Customize
Keyboard shortcuts
Use the common controls and remap supported actions.
Vera’s command palette and dialog footers show the controls available in the current screen. A picker may use a shortcut differently from the composer.
Common controls
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+P | Open the command palette. |
| Ctrl+X, then M | Open Switch model. Release Ctrl before M. |
| Ctrl+X, then H | Show or hide a card of the common keys. The composer keeps typing. |
| Ctrl+X, then B | Show or hide the sidebar of running conversations. |
| Shift+Tab | Open quick model, effort, access, and definition controls. |
| Ctrl+E | Open the conversation list. |
| Ctrl+F | Search the conversation on screen. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Search across conversations. |
| Ctrl+G | Change focus between conversation panes. |
| Ctrl+\ | Cycle split and single-pane layouts. |
| Ctrl+C | Stop work, clear an idle draft, or exit with an empty composer. |
Ctrl+C also exits when a stop is in progress. Other conversations can remain running after the TUI exits. See Saved conversations.
Remap an action
tui.json maps supported action IDs to key combinations. It does not define
new actions or macros. For example:
{
"keybindings": {
"open_model_picker": ["shift+tab"],
"dials.open": ["ctrl+d"]
}
}An empty list unbinds an action:
{ "keybindings": { "open_model_picker": [] } }The help pane lists action IDs and shows the effective shortcuts after remapping.
What can be remapped
Supported remaps cover actions that open visible pickers and navigation inside them. Core controls such as interrupt, Enter, Escape, text editing, and scrolling remain fixed. Actions that change state without opening a screen cannot be remapped.
Key names
Use lowercase names with modifiers first, such as ctrl+shift+tab.
Supported modifiers are ctrl and shift. alt, meta, and option are
rejected because reporting differs between terminals.
Keys include tab, backtab, enter, esc, space, arrows, home, end,
pageup, pagedown, delete, backspace, insert, f1 through f12, and
single printable characters.
Ctrl+Shift+letter combinations require a terminal that supports the kitty keyboard protocol. Vera accepts them and shows a startup notice.
Fix a rejected binding
Invalid entries are ignored and named at startup. They do not prevent the TUI from starting. For example:
keybinding ignored: dials.opne: unknown binding id
keybinding ignored: interrupt: this binding cannot be movedIf two actions use the same chord in the same scope, both remaps are ignored and their defaults return. Correct the named entries rather than relying on one to take precedence.