Delta is keyboard-driven: every command is an action, and actions can be bound to keys.
View shortcuts
Press Cmd+/ on macOS or Ctrl+/ on Linux and Windows to open the keyboard
shortcuts reference, which lists Delta’s actions grouped by area. It’s also in
the menu bar as Keymap. The keys shown are looked up from the live keymap, so
the reference always reflects the actual bindings, including platform
differences in the defaults.
Command palette
Press Cmd+Shift+P on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+P on Linux and Windows to open
the command palette with the command filter applied. Press Cmd+K on macOS or
Ctrl+K on Linux and Windows to search commands and threads together. The
palette is also in the menu bar as Command Palette…. When a terminal is
focused, Cmd+K goes to the terminal instead; use Cmd+Shift+P.
Press Tab in the command palette to switch to Ask Delta. Describe what you
want to do, then press Enter. Delta answers and suggests relevant commands;
select a suggestion to run it. Press Tab again to return to command and thread
search.
Switch between thread and file pane
Press Cmd+? on macOS or Ctrl+? on Linux and Windows to toggle focus
between the thread and the file pane.
Menu bar
Actions are also discoverable through the menu bar, which shows the shortcut next to each menu item.
Common shortcuts
These shortcuts describe the desktop app. Browser shortcuts can differ or
be reserved by the browser; Cmd+D and Ctrl+D do not bookmark a Delta
thread on the web.
This is a curated list of common navigation and workflow shortcuts. For the
complete live list, press Cmd+/ on macOS or Ctrl+/ on Linux and Windows.
| Action | macOS | Linux and Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Send a message | Cmd+Enter | Ctrl+Enter |
| Send a message to a subthread | Cmd+Shift+Enter | Ctrl+Shift+Enter |
| Open the primary project’s menu | Cmd+Option+O | Ctrl+Alt+O |
| Choose a branch | Ctrl+Cmd+B | Ctrl+Alt+B |
| Switch thread/file pane focus | Cmd+? | Ctrl+? |
| Focus the parent conversation (desktop) | Cmd+1 | Ctrl+1 |
| Find a thread | Cmd+T | Ctrl+T |
| Pin or unpin the current thread | Cmd+Option+P | Ctrl+Alt+P |
| Bookmark or unbookmark the current thread | Cmd+D | Ctrl+D |
| Show Bookmarked Threads | Cmd+Option+B | No default |
| View All Subthreads | Cmd+J | Ctrl+J |
| Return to the parent thread | Cmd+Option+U | Ctrl+Alt+U |
| Archive the current thread | Cmd+W | Ctrl+W |
| Share the current thread | Cmd+Shift+S | Ctrl+Shift+S |
| Copy a share link | Cmd+Option+L | Ctrl+Alt+L |
| Reopen a recently archived thread | Cmd+Shift+T | Ctrl+Shift+T |
| Show thread history | Cmd+Y | No default |
| Start a review thread | Cmd+Shift+R | Ctrl+Shift+R |
| Open Review Changes | Option+Shift+D | Alt+Shift+D |
| Collapse or expand all review files | Shift+Tab | Shift+Tab |
| Mark all review files seen or unseen | Cmd+Shift+Y | Ctrl+Shift+Y |
| Open a link or a file from tool output | Option+Enter | Alt+Enter |
| Open a terminal in the thread | Ctrl+` | Ctrl+` |
| Toggle terminal background mode | Cmd+Option+Z | Ctrl+Alt+Z |
| Comment on a selection | Cmd+Option+M | Ctrl+Alt+M |
| Toggle comment mode in a file tab | Cmd+Option+C | Ctrl+Alt+C |
| Open or close a delivered comment | Cmd+Shift+M | Ctrl+Shift+M |
| Show or hide comments in Files and Changes | Cmd+Option+V | Ctrl+Alt+V |
| Previous / next file tab | Cmd+Option+Left / Cmd+Option+Right | Ctrl+Alt+Left / Ctrl+Alt+Right |
| Follow the next collaborator | Ctrl+Option+Cmd+F | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F |
| Cycle the cursor position | Ctrl+L | Ctrl+L |
| Open the log viewer | Cmd+Shift+L | Ctrl+Shift+L |
| Search the focused view | Cmd+F | Ctrl+F |
| Next / previous search match | Cmd+G / Cmd+Shift+G | Ctrl+G / Ctrl+Shift+G |
When the file pane is focused, Cmd+W on macOS or Ctrl+W on Linux and
Windows closes the file tab instead of archiving the thread. With the project
or Changes panel focused, it closes that panel. In a focused subagent
conversation, Escape stops that subagent.
Use Ctrl+P or Ctrl+K to select the previous item in menus, and Ctrl+N
or Ctrl+J to select the next. Review-file shortcuts apply when the diff
is focused, not while editing a comment. The return-to-parent shortcut applies
when a subthread is open as primary.
Option+Enter on macOS or Alt+Enter on Linux and Windows opens the link
under the cursor in the conversation regardless of Send With Modifier.
Context-specific gestures are documented with their workflows:
- Thread search and navigation covers moving through a thread by whole turns and selecting code blocks.
- Starting a thread covers composer indentation.
- Sending to a subthread covers the shortcut and modified-click gesture.
- Opening files from the transcript
covers where
Option+Enterworks.
Custom keybindings
Delta does not support rebinding keys yet. The defaults are fixed, apart
from the composer’s send behavior: Cmd+Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Linux and
Windows) sends by default, and turning the
Send With Modifier setting off makes
Enter send instead. With that setting off, Cmd+Enter on macOS or
Ctrl+Enter on Linux and Windows sends to a new subthread.
What’s next
- Settings covers the settings that change what some keys do in the composer.