Helix Keyboard Shortcuts

Helix keyboard shortcut reference covering 252 bindings for Windows, Mac & Linux. Commonly searched bindings include Move left, Move down, and Move up. 252 of 252 shortcuts are verified against official Helix documentation, each with a linked source when available. Search by action name, filter by category, look up what a key combination does, print a cheat sheet, or practice with flashcards.

Official Helix documentation

Insert

Action	Windows	Mac	Verified	Source
Switch to normal mode	`Escape`	`Escape`	Yes	Source
Commit undo checkpoint	`Ctrl+s`	`Ctrl+s`	Yes	Source
Autocomplete	`Ctrl+x`	`Ctrl+x`	Yes	Source
Insert a register content	`Ctrl+r`	`Ctrl+r`	Yes	Source
Delete previous word	`Ctrl+w`	`Ctrl+w`	Yes	Source
Delete next word	`Alt+d`	`Alt+d`	Yes	Source
Delete to start of line	`Ctrl+u`	`Ctrl+u`	Yes	Source
Delete to end of line	`Ctrl+k`	`Ctrl+k`	Yes	Source
Delete previous char	`Ctrl+h`	`Ctrl+h`	Yes	Source
Delete next char	`Ctrl+d`	`Ctrl+d`	Yes	Source
Insert new line	`Ctrl+j`	`Ctrl+j`	Yes	Source
Move to previous line	`Up`	`Up`	Yes	Source
Move to next line	`Down`	`Down`	Yes	Source
Backward a char	`Left`	`Left`	Yes	Source
Forward a char	`Right`	`Right`	Yes	Source
Move one page up	`PageUp`	`PageUp`	Yes	Source
Move one page down	`PageDown`	`PageDown`	Yes	Source
Move to line start	`Home`	`Home`	Yes	Source
Move to line end	`End`	`End`	Yes	Source

