title: "Keyboard Shortcuts Master List" description: "All keyboard shortcuts for GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Claude Code side-by-side" section: "Reference" readTime: "6 min" badge: "Reference"

Keyboard Shortcuts Master List

Side-by-side reference for all AI coding tool shortcuts.

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Inline Suggestions

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Accept full suggestion	`Tab`	`Tab`
Dismiss suggestion	`Esc`	`Esc`
Accept next word	`Ctrl+Right`	`Cmd+Right`
Next suggestion	`Alt+]`	`Option+]`
Previous suggestion	`Alt+[`	`Option+[`
Open suggestion panel	`Ctrl+Enter`	`Ctrl+Enter`
Trigger suggestion manually	`Alt+\`	`Option+\`

Chat

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Open Chat panel	`Ctrl+Shift+I`	`Cmd+Shift+I`
Open Inline Chat	`Ctrl+I`	`Cmd+I`
Submit message	`Enter`	`Enter`
New line in message	`Shift+Enter`	`Shift+Enter`
Attach file (`#file`)	Type `#`	Type `#`
New conversation	`Ctrl+L` (in chat)	`Cmd+L` (in chat)

Agent / Smart Actions

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Generate commit message	`Ctrl+Shift+G` → ✨	`Cmd+Shift+G` → ✨
Fix error (when error shown)	Click 💡 → Copilot Fix	Click 💡 → Copilot Fix
Explain selection	Select + `Ctrl+I` → "Explain"	Select + `Cmd+I` → "Explain"
Generate docs for function	Place cursor → `Ctrl+I` → "Document"	`Cmd+I` → "Document"
Review selected code	Select → right-click → Copilot → Review	Same

Cursor

Chat & Composer

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Open Chat	`Ctrl+L`	`Cmd+L`
Open Composer (multi-file agent)	`Ctrl+I`	`Cmd+I`
Open new Composer window	`Ctrl+Shift+I`	`Cmd+Shift+I`
Submit message	`Enter`	`Enter`
New line in Composer	`Shift+Enter`	`Shift+Enter`
Reference a file (`@file`)	Type `@`	Type `@`
Reference codebase	`@Codebase`	`@Codebase`
Reference terminal output	`@terminal`	`@terminal`
Reference docs URL	`@` + URL	`@` + URL

Tab (Inline Completion)

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Accept full suggestion	`Tab`	`Tab`
Dismiss suggestion	`Esc`	`Esc`
Accept next word	`Ctrl+Right`	`Cmd+Right`
Trigger suggestion	`Alt+\`	`Option+\`

Editor

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Toggle AI pane	`Ctrl+Shift+J`	`Cmd+Shift+J`
Open command palette	`Ctrl+Shift+P`	`Cmd+Shift+P`
Open Cursor settings	`Ctrl+Shift+J` → Settings	Same

Claude Code (Terminal)

Claude Code is terminal-first — these are keyboard shortcuts within the interactive session.

Action	Shortcut
Send message	`Enter`
New line in message	`Shift+Enter`
Approve current action	`y` + `Enter`
Deny current action	`n` + `Enter`
Always allow this tool	`a` + `Enter`
Cancel current operation	`Ctrl+C`
Quit session	`Ctrl+D` or `/quit`
Show help	`/help`
Clear conversation	`/clear`
Show session info	`/status`

Useful CLI Shortcuts (Shell)

# Alias for quick access
alias cc="claude"
alias ccp="claude -p"  # non-interactive
 
# Pipe code from clipboard (macOS)
pbpaste | claude -p "Review this code"
 
# Pipe code from clipboard (Linux)
xclip -sel clip -o | claude -p "Review this code"

VS Code Universal Shortcuts (Relevant to AI)

These VS Code shortcuts improve AI workflow regardless of which AI tool you use:

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Select current word	`Ctrl+D`	`Cmd+D`
Select to end of line	`Shift+End`	`Shift+Cmd+Right`
Select all occurrences	`Ctrl+Shift+L`	`Cmd+Shift+L`
Multi-cursor at line ends	Select lines → `Shift+Alt+I`	`Shift+Option+I`
Move line up/down	`Alt+Up/Down`	`Option+Up/Down`
Duplicate line	`Shift+Alt+Down`	`Shift+Option+Down`
Fold all	`Ctrl+K, Ctrl+0`	`Cmd+K, Cmd+0`
Go to definition	`F12`	`F12`
Peek definition	`Alt+F12`	`Option+F12`
Toggle terminal	Ctrl+`	Ctrl+`
Command palette	`Ctrl+Shift+P`	`Cmd+Shift+P`

Customizing Shortcuts

Copilot (VS Code)

Ctrl+Shift+P → "Open Keyboard Shortcuts" → search "copilot" → click pencil icon to rebind.

Cursor

Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P → "Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts" → search "cursor" or "composer".

Cursor uses VS Code's keybinding format in keybindings.json:

{
  "key": "ctrl+shift+a",
  "command": "aichat.newchataction"
}