Complete Juniper JunOS keyboard shortcuts reference — 19 shortcuts across 1 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Junos OS.
Junos has an operational CLI with Emacs-style line editing, and this page lists those editing keys and the display, mode and configuration commands that surround them. Juniper's reference writes the Meta keys as Esc followed by a letter, and the table keeps that. The notes cover the commit model, which is what separates Junos from IOS-style CLIs.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | Move the cursor back one character |
| Esc + B | Move the cursor back one word |
| Ctrl + F | Move the cursor forward one character |
| Esc + F | Move the cursor forward one word |
| Ctrl + A | Move the cursor to the beginning of the command line |
| Ctrl + E | Move the cursor to the end of the command line |
| Ctrl + H | Delete the character before the cursor |
| Ctrl + D | Delete the character at the cursor |
| Ctrl + K | Delete the all characters from the cursor to the end of the |
| Ctrl + U | Delete the all characters from the command line |
| Ctrl + W | Delete the word before the cursor |
| Esc + D | Delete the word after the cursor |
| Ctrl + Y | Insert the most recently deleted text at the cursor |
| Ctrl + L | Redraw the current line |
| Ctrl + P | Scroll backward through the list of recently executed comman |
| Ctrl + N | Scroll forward through the list of recently executed command |
| Ctrl + R | Search the CLI history incrementally in reverse order for li |
| Esc + / | Search the CLI history for words for which the current word |
| Esc + . | Scroll backward through the list of recently entered words i |
The most essential Juniper JunOS shortcuts are: Ctrl + B (Move the cursor back one character), Esc + B (Move the cursor back one word), Ctrl + F (Move the cursor forward one character).
Type the sequence at the Junos CLI prompt. Ctrl combinations are held together; Esc sequences are pressed and released before the following key, and most accept Alt in place of Esc.
The Juniper JunOS shortcut for move the cursor back one character is Ctrl + B.
Print the Juniper JunOS cheat sheet and keep it next to your keyboard for the first week, then switch to active recall: open Shortcut Speedrun and practice Juniper JunOS shortcuts against the clock until they're automatic.
Yes — use My Stack to combine Juniper JunOS shortcuts with any other platform on this site into one printable reference, which is useful if your daily workflow spans several tools.
Because they are. Juniper's CLI User Guide states outright that these keyboard sequences are the same ones used in Emacs, which is also where most Unix shells got their line-editing keys.
The cursor reaches either end of the line with Ctrl + A or Ctrl + E, moves one character with Ctrl + B or Ctrl + F, and Esc + B and Esc + F move a word. Ctrl + W deletes the word before the cursor and Esc + D the word after; Ctrl + K deletes to the end of the line and Ctrl + U the whole line, with Ctrl + Y pasting back the last deletion. Ctrl + P and Ctrl + N walk the command history and Ctrl + R searches it. Ctrl + L redraws the line and Ctrl + H is backspace. Tab completes commands and ? lists what can follow.
configure enters configuration mode, where changes go into a candidate configuration and nothing takes effect until commit. show | compare diffs the candidate against the running configuration before committing, commit check validates without applying, and commit confirmed 5 applies the change but rolls it back automatically after five minutes unless a second commit confirms it — the safety net for changes to a remote router's management interface. rollback 1 reverts to the previous committed configuration.
show interfaces terse, show route, show configuration and show system alarms are the first four to run on an unfamiliar device. Any output can be filtered with | match, | except, | count and | display set, the last of which prints the configuration as the set commands that would recreate it — the format to paste into tickets and version control.
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"