Terminal Keyboard Shortcuts
Terminal / Bash keyboard shortcut reference covering 40 bindings for Windows, Mac & Linux. Commonly searched bindings include Cancel, EOF / Logout, and Start of Line. 40 of 40 shortcuts are verified against official Terminal / Bash 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 Terminal / Bash documentation
Terminal
| Action | Description | Windows | Mac | Verified | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancel | Cancel current command | Ctrl+C |
Cmd+C |
Yes | Source |
| Suspend | Suspend current process | Ctrl+Z |
Cmd+Z |
Yes | Source |
| EOF / Logout | End of input or logout | Ctrl+D |
Cmd+D |
Yes | Source |
| Start of Line | Move cursor to line start | Ctrl+A |
Cmd+A |
Yes | Source |
| End of Line | Move cursor to line end | Ctrl+E |
Cmd+E |
Yes | Source |
| Kill to End | Delete from cursor to end | Ctrl+K |
Cmd+K |
Yes | Source |
| Kill to Start | Delete from cursor to start | Ctrl+U |
Cmd+U |
Yes | Source |
| Kill Word Back | Delete word before cursor | Ctrl+W |
Cmd+W |
Yes | Source |
| Yank | Paste killed text | Ctrl+Y |
Cmd+Y |
Yes | Source |
| Clear Screen | Clear terminal display | Ctrl+L |
Cmd+L |
Yes | Source |
| Reverse Search | Search command history | Ctrl+R |
Cmd+R |
Yes | Source |
| Cancel Search | Cancel history search | Ctrl+G |
Cmd+G |
Yes | Source |
| Previous Command | Previous history entry | Ctrl+P |
Cmd+P |
Yes | Source |
| Next Command | Next history entry | Ctrl+N |
Cmd+N |
Yes | Source |
| Last Argument | Insert last argument | Alt+. |
Option+. |
Yes | Source |
| Back Word | Move back one word | Alt+B |
Option+B |
Yes | Source |
| Forward Word | Move forward one word | Alt+F |
Option+F |
Yes | Source |
| Delete Word Forward | Delete word after cursor | Alt+D |
Option+D |
Yes | Source |
| Autocomplete | Tab completion | Tab |
Tab |
Yes | Source |
| History Up | Previous command in history | Up |
Up |
Yes | Source |
| History Down | Next command in history | Down |
Down |
Yes | Source |
| Repeat Last | Repeat last command | !! |
!! |
Yes | Source |
| Last Argument Ref | Use last argument of prev command | !$ |
!$ |
Yes | Source |
| Copy | Copy in terminal | Ctrl+Shift+C |
Cmd+Shift+C |
Yes | Source |
| Paste | Paste in terminal | Ctrl+Shift+V |
Cmd+Shift+V |
Yes | Source |
| Screen/tmux Detach | Detach from session | Ctrl+A+D |
Ctrl+A+D |
Yes | Source |
| Screen New Window | Create new screen window | Ctrl+A+C |
Ctrl+A+C |
Yes | Source |
| Screen Next | Next screen window | Ctrl+A+N |
Ctrl+A+N |
Yes | Source |
| Screen Previous | Previous screen window | Ctrl+A+P |
Ctrl+A+P |
Yes | Source |
| Swap Characters | Transpose characters | Ctrl+T |
Cmd+T |
Yes | Source |
| Undo Edit | Undo last edit | Ctrl+_ |
Cmd+_ |
Yes | Source |
| Insert Tab | Insert literal tab | Ctrl+V+Tab |
Ctrl+V+Tab |
Yes | Source |
| Redraw Line | Refresh current line | Ctrl+R |
Cmd+R |
Yes | Source |
| Word Delete Alt | Delete word using readline | Ctrl+W |
Cmd+W |
Yes | Source |
| Exit Shell | Exit current shell | exit |
exit |
Yes | Source |
| Clear History | Clear bash history | history+-c |
history+-c |
Yes | Source |
| List History | Show command history | history |
history |
Yes | Source |
| Run History Command | Execute command by number | !n |
!n |
Yes | Source |
Window
| Action | Description | Windows | Mac | Verified | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Tab | Open new terminal tab | Ctrl+Shift+T |
Cmd+Shift+T |
Yes | Source |
| New Window | Open new terminal window | Ctrl+Shift+N |
Cmd+Shift+N |
Yes | Source |