Keyboard Shortcuts

Zync keeps terminal input shell-first by default. A shortcut is handled by Zync only when the focused surface and the shortcut’s routing rule allow it. Keys that belong to the shell, nano, Vim, or another remote program continue to the PTY.

Open Settings > Shortcuts to see the generated catalog and edit configurable bindings. Open Settings with Cmd+, on macOS or Ctrl+, on Windows and Linux.

Reading shortcut labels

Mod means Ctrl on Windows and Linux, and Cmd on macOS. For example, Mod+P is Ctrl+P on Windows and Cmd+P on macOS.

Core shortcuts

Shortcut	Action	Terminal focus
Mod+B	Toggle the sidebar	Zync always handles it
Mod+P	Open the command palette	Zync always handles it
Mod+Shift+P	Open the command palette in command mode	Zync always handles it
Mod+I	Open or close the AI command bar	Zync always handles it
Mod+,	Open Settings	Zync always handles it
Mod+N	New connection	Shell-first sends it to the PTY
Mod+T	New local terminal	Shell-first sends it to the PTY
Mod+Shift+T	New terminal for the current host	Zync always handles it
Mod+W	Close the active app tab	Shell-first sends it to the PTY
Mod+Shift+W	Close the active terminal tab	Zync always handles it
Ctrl+Tab	Next tab	Zync always handles it
Ctrl+Shift+Tab	Previous tab	Zync always handles it
Mod+1 through Mod+9	Switch to a numbered tab	Zync always handles it

On macOS, the Ctrl prefix in the split-pane and focus bindings remains Ctrl. Mod is the platform-aware prefix only where the catalog says Mod.

Terminal shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Mod+Shift+C	Copy from the terminal
Mod+Shift+V	Paste into the terminal
Mod+F	Find in terminal output when the app has focus
Mod+= or Mod+Plus	Zoom in when the app has focus
Mod+-	Zoom out when the app has focus
Ctrl+Shift+Left, Right, Up, Down	Split the focused pane in that direction
Ctrl+Alt+Left, Right, Up, Down	Focus a neighboring split pane

The split-pane commands use Ctrl explicitly so the same directional chord works on every platform. Unsplit a pane from the owner tab’s context menu.

See Split panes for docking, feature panes, the four-pane limit, and layout restore.

Workspace feature shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Mod+Shift+F	Open Files
Mod+Shift+N	Open Port Forwarding
Mod+Shift+D	Open Dashboard
Mod+Shift+S	Open Snippets or session tools

These commands are generated from the current shortcut catalog and can be changed in Settings > Shortcuts. The feature button tooltips show the effective platform-specific binding.

Shell-first versus Zync-first

The Terminal focus policy controls only commands whose routing rule is app:

Policy	Behavior while the terminal is focused
shell (default)	The PTY receives app commands such as Ctrl+W, Ctrl+F, Ctrl+T, and Ctrl+N. Zync commands marked always still work.
app	Zync also handles app commands while the terminal is focused.

Change this policy in Settings > Shortcuts > When a terminal is focused. The policy does not change PTY translations, file-manager bindings, or commands marked always.

Tip

Keep the default shell policy if you use readline, nano, Vim, or shell shortcuts heavily. Choose app when you want app navigation to win inside a terminal.

PTY keys are not Zync shortcuts

Some keys must reach the terminal program and are intentionally absent from Settings:

• Ctrl+C sends the interrupt byte to the PTY.
• Ctrl+K and Ctrl+U remain shell or editor input.
• Ctrl+/ is translated to 0x1F for terminal programs such as nano’s go-to-line command.

Do not create a Zync binding for these keys. Rebinding them would change behavior in every shell and remote program.

File Manager shortcuts

The File Manager has its own binding context. These keys apply while the File Manager owns focus:

Shortcut	Action
Mod+C, Mod+X, Mod+V	Copy, cut, paste
Mod+A	Select all
F2	Rename the selection
Delete	Delete the selection
Enter	Open the selection
Mod+L	Edit the current path
Mod+F	Search files
Alt+Up, Alt+Left, Alt+Right	Go up, back, or forward
Mod+Shift+1, Mod+Shift+2	List view or grid view
Mod+H	Show or hide hidden files
Mod+D	Pin the current location
F5	Refresh the view

Customize and restore defaults

1. Open Settings > Shortcuts.
2. Find a command by section: Global, File Manager, Tabs, Terminal, or View.
3. Choose the binding field and enter the new chord.
4. Save the change when prompted. The new binding is persisted in the global settings file.

Zync generates this list from its command catalog. User settings store overrides, not a second copy of the catalog. If a binding is invalid or missing, Zync falls back to its default. Restore a command’s default from its row in the Shortcuts tab.

Note

The settings file is global to the user profile. A separate workspace-level shortcut map is not currently active. See Settings for the settings storage model.