Windows Terminal keyboard shortcuts
Windows Terminal is a workspace for several shells, so its important keys manage the container around the prompt. Open tabs, split panes, search scrollback, copy and paste, zoom, and reach the command palette.
Windows · 35 shortcutsTabs
Open, close, switch, rename, and move Windows Terminal tabs.
| Action | Windows |
|---|---|
| New tab with the default profile | CtrlShiftT |
| New tab with a profile from the dropdownDigits 1 through 9 open profiles 1 through 9. | CtrlShift1 |
| Next tab | CtrlTab |
| Previous tab | CtrlShiftTab |
| Duplicate the current tab's profile and directory | CtrlShiftD |
| Close the active pane, or the tab if there are no splits | CtrlShiftW |
| Close the current window and all its tabs | AltF4 |
| Open the new tab dropdown | CtrlShiftSpace |
| Switch to a specific tab by positionDefaults cover tabs 1 through 8 with Ctrl+Alt+1 through Ctrl+Alt+8. | CtrlAlt1 |
Panes
Split panes, move focus, resize the layout, and zoom the pane you are using.
| Action | Windows |
|---|---|
| Split the pane automatically, duplicating the profileAuto picks the direction with the most surface area. | AltShiftD |
| Duplicate the pane downward | AltShift- |
| Duplicate the pane to the right | AltShift+ |
| Move focus between panesAlso Alt+Right, Alt+Up, and Alt+Down. Ctrl+Alt+Left moves to the previously used pane. | AltLeft |
| Resize the active paneAlso Alt+Shift+Right, Alt+Shift+Up, and Alt+Shift+Down. | AltShiftLeft |
Copy and paste
Copy, paste, and select terminal text while preserving the command-line workflow.
| Action | Windows |
|---|---|
| Copy selected terminal contentWith no selection the chord passes through to the shell. Ctrl+Shift+C and Ctrl+Insert also copy. | CtrlC |
| Paste from the clipboardCtrl+Shift+V and Shift+Insert also paste. | CtrlV |
| Select all content in the text buffer | CtrlShiftA |
| Toggle mark mode for keyboard selections | CtrlShiftM |
View and zoom
Change font size, toggle fullscreen, and move through the terminal viewport.
| Action | Windows |
|---|---|
| Increase the text size | Ctrl+ |
| Decrease the text size | Ctrl- |
| Reset the text size to the default | Ctrl0 |
| Toggle full screenF11 is bound to the same action. | AltEnter |
Search and scrollback
Search terminal history and move through scrollback without losing the current prompt.
| Action | Windows |
|---|---|
| Search across the full scrollback bufferSupports case sensitivity and regex toggles. | CtrlShiftF |
| Scroll the screen upCtrl+Shift+Down scrolls down. | CtrlShiftUp |
| Scroll up by a whole pageThe official key name is pgup; PageUp is the readable equivalent. | CtrlShiftPageUp |
| Scroll down by a whole pageThe official key name is pgdn; PageDown is the readable equivalent. | CtrlShiftPageDown |
| Scroll to the earliest history | CtrlShiftHome |
| Scroll to the latest history | CtrlShiftEnd |
Command palette and settings
Open the command palette, settings, and help when a binding is easier to discover than memorize.
| Action | Windows |
|---|---|
| Open the command paletteWindows Terminal actions appear in the command palette, but the official reference does not assign a default keyboard binding to open it. | Not documented |
| Open the Settings UI | Ctrl, |
| Open the settings.json file | CtrlShift, |
| Open the defaults.json file | CtrlAlt, |
| Open the window system menu | AltSpace |
| Zoom the focused pane to fill the windowThe togglePaneZoom action is not currently bound by default; add a keybinding in settings if you use it. | Not documented |
| Summon the quake mode window snapped to the top of the monitorNo default key binding is documented; bind the quakeMode action yourself or launch wt -w _quake. | Not documented |