Normal

Action	Windows	Mac	Verified	Source
Move left	`h`	`h`	Yes	Source
Move down	`j`	`j`	Yes	Source
Move up	`k`	`k`	Yes	Source
Move right	`l`	`l`	Yes	Source
Move next word start	`w`	`w`	Yes	Source
Move previous word start	`b`	`b`	Yes	Source
Move next word end	`e`	`e`	Yes	Source
Move next WORD start	`W`	`W`	Yes	Source
Move previous WORD start	`B`	`B`	Yes	Source
Move next WORD end	`E`	`E`	Yes	Source
Find till next char	`t`	`t`	Yes	Source
Find next char	`f`	`f`	Yes	Source
Find till previous char	`T`	`T`	Yes	Source
Find previous char	`F`	`F`	Yes	Source
Go to line number <n>	`G`	`G`	Yes	Source
Repeat last motion ( f , t , m , [ or ] )	`Alt+.`	`Alt+.`	Yes	Source
Move to the start of the line	`Home`	`Home`	Yes	Source
Move to the end of the line	`End`	`End`	Yes	Source
Move page up	`Ctrl+b`	`Ctrl+b`	Yes	Source
Move page down	`Ctrl+f`	`Ctrl+f`	Yes	Source
Move cursor and page half page up	`Ctrl+u`	`Ctrl+u`	Yes	Source
Move cursor and page half page down	`Ctrl+d`	`Ctrl+d`	Yes	Source
Jump forward on the jumplist	`Ctrl+i`	`Ctrl+i`	Yes	Source
Jump backward on the jumplist	`Ctrl+o`	`Ctrl+o`	Yes	Source
Save the current selection to the jumplist	`Ctrl+s`	`Ctrl+s`	Yes	Source
Replace with a character	`r`	`r`	Yes	Source
Replace with yanked text	`R`	`R`	Yes	Source
Switch case of the selected text	`~`	`~`	Yes	Source
Set the selected text to lower case	`	`	Yes	Source
Set the selected text to upper case	Alt+`	Alt+`	Yes	Source
Insert before selection	`i`	`i`	Yes	Source
Insert after selection (append)	`a`	`a`	Yes	Source
Insert at the start of the line	`I`	`I`	Yes	Source
Insert at the end of the line	`A`	`A`	Yes	Source
Open new line below selection	`o`	`o`	Yes	Source
Open new line above selection	`O`	`O`	Yes	Source
Repeat last insert	`.`	`.`	Yes	Source
Undo change	`u`	`u`	Yes	Source
Redo change	`U`	`U`	Yes	Source
Move backward in history	`Alt+u`	`Alt+u`	Yes	Source
Move forward in history	`Alt+U`	`Alt+U`	Yes	Source
Yank selection	`y`	`y`	Yes	Source
Paste after selection	`p`	`p`	Yes	Source
Paste before selection	`P`	`P`	Yes	Source
Indent selection	`&+then+g+then+t+then+;`	`&+then+g+then+t+then+;`	Yes	Source
Unindent selection	`&+then+l+then+t+then+;`	`&+then+l+then+t+then+;`	Yes	Source
Format selection ( LSP )	`=`	`=`	Yes	Source
Delete selection	`d`	`d`	Yes	Source
Delete selection, without yanking	`Alt+d`	`Alt+d`	Yes	Source
Change selection (delete and enter insert mode)	`c`	`c`	Yes	Source
Change selection (delete and enter insert mode, without yanking)	`Alt+c`	`Alt+c`	Yes	Source
Increment object (number) under cursor	`Ctrl+a`	`Ctrl+a`	Yes	Source
Decrement object (number) under cursor	`Ctrl+x`	`Ctrl+x`	Yes	Source
Start/stop macro recording to the selected register (experimental)	`Q`	`Q`	Yes	Source
Play back a recorded macro from the selected register (experimental)	`q`	`q`	Yes	Source
Pipe each selection through shell command, replacing with output	`\|`	`\|`	Yes	Source
Pipe each selection into shell command, ignoring output	`Alt+\|`	`Alt+\|`	Yes	Source
Run shell command, inserting output before each selection	`!`	`!`	Yes	Source
Run shell command, appending output after each selection	`Alt+!`	`Alt+!`	Yes	Source
Pipe each selection into shell command, keep selections where command returned 0	`$`	`$`	Yes	Source
Select all regex matches inside selections	`s`	`s`	Yes	Source
Split selection into sub selections on regex matches	`S`	`S`	Yes	Source
Split selection on newlines	`Alt+s`	`Alt+s`	Yes	Source
Merge selections	`Alt`	`Alt`	Yes	Source
Merge consecutive selections	`Alt+_`	`Alt+_`	Yes	Source
Align selection in columns	`&`	`&`	Yes	Source
Trim whitespace from the selection	`_`	`_`	Yes	Source
Collapse selection onto a single cursor	`;`	`;`	Yes	Source
Flip selection cursor and anchor	`Alt+;`	`Alt+;`	Yes	Source
Ensures the selection is in forward direction	`Alt+:`	`Alt+:`	Yes	Source
Remove the primary selection	`Alt`	`Alt`	Yes	Source
