Complete WezTerm keyboard shortcuts reference — 27 shortcuts across 3 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Windows & Mac.
WezTerm is a GPU-accelerated, cross-platform terminal emulator and multiplexer configured in Lua, with built-in panes, quick select, and a command palette. Learning its keyboard shortcuts can dramatically speed up your workflow — studies show shortcut users save an average of 8 days per year compared to mouse-only users.
This page covers all 27 WezTerm shortcuts across 3 categories: Tabs & Windows (6), Panes (7), Copy, Search & UI (14). Each shortcut includes a description to help you understand when and how to use it effectively.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + T | New tab |
| Ctrl + Shift + W | Close tab |
| Ctrl + Tab | Next tab |
| Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Previous tab |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | New window |
| Alt + Enter | Toggle fullscreen |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + Alt + " | Split vertically |
| Ctrl + Shift + Alt + % | Split horizontally |
| Ctrl + Shift + Left | Focus pane left |
| Ctrl + Shift + Right | Focus pane right |
| Ctrl + Shift + Up | Focus pane above |
| Ctrl + Shift + Down | Focus pane below |
| Ctrl + Shift + Z | Zoom pane |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + C | Copy |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Search scrollback |
| Ctrl + Shift + X | Copy mode |
| Ctrl + Shift + Space | Quick select |
| Ctrl + Shift + K | Clear scrollback |
| Ctrl + Shift + P | Command palette |
| Shift + PageUp | Scroll page up |
| Shift + PageDown | Scroll page down |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Debug overlay |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | Reload configuration |
| Ctrl + = | Increase font size |
| Ctrl + - | Decrease font size |
| Ctrl + 0 | Reset font size |
WezTerm's 27 shortcuts on this page are organized into 3 categories: Tabs & Windows (6), Panes (7), Copy, Search & UI (14). Copy, Search & UI is the largest group with 14 shortcuts — a good place to focus first if you're building muscle memory from scratch.
A few of these aren't WezTerm-specific — they're shared across tools: Ctrl + Shift + T (New tab, also in Chrome); Ctrl + Shift + W (Close tab, also in Chrome); Ctrl + Tab (Next tab, also in Windows). Learning them here pays off well beyond WezTerm itself.
New to WezTerm? Start with Tabs & Windows above — it's usually where the shortcuts you'll reach for constantly live. Once those feel automatic, work through Copy, Search & UI to round out your workflow.
Want this on paper? The printable cheat sheet turns these 27 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 WezTerm shortcuts you actually remember under pressure.
The most essential WezTerm shortcuts are: Ctrl + Shift + T (New tab), Ctrl + Shift + W (Close tab), Ctrl + Tab (Next tab). These cover the most frequent actions and can significantly speed up your workflow.
WezTerm has 27 keyboard shortcuts across 3 categories on shortcut-tools.com.
Simply press the key combination while WezTerm is focused. Most shortcuts work immediately. On Mac, replace Ctrl with Cmd and Alt with Option for most shortcuts.
The WezTerm shortcut for new tab is Ctrl + Shift + T.
WezTerm includes 14 Copy, Search & UI shortcuts, including Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy) and Ctrl + Shift + V (Paste). See the full list in the Copy, Search & UI section above.
Print the WezTerm cheat sheet and keep it next to your keyboard for the first week, then switch to active recall: open Shortcut Speedrun and practice WezTerm shortcuts against the clock until they're automatic.
Yes — use My Stack to combine WezTerm shortcuts with any other platform on this site into one printable reference, which is useful if your daily workflow spans several tools.
Most do not — the underlying key is the same, but WezTerm (like most software) maps Ctrl on Windows/Linux to Cmd on Mac for standard operations. Where a shortcut is platform-specific, this page notes the Mac variant next to the Windows one.
Start with the essentials: Learn Ctrl + Shift + T (New tab) and Ctrl + Shift + W (Close tab) 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 Copy, Search & UI category first.
CLI tip: Create shell aliases for the commands you use most. Combine them with these shortcuts for maximum efficiency.