Keyboard shortcuts
Every keyboard shortcut in Mel, in one table.
The command palette lists Mel's main actions, every on/off setting, and your conversations, Drive items and project files, so it is the one shortcut worth learning first: Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows and Linux, ⌃P (or ⌘P) on a Mac. Type a few letters and press Enter. Ctrl+/ (⌘/ on a Mac) opens a short cheat sheet, and Settings → Keyboard shortcuts shows the full searchable table.
You can change any of them. In Settings → Keyboard shortcuts, click a row, press the keys you want, and save. A key that is already taken is outlined so you can see the clash.
Windows and Linux use Ctrl+Shift. Since v0.1.52, Mel's main shortcuts on Windows and Linux use Ctrl+Shift, so Ctrl+D, Ctrl+P, Ctrl+T and Ctrl+W reach the program in your terminal again (Ctrl+W deletes a word, Ctrl+D ends input). On a Mac the main shortcuts are the ones Mel always had. The tables give both.
Panes and tabs
| Action | Windows and Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Split pane right | Ctrl+Shift+D | ⌃D or ⌘D |
| Split pane down | Ctrl+Shift+E | ⌃⇧D or ⌘⇧D |
| Close the session (the last pane closes the tab) | Ctrl+Shift+W | ⌘W |
| New terminal tab (opens your default tab config if you set one) | Ctrl+Shift+T | ⌘T |
| Next tab | Ctrl+PageDown or Ctrl+Tab | ⌘PageDown or ⌃Tab |
| Previous tab | Ctrl+PageUp or Ctrl+Shift+Tab | ⌘PageUp or ⌃⇧Tab |
| Switch to tab 1 to 8 | Ctrl+1 … Ctrl+8 | ⌘1 … ⌘8 |
| Switch to the last tab | Ctrl+9 | ⌘9 |
| Next pane / previous pane | Ctrl+Shift+] / Ctrl+Shift+[ | ⌘⇧] / ⌘⇧[ |
| Rename the current tab | F2 | F2 |
| Toggle the sidebar (vertical tabs) | Ctrl+Shift+B | ⌃⇧B |
Panels and search
| Action | Windows and Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Command palette | Ctrl+Shift+P | ⌃P or ⌘P |
| Shortcuts cheat sheet | Ctrl+/ | ⌘/ |
| Settings | Ctrl+, | ⌘, |
| Toggle the tools panel | Ctrl+Shift+\ | ⌃\ |
| Global search | Ctrl+Shift+F | ⌘⇧F or ⌃⇧F |
| Open code review | Ctrl+Shift+= | ⌘⇧= |
| Runs screen (every agent run, local and cloud) | Ctrl+Shift+M | ⌃⇧M |
| Workflows | Ctrl+Shift+R | ⌘⇧R |
| Command search | Ctrl+R | ⌘R |
| Zoom in / out / reset | Ctrl+= / Ctrl+- / Ctrl+0 | ⌘= / ⌘- / ⌘0 |
Agent
| Action | Windows and Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Start an agent conversation (carries the typed prompt) | Ctrl+Enter | ⌘Enter |
| Exit the conversation back to the terminal | Esc (input unfocused) | Esc |
| Open a conversation (the conversations panel, with search) | Ctrl+Shift+Y | ⌃⇧Y or ⌘⇧Y |
| Attach the last command's output to the prompt | Ctrl+↑ | ⌃↑ |
| Attach the selected block as agent context | Ctrl+Shift+Space | ⌘⇧Space |
| Run this message the other way (shell or agent) | Ctrl+I | ⌃I |
| Hide or show the plan | Ctrl+Alt+P | ⌘⌥P |
| Fast-forward the running agent (hands-off for this turn) | Ctrl+Shift+I | ⌘⇧I |
| Rich Input (inside CLI coding-agent sessions) | Ctrl+G | ⌃G |
In the agent input, a leading ! runs the line as a shell command. On an approval card, Esc denies; a bare Enter approves only when the input box is empty and has no focus, and a step that cannot be undone needs a click or Ctrl+Enter (⌘Enter on a Mac).
Terminal and blocks
Click a block to select it first; these keys act on the selected block only while the prompt input does not have focus.
| Action | Windows and Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Copy the whole block | Ctrl+C | ⌘C |
| Copy the command | Ctrl+Shift+C | ⌘⇧C |
| Copy the output | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C | ⌘⌥⇧C |
| Toggle bookmark | Ctrl+B | ⌘B |
| Focus the terminal input | Ctrl+Shift+L | ⌘⇧L |
| Clear the blocks | Ctrl+Shift+K | ⌘⇧K |
Inside the command palette
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| Navigate results | ↑ / ↓ |
| Run selected | Enter |
| Close | Esc |
The palette also carries actions with no key at all, like Create a Workflow, Continue Last Conversation and Export Conversation, plus every on/off setting, and dynamic hits: your conversations, Drive objects and project files match as you type. Commands with no default key (Copy Current Path, Copy Git Branch, Open Theme Picker and others) can be given one in Settings → Keyboard shortcuts.
When shortcuts step aside
While a full-screen terminal program is running in the pane (an editor, a CLI coding agent, ssh), Mel passes single-modifier keys to that program instead of catching them — Ctrl+C must reach the program, after all. Switching tabs (Ctrl+PageUp, Ctrl+PageDown, Ctrl+Tab), code review (Ctrl+Shift+=) and the Runs screen (Ctrl+Shift+M) keep working throughout; most of Mel's other shortcuts, the Ctrl+Shift ones included, wait until the program exits.
See the quickstart to build muscle memory on the core five: the palette, Ctrl+Enter, code review, the tools panel and a new tab.