Copy selection onto the next line (Add cursor below)	`C`	`C`	Yes	Source
Copy selection onto the previous line (Add cursor above)	`Alt+C`	`Alt+C`	Yes	Source
Rotate main selection backward	`(`	`(`	Yes	Source
Rotate main selection forward	`)`	`)`	Yes	Source
Rotate selection contents backward	`Alt+(`	`Alt+(`	Yes	Source
Rotate selection contents forward	`Alt+)`	`Alt+)`	Yes	Source
Select entire file	`%`	`%`	Yes	Source
Select current line, if already selected, extend to next line	`x`	`x`	Yes	Source
Extend selection to line bounds (line-wise selection)	`X`	`X`	Yes	Source
Shrink selection to line bounds (line-wise selection)	`Alt+x`	`Alt+x`	Yes	Source
Join lines inside selection	`J`	`J`	Yes	Source
Join lines inside selection and select the inserted space	`Alt+J`	`Alt+J`	Yes	Source
Keep selections matching the regex	`K`	`K`	Yes	Source
Remove selections matching the regex	`Alt+K`	`Alt+K`	Yes	Source
Comment/uncomment the selections	`Ctrl+c`	`Ctrl+c`	Yes	Source
Expand selection to parent syntax node ( TS )	`Alt+o`	`Alt+o`	Yes	Source
Shrink syntax tree object selection ( TS )	`Alt+i`	`Alt+i`	Yes	Source
Select previous sibling node in syntax tree ( TS )	`Alt+p`	`Alt+p`	Yes	Source
Select next sibling node in syntax tree ( TS )	`Alt+n`	`Alt+n`	Yes	Source
Select all sibling nodes in syntax tree ( TS )	`Alt+a`	`Alt+a`	Yes	Source
Select all children nodes in syntax tree ( TS )	`Alt+I`	`Alt+I`	Yes	Source
Move to end of parent node in syntax tree ( TS )	`Alt+e`	`Alt+e`	Yes	Source
Move to start of parent node in syntax tree ( TS )	`Alt+b`	`Alt+b`	Yes	Source
Search for regex pattern	`/`	`/`	Yes	Source
Search for previous pattern	`?`	`?`	Yes	Source
Select next search match	`n`	`n`	Yes	Source
Select previous search match	`N`	`N`	Yes	Source
Use current selection as the search pattern, automatically wrapping with \b on word boundaries	`*`	`*`	Yes	Source
Use current selection as the search pattern	`Alt+*`	`Alt+*`	Yes	Source
Enter select (extend) mode	`v`	`v`	Yes	Source
Enter goto mode	`g`	`g`	Yes	Source
Enter match mode	`m`	`m`	Yes	Source
Enter command mode	`:`	`:`	Yes	Source
Enter view mode	`z`	`z`	Yes	Source
Enter sticky view mode	`Z`	`Z`	Yes	Source
Enter window mode	`Ctrl+w`	`Ctrl+w`	Yes	Source
Enter space mode	`Space`	`Space`	Yes	Source
Vertically center the line	`z`	`z`	Yes	Source
Align the line to the top of the screen	`t`	`t`	Yes	Source
Align the line to the bottom of the screen	`b`	`b`	Yes	Source
Align the line to the middle of the screen (horizontally)	`m`	`m`	Yes	Source
Scroll the view downwards	`j`	`j`	Yes	Source
Scroll the view upwards	`k`	`k`	Yes	Source
Go to line number <n> else start of file	`g`	`g`	Yes	Source
Go to column number <n> else start of line	`\|`	`\|`	Yes	Source
Go to the end of the file	`e`	`e`	Yes	Source
Go to files in the selections	`f`	`f`	Yes	Source
Go to the start of the line	`h`	`h`	Yes	Source
Go to the end of the line	`l`	`l`	Yes	Source
Go to first non-whitespace character of the line	`s`	`s`	Yes	Source
Go to the top of the screen	`t`	`t`	Yes	Source
Go to the middle of the screen	`c`	`c`	Yes	Source
Go to the bottom of the screen	`b`	`b`	Yes	Source
Go to definition ( LSP )	`d`	`d`	Yes	Source
Go to type definition ( LSP )	`y`	`y`	Yes	Source
Go to references ( LSP )	`r`	`r`	Yes	Source
Go to implementation ( LSP )	`i`	`i`	Yes	Source
Go to the last accessed/alternate file	`a`	`a`	Yes	Source
Go to the last modified/alternate file	`m`	`m`	Yes	Source
Go to next buffer	`n`	`n`	Yes	Source
Go to previous buffer	`p`	`p`	Yes	Source
Go to last modification in current file	`.`	`.`	Yes	Source
Move down textual (instead of visual) line	`j`	`j`	Yes	Source
Move up textual (instead of visual) line	`k`	`k`	Yes	Source
Show labels at each word and select the word that belongs to the entered labels	`w`	`w`	Yes	Source
Goto matching bracket ( TS )	`m`	`m`	Yes	Source
Switch to next window	`w`	`w`	Yes	Source
