helix/book/src/keymap.md

Keymap

• Normal mode
  • Movement
  • Changes
    • Shell
  • Selection manipulation
  • Search
  • Minor modes
    • View mode
    • Goto mode
    • Match mode
    • Window mode
    • Space mode
      • Popup
    • Unimpaired
• Insert mode
• Select / extend mode
• Picker
• Prompt

💡 Mappings marked (LSP) require an active language server for the file.

💡 Mappings marked (TS) require a tree-sitter grammar for the file type.

Normal mode

Normal mode is the default mode when you launch helix. You can return to it from other modes by pressing the Escape key.

Movement

NOTE: Unlike Vim, f, F, t and T are not confined to the current line.

Key	Description	Command
h, Left	Move left	move_char_left
j, Down	Move down	move_visual_line_down
k, Up	Move up	move_visual_line_up
l, Right	Move right	move_char_right
w	Move next word start	move_next_word_start
b	Move previous word start	move_prev_word_start
e	Move next word end	move_next_word_end
W	Move next WORD start	move_next_long_word_start
B	Move previous WORD start	move_prev_long_word_start
E	Move next WORD end	move_next_long_word_end
t	Find 'till next char	find_till_char
f	Find next char	find_next_char
T	Find 'till previous char	till_prev_char
F	Find previous char	find_prev_char
G	Go to line number <n>	goto_line
Alt-.	Repeat last motion (f, t or m)	repeat_last_motion
Home	Move to the start of the line	goto_line_start
End	Move to the end of the line	goto_line_end
Ctrl-b, PageUp	Move page up	page_up
Ctrl-f, PageDown	Move page down	page_down
Ctrl-u	Move half page up	half_page_up
Ctrl-d	Move half page down	half_page_down
Ctrl-i	Jump forward on the jumplist	jump_forward
Ctrl-o	Jump backward on the jumplist	jump_backward
Ctrl-s	Save the current selection to the jumplist	save_selection

Changes

Key	Description	Command
r	Replace with a character	replace
R	Replace with yanked text	replace_with_yanked
~	Switch case of the selected text	switch_case
`	Set the selected text to lower case	switch_to_lowercase
Alt-`	Set the selected text to upper case	switch_to_uppercase
i	Insert before selection	insert_mode
a	Insert after selection (append)	append_mode
I	Insert at the start of the line	insert_at_line_start
A	Insert at the end of the line	insert_at_line_end
o	Open new line below selection	open_below
O	Open new line above selection	open_above
.	Repeat last insert	N/A
u	Undo change	undo
U	Redo change	redo
Alt-u	Move backward in history	earlier
Alt-U	Move forward in history	later
y	Yank selection	yank
p	Paste after selection	paste_after
P	Paste before selection	paste_before
" <reg>	Select a register to yank to or paste from	select_register
>	Indent selection	indent
<	Unindent selection	unindent
=	Format selection (currently nonfunctional/disabled) (LSP)	format_selections
d	Delete selection	delete_selection
Alt-d	Delete selection, without yanking	delete_selection_noyank
c	Change selection (delete and enter insert mode)	change_selection
Alt-c	Change selection (delete and enter insert mode, without yanking)	change_selection_noyank
Ctrl-a	Increment object (number) under cursor	increment
Ctrl-x	Decrement object (number) under cursor	decrement
Q	Start/stop macro recording to the selected register (experimental)	record_macro
q	Play back a recorded macro from the selected register (experimental)	replay_macro

Shell

Key	Description	Command
|	Pipe each selection through shell command, replacing with output	shell_pipe
Alt-|	Pipe each selection into shell command, ignoring output	shell_pipe_to
!	Run shell command, inserting output before each selection	shell_insert_output
Alt-!	Run shell command, appending output after each selection	shell_append_output
$	Pipe each selection into shell command, keep selections where command returned 0	shell_keep_pipe

