keyboard-shortcuts

Development

Reference for keyboard shortcut implementation, keybinding registration, shortcut parity with vim and other TUI tools, and the complete shortcut assignment table across all sidecar plugins. Use when adding or modifying keyboard shortcuts, checking shortcut assignments, resolving key conflicts, or assessing alignment with vim conventions.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Complete shortcut listings and context reference for all sidecar plugins. For implementation patterns, see docs/guides/ui-feature-guide.md. For a detailed assessment of inconsistencies, vim alignment, mnemonic quality, and improvement proposals, see references/assessment.md in this skill directory.

Architecture

Centralized binding registry: internal/keymap/bindings.go is the single source of truth for key bindings.
Context-based dispatch: Each plugin defines contexts; bindings are scoped to contexts.
Command palette (?): Auto-discovers bindings for discoverability.
User overrides: Supported via ~/.config/sidecar/config.json.
Key sequences: Compound commands like g g are supported with 500ms timeout.

Adding a New Shortcut

Add the binding in internal/keymap/bindings.go under the appropriate context.
Add command handling in the plugin's Update() method (usually in a handlers.go file).
Add the command to the plugin's Commands() method for footer hint and command palette.
Keep command names short (1 word preferred) to prevent footer wrapping.

TD Monitor Shortcuts

TD shortcuts are dynamically exported from TD itself via ExportBindings() and ExportCommands() in pkg/monitor/keymap/. TD is the single source of truth. To add TD shortcuts:

Add binding to TD's pkg/monitor/keymap/bindings.go
Add command constant to TD's pkg/monitor/keymap/registry.go
Add metadata to TD's pkg/monitor/keymap/export.go
Handle in TD's pkg/monitor/model.go

Global Shortcuts

Key	Command	Description
`j` / `down`	cursor-down	Move cursor down
`k` / `up`	cursor-up	Move cursor up
`G`	cursor-bottom	Jump to bottom
`g g`	cursor-top	Jump to top
`ctrl+d`	page-down	Page down
`ctrl+u`	page-up	Page up
`enter`	select	Select item
`esc`	back	Go back / close
`	next-plugin	Next plugin
`~`	prev-plugin	Previous plugin
`1-5`	focus-plugin-N	Focus plugin by number
`?`	toggle-palette	Command palette
`!`	toggle-diagnostics	Diagnostics overlay
`@`	switch-project	Project switcher
`r`	refresh	Refresh
`q`	quit	Quit (root contexts only)
`ctrl+c`	quit	Force quit

Sidebar Controls (All Two-Pane Plugins)

Key	Action
`Tab` / `Shift+Tab`	Switch focus between panes
`\`	Toggle sidebar visibility
`h` / `left`	Focus left pane
`l` / `right`	Focus right pane
`+`	Grow sidebar width
`-`	Shrink sidebar width

Git Status Plugin

Contexts

Context	View
`git-status`	File list (root)
`git-status-commits`	Recent commits sidebar (root)
`git-status-diff`	Inline diff pane (root)
`git-commit-preview`	Commit detail in right pane
`git-diff`	Full-screen diff
`git-commit`	Commit editor
`git-push-menu`	Push strategy selection
`git-pull-menu`	Pull strategy selection
`git-pull-conflict`	Conflict resolution
`git-history`	Commit history
`git-commit-detail`	Single commit view

File List Shortcuts

Key	Command	Description
`s`	stage-file	Stage selected file
`u`	unstage-file	Unstage selected file
`S`	stage-all	Stage all modified
`U`	unstage-all	Unstage all
`c`	commit	Open commit editor
`A`	amend	Amend last commit
`d` / `enter`	show-diff	View file changes
`D`	discard-changes	Discard unstaged changes
`h`	show-history	Open commit history
`P`	push	Open push menu
`L`	pull	Open pull menu
`f`	fetch	Fetch from remote
`b`	branch	Branch operations
`z`	stash	Stash changes
`Z`	stash-pop	Pop stash
`ctrl+z`	stash-apply	Stash apply
`o`	open-in-github	Open in GitHub
`O`	open-in-file-browser	Open in file browser
`y`	yank-file	Copy file info
`Y`	yank-path	Copy file path