Vertical right split	`v`	`v`	Yes	Source
Horizontal bottom split	`s`	`s`	Yes	Source
Go to files in the selections in horizontal splits	`f`	`f`	Yes	Source
Go to files in the selections in vertical splits	`F`	`F`	Yes	Source
Move to left split	`h`	`h`	Yes	Source
Move to split below	`j`	`j`	Yes	Source
Move to split above	`k`	`k`	Yes	Source
Move to right split	`l`	`l`	Yes	Source
Close current window	`q`	`q`	Yes	Source
Only keep the current window, closing all the others	`o`	`o`	Yes	Source
Swap window to the left	`H`	`H`	Yes	Source
Swap window downwards	`J`	`J`	Yes	Source
Swap window upwards	`K`	`K`	Yes	Source
Swap window to the right	`L`	`L`	Yes	Source
Open file picker at LSP workspace root	`f`	`f`	Yes	Source
Open file picker at current working directory	`F`	`F`	Yes	Source
Open buffer picker	`b`	`b`	Yes	Source
Open jumplist picker	`j`	`j`	Yes	Source
Open changed file picker	`g`	`g`	Yes	Source
Debug (experimental)	`G`	`G`	Yes	Source
Show documentation for item under cursor in a popup ( LSP )	`k`	`k`	Yes	Source
Open document symbol picker ( LSP )	`s`	`s`	Yes	Source
Open workspace symbol picker ( LSP )	`S`	`S`	Yes	Source
Open document diagnostics picker ( LSP )	`d`	`d`	Yes	Source
Open workspace diagnostics picker ( LSP )	`D`	`D`	Yes	Source
Rename symbol ( LSP )	`r`	`r`	Yes	Source
Apply code action ( LSP )	`a`	`a`	Yes	Source
Select symbol references ( LSP )	`h`	`h`	Yes	Source
Open last fuzzy picker	`'`	`'`	Yes	Source
Enter window mode	`w`	`w`	Yes	Source
Comment/uncomment selections	`c`	`c`	Yes	Source
Block comment/uncomment selections	`C`	`C`	Yes	Source
Line comment/uncomment selections	`Alt+c`	`Alt+c`	Yes	Source
Paste system clipboard after selections	`p`	`p`	Yes	Source
Paste system clipboard before selections	`P`	`P`	Yes	Source
Yank selections to clipboard	`y`	`y`	Yes	Source
Yank main selection to clipboard	`Y`	`Y`	Yes	Source
Replace selections by clipboard contents	`R`	`R`	Yes	Source
Global search in workspace folder	`/`	`/`	Yes	Source
Open command palette	`?`	`?`	Yes	Source
Scroll up	`Ctrl+u`	`Ctrl+u`	Yes	Source
Scroll down	`Ctrl+d`	`Ctrl+d`	Yes	Source
Previous entry	`Shift+Tab`	`Shift+Tab`	Yes	Source
Next entry	`Tab`	`Tab`	Yes	Source
Close menu and accept completion	`Enter`	`Enter`	Yes	Source
Close menu and reject completion	`Ctrl+c`	`Ctrl+c`	Yes	Source
Previous signature	`Alt+p`	`Alt+p`	Yes	Source
Next signature	`Alt+n`	`Alt+n`	Yes	Source
Go to next diagnostic ( LSP )	`]+then+d`	`]+then+d`	Yes	Source
Go to previous diagnostic ( LSP )	`[+then+d`	`[+then+d`	Yes	Source
Go to last diagnostic in document ( LSP )	`]+then+D`	`]+then+D`	Yes	Source
Go to first diagnostic in document ( LSP )	`[+then+D`	`[+then+D`	Yes	Source
Go to next function ( TS )	`]+then+f`	`]+then+f`	Yes	Source
Go to previous function ( TS )	`[+then+f`	`[+then+f`	Yes	Source
Go to next type definition ( TS )	`]+then+t`	`]+then+t`	Yes	Source
Go to previous type definition ( TS )	`[+then+t`	`[+then+t`	Yes	Source
Go to next argument/parameter ( TS )	`]+then+a`	`]+then+a`	Yes	Source
Go to previous argument/parameter ( TS )	`[+then+a`	`[+then+a`	Yes	Source
Go to next comment ( TS )	`]+then+c`	`]+then+c`	Yes	Source
Go to previous comment ( TS )	`[+then+c`	`[+then+c`	Yes	Source
Go to next test ( TS )	`]+then+T`	`]+then+T`	Yes	Source
Go to previous test ( TS )	`[+then+T`	`[+then+T`	Yes	Source
Go to next paragraph	`]+then+p`	`]+then+p`	Yes	Source
Go to previous paragraph	`[+then+p`	`[+then+p`	Yes	Source
Go to next change	`]+then+g`	`]+then+g`	Yes	Source
Go to previous change	`[+then+g`	`[+then+g`	Yes	Source
Go to last change	`]+then+G`	`]+then+G`	Yes	Source
Go to first change	`[+then+G`	`[+then+G`	Yes	Source
Add newline below	`]+then+S+then+p+then+a+then+c+then+e`	`]+then+S+then+p+then+a+then+c+then+e`	Yes	Source
Add newline above	`[+then+S+then+p+then+a+then+c+then+e`	`[+then+S+then+p+then+a+then+c+then+e`	Yes	Source

