35 shortcuts in 4 groups, from Retool’s official App IDE reference (PC keys).
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + K | Command Palette | Searches components, queries, apps and over 90 IDE actions from one box. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Esc | Cancel Drag / Deselect | One key, two jobs: cancels a drag or resize mid-way, and deselects components otherwise. |
| Ctrl + C | Copy | Copies the selected components. |
| Ctrl + X | Cut | Cuts the selected components. |
| Ctrl + V | Paste | Pastes copied components onto the canvas. |
| Ctrl + D | Duplicate | Duplicates the selected components. |
| Delete | Delete | Deletes the selected components. |
| Cursor keys | Move | Nudges the selected components around the grid. |
| Ctrl + Cursor key | Resize | Resizes the selected components by grid units. |
| Alt + Shift + Ctrl + R | Resize Fixed Containers To Fit | Shrinks or grows fixed containers to their content. |
| Ctrl + A | Select All | Selects every component on the canvas. |
| Ctrl + Click | Select Multiple / Without Interacting | Adds components to the selection one by one — and selects interactive components without triggering them. |
| Ctrl + / | Toggle Hidden Components | Shows or hides components whose hidden property is set. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + S | Save | Saves the app. |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo | Steps back through changes. |
| Shift + Ctrl + Z | Redo | Steps forward again. |
| Shift + Ctrl + K | Inspector Search | Searches within the Inspector. |
| Shift + / | Keyboard Shortcuts | Shows the shortcut reference overlay. |
| Ctrl + P | Pin Sidebar | Pins or unpins the sidebar. |
| Ctrl + B | Toggle Sidebar | Shows or hides the sidebar. |
| Ctrl + U | Toggle Inspector | Shows or hides the Inspector panel. |
| Shift + Ctrl + A | Toggle Add Components | Shows or hides the Add Components panel. |
| Shift + Ctrl + D | Toggle Component Tree | Shows or hides the component tree. |
| Ctrl + . | Toggle All Panels | Collapses or restores every panel at once — the fastest way to a clean canvas. |
| Shift + Ctrl + E | Toggle Code | Shows or hides the code editor. |
| Shift + Ctrl + F | Toggle Code Search | Searches across all code in the app. |
| Alt + Ctrl + Enter | Toggle Preview Mode | Switches between edit and preview. |
| Shift + Ctrl + P | Toggle User Mode | Views the app exactly as an end user will. |
| Ctrl + I | Toggle Assist | Opens or closes Retool's AI Assist panel. |
| Ctrl + Shift + I | Assist: Ask Mode | Switches Assist to Ask mode for questions about the app. |
| Ctrl + Shift + B | Assist: Build Mode | Switches Assist to Build mode to generate changes. |
| Shortcut | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Space + Drag | Pan Canvas | Pans around the canvas. |
| Shift + Ctrl + G | Toggle Grid | Shows or hides the layout grid. |
| Ctrl + + | Zoom In | Zooms in on the canvas. |
| Ctrl + - | Zoom Out | Zooms out on the canvas. |
Ctrl + K is the shortcut Retool wants you to learn first: the Command Palette searches components (including ones buried in nested containers), queries, and over ninety IDE actions, and jumps straight to a specific property of a specific component. For everything the palette doesn’t cover, Shift + / pops the shortcut overlay so the rest of this table is always one keystroke away inside the product itself.
Almost every panel toggle is Shift + Ctrl plus a letter — A for Add Components, D for the component tree, E for code, F for code search — with two deliberate exceptions: Ctrl + U for the Inspector and Ctrl + . which collapses every panel at once for a clean look at the canvas. Preview is two distinct ideas: Alt + Ctrl + Enter shows preview mode inside the editor, while Shift + Ctrl + P switches to user mode — the app exactly as an end user gets it.
With components selected, the bare Cursor keys nudge position and Ctrl + Cursor key resize — both in grid units, which is why keyboard layout in Retool is often faster than the mouse. Ctrl + Click earns a special mention: it both multi-selects and selects interactive components (buttons, dropdowns) without firing them. The newest cluster is AI: Ctrl + I opens Assist, and Ctrl + Shift + I / Ctrl + Shift + B flip it between Ask mode (questions about your app) and Build mode (generating changes).
Ctrl + K, the Command Palette. It finds components nested anywhere, jumps to specific properties, and exposes 90+ IDE actions — Retool's own onboarding treats it as the primary interface.
Shift + Ctrl + P toggles user mode, the true end-user view. Alt + Ctrl + Enter is the lighter in-editor preview toggle.
Select the component and press Ctrl with any cursor key; the bare cursor keys move it instead. Alt + Shift + Ctrl + R resizes fixed containers to fit their content.
Plain clicks interact. Hold Ctrl while clicking to select an interactive component without firing its event handlers — the same combination also adds components to a multi-selection.
No. The current reference has no Ctrl + E binding; preview lives on Alt + Ctrl + Enter and user mode on Shift + Ctrl + P. Older cheat sheets listing Ctrl + E predate the current App IDE.
Ctrl + . toggles every panel at once. Ctrl + B, Ctrl + U and Shift + Ctrl + D control the sidebar, Inspector and component tree individually.
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"