Commit List Shortcuts

Key	Command	Description
`enter` / `d`	view-commit	Open commit details
`h`	show-history	Open history view
`y`	yank-commit	Copy commit as markdown
`Y`	yank-id	Copy commit hash
`/`	search-history	Search commit messages
`f`	filter-author	Filter by author
`p`	filter-path	Filter by path
`F`	clear-filter	Clear filters
`n`	next-match	Next search match
`N`	prev-match	Previous match
`o`	open-in-github	Open commit in GitHub
`v`	toggle-graph	Toggle commit graph

Pull Menu

Key	Command
`p`	pull-merge
`r`	pull-rebase
`f`	pull-ff-only
`a`	pull-autostash

File Browser Plugin

Contexts

Context	View
`file-browser-tree`	Tree view (root)
`file-browser-preview`	Preview pane
`file-browser-search`	Filename search
`file-browser-content-search`	Content search
`file-browser-quick-open`	Fuzzy file finder
`file-browser-project-search`	Ripgrep search modal
`file-browser-file-op`	File operation input
`file-browser-inline-edit`	Inline vim editor (all keys forwarded, global shortcuts bypassed)

Tree Shortcuts

Key	Command	Description
`/`	search	Filter files by name
`ctrl+p`	quick-open	Fuzzy file finder
`ctrl+s`	project-search	Project-wide search
`a`	create-file	Create new file
`A`	create-dir	Create new directory
`d`	delete	Delete (with confirmation)
`t`	new-tab	Open in new tab
`[`	prev-tab	Previous tab
`]`	next-tab	Next tab
`x`	close-tab	Close active tab
`y`	yank	Copy to clipboard
`p`	paste	Paste from clipboard
`s`	sort	Cycle sort mode
`m`	move	Move file/directory
`R`	rename	Rename
`ctrl+r`	reveal	Reveal in file manager

Conversations Plugin

Contexts

Context	View
`conversations`	Session list single-pane (root)
`conversations-sidebar`	Session list two-pane (root)
`conversations-main`	Messages pane
`conversations-search`	Search mode
`conversations-filter`	Adapter filter
`conversation-detail`	Turn list
`message-detail`	Single turn content
`analytics`	Usage stats

Workspaces Plugin

Contexts

Context	View
`workspace-list`	Workspace list (root)
`workspace-preview`	Preview pane
`workspace-create`	Create worktree input
`workspace-task-link`	Task selection modal
`workspace-merge`	Merge workflow modal
`workspace-interactive`	Embedded terminal

List Shortcuts

Key	Command	Description
`n`	new-workspace	Create new workspace
`v`	toggle-view	Toggle list/kanban
`D`	delete-workspace	Delete workspace
`p`	push	Push branch
`m`	merge-workflow	Start merge workflow
`T`	link-task	Link/unlink task
`s`	start-agent	Start agent
`enter`	interactive	Enter interactive mode
`t`	attach	Attach to tmux
`S`	stop-agent	Stop agent
`y`	approve	Approve agent prompt
`N`	reject	Reject agent prompt
`[`	prev-tab	Previous preview tab
`]`	next-tab	Next preview tab

Interactive Mode

Key	Command
`ctrl+\`	exit
`ctrl+]`	attach
`alt+c`	copy
`alt+v`	paste

TD Monitor Plugin

Contexts: td-monitor (root), td-modal, td-stats, td-search, td-confirm, td-epic-tasks, td-parent-epic, td-handoffs.

Shortcuts are defined in TD's pkg/monitor/keymap/ and auto-exported.

Project Switcher

Key	Command
`@`	toggle
`down` / `ctrl+n`	cursor-down
`up` / `ctrl+p`	cursor-up
`Enter`	select
`Esc`	close

Command Palette

Press ? to open. Press tab to toggle between current-context and all-contexts view.

Key	Action
`j` / `k` / `up` / `down`	Navigate
`ctrl+d` / `ctrl+u`	Page down/up
`enter`	Execute
`esc`	Close
`tab`	Toggle context filter

Known Conflicts and Design Decisions

Key conflicts exist across plugins (e.g., d = delete in file-browser, diff in git, delete-session in conversations). See references/assessment.md for the full inconsistency analysis, vim alignment audit, mnemonic analysis, and proposed improvement plan.

Shift Modifier Convention (Current)

s/S: stage / stage-all (git)
u/U: unstage / unstage-all (git)
d/D: diff / discard (git), delete/- (file-browser)
y/Y: yank item / yank path
n/N: next-match / prev-match (search contexts)