UI

Action	Windows	Mac	Verified	Source
Page up	`PageUp`	`PageUp`	Yes	Source
Page down	`PageDown`	`PageDown`	Yes	Source
Go to first entry	`Home`	`Home`	Yes	Source
Go to last entry	`End`	`End`	Yes	Source
Open selected	`Enter`	`Enter`	Yes	Source
Open selected in the background without closing the picker	`Alt+Enter`	`Alt+Enter`	Yes	Source
Open horizontally	`Ctrl+s`	`Ctrl+s`	Yes	Source
Open vertically	`Ctrl+v`	`Ctrl+v`	Yes	Source
Toggle preview	`Ctrl+t`	`Ctrl+t`	Yes	Source
Close picker	`Escape`	`Escape`	Yes	Source
Close prompt	`Escape`	`Escape`	Yes	Source
Backward a word	`Alt+b`	`Alt+b`	Yes	Source
Backward a char	`Ctrl+b`	`Ctrl+b`	Yes	Source
Forward a word	`Alt+f`	`Alt+f`	Yes	Source
Forward a char	`Ctrl+f`	`Ctrl+f`	Yes	Source
Move prompt end	`Ctrl+e`	`Ctrl+e`	Yes	Source
Move prompt start	`Ctrl+a`	`Ctrl+a`	Yes	Source
Delete previous char	`Backspace`	`Backspace`	Yes	Source
Delete next char	`Delete`	`Delete`	Yes	Source
Insert a word under doc cursor, may be changed to Ctrl-r Ctrl-w later	`Ctrl+s`	`Ctrl+s`	Yes	Source
Select previous history	`Ctrl+p`	`Ctrl+p`	Yes	Source
Select next history	`Ctrl+n`	`Ctrl+n`	Yes	Source
Insert the content of the register selected by following input char	`Ctrl+r`	`Ctrl+r`	Yes	Source
Select next completion item	`Tab`	`Tab`	Yes	Source
Select previous completion item	`B+then+a+then+c+then+k+then+T+then+a+then+b`	`B+then+a+then+c+then+k+then+T+then+a+then+b`	Yes	Source

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