayout.QWERTY
101 Pane
102 Editor mode=full extension=md vim_mode=insert
103
104# in the project panel
105Workspace os=macos
106 Dock
107 ProjectPanel not_editing
108```
109
110Context expressions can contain the following syntax:
111
112- `X && Y`, `X || Y` to and/or two conditions
113- `!X` to check that a condition is false
114- `(X)` for grouping
115- `X > Y` to match if an ancestor in the tree matches X and this layer matches Y.
116
117For example:
118
119- `"context": "Editor"` - matches any editor (including inline inputs)
120- `"context": "Editor && mode=full"` - matches the main editors used for editing code
121- `"context": "!Editor && !Terminal"` - matches anywhere except where an Editor or Terminal is focused
122- `"context": "os=macos > Editor"` - matches any editor on macOS.
123
124It's worth noting that attributes are only available on the node they are defined on. This means that if you want to (for example) only enable a keybinding when the debugger is stopped in vim normal mode, you need to do `debugger_stopped > vim_mode == normal`.
125
126> Note: Before Zed v0.197.x, the `!` operator only looked at one node at a time, and `>` meant "parent" not "ancestor". This meant that `!Editor` would match the context `Workspace > Pane > Editor`, because (confusingly) the Pane matches `!Editor`, and that `os=macos > Editor` did not match the context `Workspace > Pane > Editor` because of the intermediate `Pane` node.
127
128If you're using Vim mode, we have information on how [vim modes influence the context](./vim.md#contexts). Helix mode is built on top of Vim mode and uses the same contexts.
129
130### Actions
131
132Almost all of Zed's functionality is exposed as actions.
133Although there is no explicitly documented list, you can find most of them by searching in the command palette, by looking in the default keymaps for [macOS](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/assets/keymaps/default-macos.json) or [Linux](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/assets/keymaps/default-linux.json), or by using Zed's autocomplete in your keymap file.
134
135Most actions do not require any arguments, and so you can bind them as strings: `"ctrl-a": "language_selector::Toggle"`. Some require a single argument and must be bound as an array: `"cmd-1": ["workspace::ActivatePane", 0]`. Some actions require multiple arguments and are bound as an array of a string and an object: `"ctrl-a": ["pane::DeploySearch", { "replace_enabled": true }]`.
136
137### Precedence
138
139When multiple keybindings have the same keystroke and are active at the same time, precedence is resolved in two ways:
140
141- Bindings that match on lower nodes in the context tree win. This means that if you have a binding with a context of `Editor`, it will take precedence over a binding with a context of `Workspace`. Bindings with no context match at the lowest level in the tree.
142- If there are multiple bindings that match at the same level in the tree, then the binding defined later takes precedence. As user keybindings are loaded after system keybindings, this allows user bindings to take precedence over built-in keybindings.
143
144The other kind of conflict that arises is when you have two bindings, one of which is a prefix of the other. For example, if you have `"ctrl-w":"editor::DeleteToNextWordEnd"` and `"ctrl-w left":"editor::DeleteToEndOfLine"`.
145
146When this happens, and both bindings are active in the current context, Zed will wait for 1 second after you type `ctrl-w` to see if you're about to type `left`. If you don't type anything, or if you type a different key, then `DeleteToNextWordEnd` will be triggered. If you do, then `DeleteToEndOfLine` will be triggered.
147
148### Non-QWERTY keyboards
149
150Zed's support for non-QWERTY keyboards is still a work in progress.
151
152If your keyboard can type the full ASCII range (DVORAK, COLEMAK, etc.), then shortcuts should work as you expect.
153
154Otherwise, read on...
155
156#### macOS
157
158On Cyrillic, Hebrew, Armenian, and other keyboards that are mostly non-ASCII, macOS automatically maps keys to the ASCII range when `cmd` is held. Zed takes this a step further, and it can always match key-presses against either the ASCII layout or the real layout, regardless of modifiers and the `use_key_equivalents` setting. For example, in Thai, pressing `ctrl-ๆ` will match bindings associated with `ctrl-q` or `ctrl-ๆ`.
159
160On keyboards that support extended Latin alphabets (French AZERTY, German QWERTZ, etc.), it is often not possible to type the entire ASCII range without `option`. This introduces an ambiguity: `option-2` produces `@`. To ensure that all the built-in keyboard shortcuts can still be typed on these keyboards, we move key bindings around. For example, shortcuts bound to `@` on QWERTY are moved to `"` on a Spanish layout. This mapping is based on the macOS system defaults and can be seen by running `dev: open key context view` from the command palette.