Selection manipulation

Key	Description	Command
s	Select all regex matches inside selections	select_regex
S	Split selection into sub selections on regex matches	split_selection
Alt-s	Split selection on newlines	split_selection_on_newline
Alt-minus	Merge selections	merge_selections
Alt-_	Merge consecutive selections	merge_consecutive_selections
&	Align selection in columns	align_selections
_	Trim whitespace from the selection	trim_selections
;	Collapse selection onto a single cursor	collapse_selection
Alt-;	Flip selection cursor and anchor	flip_selections
Alt-:	Ensures the selection is in forward direction	ensure_selections_forward
,	Keep only the primary selection	keep_primary_selection
Alt-,	Remove the primary selection	remove_primary_selection
C	Copy selection onto the next line (Add cursor below)	copy_selection_on_next_line
Alt-C	Copy selection onto the previous line (Add cursor above)	copy_selection_on_prev_line
(	Rotate main selection backward	rotate_selections_backward
)	Rotate main selection forward	rotate_selections_forward
Alt-(	Rotate selection contents backward	rotate_selection_contents_backward
Alt-)	Rotate selection contents forward	rotate_selection_contents_forward
%	Select entire file	select_all
x	Select current line, if already selected, extend to next line	extend_line_below
X	Extend selection to line bounds (line-wise selection)	extend_to_line_bounds
Alt-x	Shrink selection to line bounds (line-wise selection)	shrink_to_line_bounds
J	Join lines inside selection	join_selections
Alt-J	Join lines inside selection and select the inserted space	join_selections_space
K	Keep selections matching the regex	keep_selections
Alt-K	Remove selections matching the regex	remove_selections
Ctrl-c	Comment/uncomment the selections	toggle_comments
Alt-o, Alt-up	Expand selection to parent syntax node (TS)	expand_selection
Alt-i, Alt-down	Shrink syntax tree object selection (TS)	shrink_selection
Alt-p, Alt-left	Select previous sibling node in syntax tree (TS)	select_prev_sibling
Alt-n, Alt-right	Select next sibling node in syntax tree (TS)	select_next_sibling

Search

Search commands all operate on the / register by default. To use a different register, use "<char>.

Key	Description	Command
/	Search for regex pattern	search
?	Search for previous pattern	rsearch
n	Select next search match	search_next
N	Select previous search match	search_prev
*	Use current selection as the search pattern	search_selection

Minor modes

These sub-modes are accessible from normal mode and typically switch back to normal mode after a command.

Key	Description	Command
v	Enter select (extend) mode	select_mode
g	Enter goto mode	N/A
m	Enter match mode	N/A
:	Enter command mode	command_mode
z	Enter view mode	N/A
Z	Enter sticky view mode	N/A
Ctrl-w	Enter window mode	N/A
Space	Enter space mode	N/A

These modes (except command mode) can be configured by remapping keys.

View mode

Accessed by typing z in normal mode.

View mode is intended for scrolling and manipulating the view without changing the selection. The "sticky" variant of this mode (accessed by typing Z in normal mode) is persistent and can be exited using the escape key. This is useful when you're simply looking over text and not actively editing it.

Key	Description	Command
z, c	Vertically center the line	align_view_center
t	Align the line to the top of the screen	align_view_top
b	Align the line to the bottom of the screen	align_view_bottom
m	Align the line to the middle of the screen (horizontally)	align_view_middle
j, down	Scroll the view downwards	scroll_down
k, up	Scroll the view upwards	scroll_up
Ctrl-f, PageDown	Move page down	page_down
Ctrl-b, PageUp	Move page up	page_up
Ctrl-d	Move half page down	half_page_down
Ctrl-u	Move half page up	half_page_up

Goto mode

Accessed by typing g in normal mode.

Jumps to various locations.

Key	Description	Command
g	Go to line number <n> else start of file	goto_file_start
e	Go to the end of the file	goto_last_line
f	Go to files in the selections	goto_file
h	Go to the start of the line	goto_line_start
l	Go to the end of the line	goto_line_end
s	Go to first non-whitespace character of the line	goto_first_nonwhitespace
t	Go to the top of the screen	goto_window_top
c	Go to the middle of the screen	goto_window_center
b	Go to the bottom of the screen	goto_window_bottom
d	Go to definition (LSP)	goto_definition
y	Go to type definition (LSP)	goto_type_definition
r	Go to references (LSP)	goto_reference
i	Go to implementation (LSP)	goto_implementation
a	Go to the last accessed/alternate file	goto_last_accessed_file
m	Go to the last modified/alternate file	goto_last_modified_file
n	Go to next buffer	goto_next_buffer
p	Go to previous buffer	goto_previous_buffer
.	Go to last modification in current file	goto_last_modification
j	Move down textual (instead of visual) line	move_line_down
k	Move up textual (instead of visual) line	move_line_up

Match mode

Accessed by typing m in normal mode.

