Table of Contents

Copy Mode

Copy Mode allows you to make selections using the keyboard. To enter or exit Copy Mode, select Edit > Copy Mode. You can also enter copy mode by pressing Shift+Arrow key immediately after making a selection with the mouse. A special cursor rendered as a downward-pointing arrow is visible while in Copy Mode.

While in Copy Mode, the session's contents will not change. You can use the keyboard to move the cursor and modify the selection using these keystrokes:

Changing Modes

Keystroke Action
control-space Stop selecting
Esc, q, control-c, control-g Exit copy mode
control-v Toggle rectangular selection
Space, v Toggle selection by character
V Toggle selection by line

Basic Movement

Keystroke Action
h, Left arrow Move left
j, Down arrow Move down
k, Up arrow Move up
l, Right arrow Move right

Content-Based Movement

Keystroke Action
Meta-Left arrow, M-b, Shift-tab, b Move back one word, treating symbols as word breaks.
M-Right arrow, M-f, Tab, w Move forward one word, treating symbols as word breaks.
B Move back one word, treating symbols as part of a word.
W Move forward one word, treating symbols as part of a word.
[ Move to previous mark
] Move to next mark

Screen Movement

Keystroke Action
control-b, Page Up Move up one screen
control-f, Page Down Move down one screen
H Move to top of visible area
M Move to middle of visible area
L Move to bottom of visible area

Line Movement

Keystroke Action
^, M-m Move to start of indentation
0 Move to start of line
$ Move to end of line
Return Move to start of next line

Document Movement

Keystroke Action
g Move to start
G Move to end

Other Commands

Keystroke Action
o Swap cursor and other selection endpoint
control-k, y Copy selection