161
162If you are defining shortcuts in your personal keymap, you can opt into the key equivalent mapping by setting `use_key_equivalents` to `true` in your keymap:
163
164```json
165[
166 {
167 "use_key_equivalents": true,
168 "bindings": {
169 "ctrl->": "editor::Indent" // parsed as ctrl-: when a German QWERTZ keyboard is active
170 }
171 }
172]
173```
174
175### Linux
176
177Since v0.196.0, on Linux, if the key that you type doesn't produce an ASCII character, then we use the QWERTY-layout equivalent key for keyboard shortcuts. This means that many shortcuts can be typed on many layouts.
178
179We do not yet move shortcuts around to ensure that all the built-in shortcuts can be typed on every layout, so if there are some ASCII characters that cannot be typed, and your keyboard layout has different ASCII characters on the same keys as would be needed to type them, you may need to add custom key bindings to make this work. We do intend to fix this at some point, and help is very much appreciated!
180
181## Tips and tricks
182
183### Disabling a binding
184
185If you'd like a given binding to do nothing in a given context, you can use
186`null` as the action. This is useful if you hit the key binding by accident and
187want to disable it, or if you want to type the character that would be typed by
188the sequence, or if you want to disable multikey bindings starting with that key.
189
190```json
191[
192 {
193 "context": "Workspace",
194 "bindings": {
195 "cmd-r": null // cmd-r will do nothing when the Workspace context is active
196 }
197 }
198]
199```
200
201A `null` binding follows the same precedence rules as normal actions, so it disables all bindings that would match further up in the tree too. If you'd like a binding that matches further up in the tree to take precedence over a lower binding, you need to rebind it to the action you want in the context you want.
202
203This is useful for preventing Zed from falling back to a default key binding when the action you specified is conditional and propagates. For example, `buffer_search::DeployReplace` only triggers when the search bar is not in view. If the search bar is in view, it would propagate and trigger the default action set for that key binding, such as opening the right dock. To prevent this from happening:
204
205```json
206[
207 {
208 "context": "Workspace",
209 "bindings": {
210 "cmd-r": null // cmd-r will do nothing when the search bar is in view
211 }
212 },
213 {
214 "context": "Workspace",
215 "bindings": {
216 "cmd-r": "buffer_search::DeployReplace" // cmd-r will deploy replace when the search bar is not in view
217 }
218 }
219]
220```
221
222### Remapping keys
223
224A common request is to be able to map from a single keystroke to a sequence. You can do this with the `workspace::SendKeystrokes` action.
225
226```json
227[
228 {
229 "bindings": {
230 // Move down four times
231 "alt-down": ["workspace::SendKeystrokes", "down down down down"],
232 // Expand the selection (editor::SelectLargerSyntaxNode);
233 // copy to the clipboard; and then undo the selection expansion.
234 "cmd-alt-c": [
235 "workspace::SendKeystrokes",
236 "ctrl-shift-right ctrl-shift-right ctrl-shift-right cmd-c ctrl-shift-left ctrl-shift-left ctrl-shift-left"
237 ]
238 }
239 },
240 {
241 "context": "Editor && vim_mode == insert",
242 "bindings": {
243 "j k": ["workspace::SendKeystrokes", "escape"]
244 }
245 }
246]
247```
248
249There are some limitations to this, notably:
250
251- Any asynchronous operation will not happen until after all your key bindings have been dispatched. For example, this means that while you can use a binding to open a file (as in the `cmd-alt-r` example), you cannot send further keystrokes and hope to have them interpreted by the new view.
252- Other examples of asynchronous things are: opening the command palette, communicating with a language server, changing the language of a buffer, anything that hits the network.
253- There is a limit of 100 simulated keys at a time.
254
255The argument to `SendKeystrokes` is a space-separated list of keystrokes (using the same syntax as above). Due to the way that keystrokes are parsed, any segment that is not recognized as a keypress will be sent verbatim to the currently focused input field.
256
257If the argument to `SendKeystrokes` contains the binding used to trigger it, it will use the next-highest-precedence definition of that binding. This allows you to extend the default behavior of a key binding.
258
259### Forward keys to terminal
260
261If you're on Linux or Windows, you might find yourself wanting to forward key combinations to the built-in terminal instead of them being handled by Zed.
262
263For example, `ctrl-n` creates a new tab in Zed on Linux. If you want to send `ctrl-n` to the built-in terminal when it's focused, add the following to your keymap:
264
265```json
266{
267 "context": "Terminal",
268 "bindings": {
269 "ctrl-n": ["terminal::SendKeystroke", "ctrl-n"]
270 }
271}
272```
273
274### Task Key bindings
275
276You can also bind keys to launch Zed Tasks defined in your `tasks.json`.
277See the [tasks documentation](tasks.md#custom-keybindings-for-tasks) for more.