See the relevant section in Usage for an explanation about surround and textobject usage.

Key	Description	Command
m	Goto matching bracket (TS)	match_brackets
s <char>	Surround current selection with <char>	surround_add
r <from><to>	Replace surround character <from> with <to>	surround_replace
d <char>	Delete surround character <char>	surround_delete
a <object>	Select around textobject	select_textobject_around
i <object>	Select inside textobject	select_textobject_inner

TODO: Mappings for selecting syntax nodes (a superset of [).

Window mode

Accessed by typing Ctrl-w in normal mode.

This layer is similar to Vim keybindings as Kakoune does not support windows.

Key	Description	Command
w, Ctrl-w	Switch to next window	rotate_view
v, Ctrl-v	Vertical right split	vsplit
s, Ctrl-s	Horizontal bottom split	hsplit
f	Go to files in the selections in horizontal splits	goto_file
F	Go to files in the selections in vertical splits	goto_file
h, Ctrl-h, Left	Move to left split	jump_view_left
j, Ctrl-j, Down	Move to split below	jump_view_down
k, Ctrl-k, Up	Move to split above	jump_view_up
l, Ctrl-l, Right	Move to right split	jump_view_right
q, Ctrl-q	Close current window	wclose
o, Ctrl-o	Only keep the current window, closing all the others	wonly
H	Swap window to the left	swap_view_left
J	Swap window downwards	swap_view_down
K	Swap window upwards	swap_view_up
L	Swap window to the right	swap_view_right

Space mode

Accessed by typing Space in normal mode.

This layer is a kludge of mappings, mostly pickers.

Key	Description	Command
f	Open file picker	file_picker
F	Open file picker at current working directory	file_picker_in_current_directory
b	Open buffer picker	buffer_picker
j	Open jumplist picker	jumplist_picker
g	Debug (experimental)	N/A
k	Show documentation for item under cursor in a popup (LSP)	hover
s	Open document symbol picker (LSP)	symbol_picker
S	Open workspace symbol picker (LSP)	workspace_symbol_picker
d	Open document diagnostics picker (LSP)	diagnostics_picker
D	Open workspace diagnostics picker (LSP)	workspace_diagnostics_picker
r	Rename symbol (LSP)	rename_symbol
a	Apply code action (LSP)	code_action
h	Select symbol references (LSP)	select_references_to_symbol_under_cursor
'	Open last fuzzy picker	last_picker
w	Enter window mode	N/A
p	Paste system clipboard after selections	paste_clipboard_after
P	Paste system clipboard before selections	paste_clipboard_before
y	Yank selections to clipboard	yank_to_clipboard
Y	Yank main selection to clipboard	yank_main_selection_to_clipboard
R	Replace selections by clipboard contents	replace_selections_with_clipboard
/	Global search in workspace folder	global_search
?	Open command palette	command_palette

💡 Global search displays results in a fuzzy picker, use Space + ' to bring it back up after opening a file.

Popup

Displays documentation for item under cursor.

Key	Description
Ctrl-u	Scroll up
Ctrl-d	Scroll down

Unimpaired

These mappings are in the style of vim-unimpaired.

Key	Description	Command
]d	Go to next diagnostic (LSP)	goto_next_diag
[d	Go to previous diagnostic (LSP)	goto_prev_diag
]D	Go to last diagnostic in document (LSP)	goto_last_diag
[D	Go to first diagnostic in document (LSP)	goto_first_diag
]f	Go to next function (TS)	goto_next_function
[f	Go to previous function (TS)	goto_prev_function
]t	Go to next type definition (TS)	goto_next_class
[t	Go to previous type definition (TS)	goto_prev_class
]a	Go to next argument/parameter (TS)	goto_next_parameter
[a	Go to previous argument/parameter (TS)	goto_prev_parameter
]c	Go to next comment (TS)	goto_next_comment
[c	Go to previous comment (TS)	goto_prev_comment
]T	Go to next test (TS)	goto_next_test
[T	Go to previous test (TS)	goto_prev_test
]p	Go to next paragraph	goto_next_paragraph
[p	Go to previous paragraph	goto_prev_paragraph
]g	Go to next change	goto_next_change
[g	Go to previous change	goto_prev_change
]G	Go to last change	goto_last_change
[G	Go to first change	goto_first_change
]Space	Add newline below	add_newline_below
[Space	Add newline above	add_newline_above

Insert mode

Accessed by typing i in normal mode.

