Complete Ghostty keyboard shortcuts and commands reference — 21 shortcuts across 4 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Windows & Mac.
Ghostty is a fast, native terminal emulator by Mitchell Hashimoto (HashiCorp co-founder), first released in December 2024. Linux uses Ctrl+Shift bindings; macOS uses Cmd. Windows support is planned but not yet available.
This page covers all 21 Ghostty shortcuts across 4 categories: Tabs & Windows, Splits, Clipboard & Scrollback, CLI Actions. Each shortcut includes a description to help you understand when and how to use it effectively.
✓ Verified July 2026 against ghostty +list-keybinds --default and official docs (ghostty.org).
| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + T | New tab | Open a new tab (Cmd+T on macOS, native platform tabs). |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | New window | Open a new terminal window (Cmd+N on macOS). |
| Ctrl + Shift + W | Close surface | Close the current tab or split (Cmd+W on macOS). |
| Ctrl + Shift + Left / Right | Previous / next tab | Cycle between tabs (Cmd+Shift+[ and Cmd+Shift+] on macOS). |
| Ctrl + Shift + Q | Quit Ghostty | Quit the application (Cmd+Q on macOS). |
| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + O | Split right | Create a new split to the right (Cmd+D on macOS). |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Split down | Create a new split below (Cmd+Shift+D on macOS). |
| Ctrl + Alt + Arrows | Focus split | Move focus to the split in that direction (Cmd+Alt+Arrows on macOS). |
| Super + Ctrl + Arrows | Resize split | Resize the current split by 10px in that direction. |
| Super + Ctrl + = | Equalize splits | Make all splits in the window equal size. |
| Cmd + Shift + Enter | Zoom split | Temporarily maximize the focused split, press again to restore (macOS). |
| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + C | Copy | Copy the selection to clipboard (Cmd+C on macOS). |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste | Paste from clipboard (Cmd+V on macOS). |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Select all | Select the entire visible terminal content. |
| Ctrl + Shift + J | Dump scrollback | Write the scrollback buffer to a file — the standard workaround for missing built-in search. |
| Ctrl + Shift + PgDn | Jump to prompt | Jump between shell prompts in scrollback (Cmd+Up/Down on macOS, needs shell integration). |
| Ctrl + Shift + , | Reload config | Reload the configuration file at runtime (Cmd+Shift+, on macOS). |
| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ghostty +list-keybinds --default | List default keybinds | Print every default keybinding — the authoritative list for your version. |
| ghostty +list-themes | Preview themes | Open an interactive TUI preview of all built-in themes. |
| ghostty +list-actions | List actions | List every action you can bind in the config file. |
| ghostty +show-config | Show config | Print the fully resolved current configuration. |
Ghostty's 21 shortcuts on this page are organized into 4 categories: Tabs & Windows (5), Splits (6), Clipboard & Scrollback (6), CLI Actions (4). Splits is the largest group with 6 shortcuts — a good place to focus first if you're building muscle memory from scratch.
A few of these aren't Ghostty-specific — they're shared across tools: Ctrl + Shift + N (New window, also in Chrome); Ctrl + Shift + A (Select all, also in Chrome); Ctrl + Shift + E (Split down, also in VS Code). Learning them here pays off well beyond Ghostty itself.
New to Ghostty? Start with Tabs & Windows above — it's usually where the shortcuts you'll reach for constantly live. Once those feel automatic, work through CLI Actions to round out your workflow.
Want this on paper? The printable cheat sheet turns these 21 shortcuts into a one-page PDF you can pin above your desk. Prefer to learn by doing? Shortcut Speedrun turns memorization into a timed typing challenge with a global leaderboard, so you find out which Ghostty shortcuts you actually remember under pressure.
The most essential Ghostty shortcuts are: Ctrl + Shift + T (New tab), Ctrl + Shift + N (New window), Ctrl + Shift + W (Close surface). These cover the most frequent actions and can significantly speed up your workflow.
Ghostty has 21 keyboard shortcuts across 4 categories on shortcut-tools.com.
These are command-line commands and keybindings — most work directly in your terminal. Combine them with shell history search (Ctrl + R) and aliases to work even faster.
The Ghostty shortcut for new tab is Ctrl + Shift + T. Open a new tab (Cmd+T on macOS, native platform tabs).
Ghostty includes 6 Splits shortcuts, including Ctrl + Shift + O (Split right) and Ctrl + Shift + E (Split down). See the full list in the Splits section above.
Ghostty includes 6 Clipboard & Scrollback shortcuts, including Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy) and Ctrl + Shift + V (Paste). See the full list in the Clipboard & Scrollback section above.
Yes — use My Stack to combine Ghostty shortcuts with any other platform on this site into one printable reference, which is useful if your daily workflow spans several tools.
Start with the essentials: Learn Ctrl + Shift + T (New tab) and Ctrl + Shift + N (New window) first — these are the most commonly used.
Practice daily: Pick 2–3 new shortcuts each day and consciously use them instead of the mouse. Within a week, they become muscle memory.
Print this cheat sheet: Keep a reference nearby until shortcuts become automatic. Focus on the Tabs & Windows category first.
Terminal tip: Bookmark this page for quick reference — muscle memory for these bindings compounds fast.