Insert mode bindings are minimal by default. Helix is designed to be a modal editor, and this is reflected in the user experience and internal mechanics. Changes to the text are only saved for undos when escaping from insert mode to normal mode.

💡 New users are strongly encouraged to learn the modal editing paradigm to get the smoothest experience.

Key	Description	Command
Escape	Switch to normal mode	normal_mode
Ctrl-s	Commit undo checkpoint	commit_undo_checkpoint
Ctrl-x	Autocomplete	completion
Ctrl-r	Insert a register content	insert_register
Ctrl-w, Alt-Backspace	Delete previous word	delete_word_backward
Alt-d, Alt-Delete	Delete next word	delete_word_forward
Ctrl-u	Delete to start of line	kill_to_line_start
Ctrl-k	Delete to end of line	kill_to_line_end
Ctrl-h, Backspace, Shift-Backspace	Delete previous char	delete_char_backward
Ctrl-d, Delete	Delete next char	delete_char_forward
Ctrl-j, Enter	Insert new line	insert_newline

These keys are not recommended, but are included for new users less familiar with modal editors.

Key	Description	Command
Up	Move to previous line	move_line_up
Down	Move to next line	move_line_down
Left	Backward a char	move_char_left
Right	Forward a char	move_char_right
PageUp	Move one page up	page_up
PageDown	Move one page down	page_down
Home	Move to line start	goto_line_start
End	Move to line end	goto_line_end_newline

As you become more comfortable with modal editing, you may want to disable some insert mode bindings. You can do this by editing your config.toml file.

[keys.insert]
up = "no_op"
down = "no_op"
left = "no_op"
right = "no_op"
pageup = "no_op"
pagedown = "no_op"
home = "no_op"
end = "no_op"

Select / extend mode

Accessed by typing v in normal mode.

Select mode echoes Normal mode, but changes any movements to extend selections rather than replace them. Goto motions are also changed to extend, so that vgl, for example, extends the selection to the end of the line.

Search is also affected. By default, n and N will remove the current selection and select the next instance of the search term. Toggling this mode before pressing n or N makes it possible to keep the current selection. Toggling it on and off during your iterative searching allows you to selectively add search terms to your selections.

Picker

Keys to use within picker. Remapping currently not supported.

Key	Description
Shift-Tab, Up, Ctrl-p	Previous entry
Tab, Down, Ctrl-n	Next entry
PageUp, Ctrl-u	Page up
PageDown, Ctrl-d	Page down
Home	Go to first entry
End	Go to last entry
Enter	Open selected
Alt-Enter	Open selected in the background without closing the picker
Ctrl-s	Open horizontally
Ctrl-v	Open vertically
Ctrl-t	Toggle preview
Escape, Ctrl-c	Close picker

Prompt

Keys to use within prompt, Remapping currently not supported.

Key	Description
Escape, Ctrl-c	Close prompt
Alt-b, Ctrl-Left	Backward a word
Ctrl-b, Left	Backward a char
Alt-f, Ctrl-Right	Forward a word
Ctrl-f, Right	Forward a char
Ctrl-e, End	Move prompt end
Ctrl-a, Home	Move prompt start
Ctrl-w, Alt-Backspace, Ctrl-Backspace	Delete previous word
Alt-d, Alt-Delete, Ctrl-Delete	Delete next word
Ctrl-u	Delete to start of line
Ctrl-k	Delete to end of line
Backspace, Ctrl-h, Shift-Backspace	Delete previous char
Delete, Ctrl-d	Delete next char
Ctrl-s	Insert a word under doc cursor, may be changed to Ctrl-r Ctrl-w later
Ctrl-p, Up	Select previous history
Ctrl-n, Down	Select next history
Ctrl-r	Insert the content of the register selected by following input char
Tab	Select next completion item
BackTab	Select previous completion item
Enter	Open selected