Complete WezTerm keyboard shortcuts reference — 27 shortcuts across 3 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Windows & Mac.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + T | New tab |
| Ctrl + Shift + W | Close tab |
| Ctrl + Tab | Next tab |
| Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Previous tab |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | New window |
| Alt + Enter | Toggle fullscreen |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + Alt + " | Split vertically |
| Ctrl + Shift + Alt + % | Split horizontally |
| Ctrl + Shift + Left | Focus pane left |
| Ctrl + Shift + Right | Focus pane right |
| Ctrl + Shift + Up | Focus pane above |
| Ctrl + Shift + Down | Focus pane below |
| Ctrl + Shift + Z | Zoom pane |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + C | Copy |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Search scrollback |
| Ctrl + Shift + X | Copy mode |
| Ctrl + Shift + Space | Quick select |
| Ctrl + Shift + K | Clear scrollback |
| Ctrl + Shift + P | Command palette |
| Shift + PageUp | Scroll page up |
| Shift + PageDown | Scroll page down |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Debug overlay |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | Reload configuration |
| Ctrl + = | Increase font size |
| Ctrl + - | Decrease font size |
| Ctrl + 0 | Reset font size |
WezTerm's split chords look odd until you spot the homage: Ctrl + Shift + Alt + " splits vertically and Ctrl + Shift + Alt + % horizontally — the same " and % tmux uses, lifted into direct keybindings. Ctrl + Shift + Left/Right/Up/Down moves focus between panes, and Ctrl + Shift + Z zooms one pane to fill the tab, then restores the layout on a second press. Tabs behave conventionally: Ctrl + Shift + T new, Ctrl + Shift + W close, Ctrl + Tab cycles.
The selection tools are the underused gems. Ctrl + Shift + Space enters Quick Select, which overlays hint labels on URLs, file paths, and hashes in the scrollback — type a label and the item is copied, no mouse. Ctrl + Shift + X enters full copy mode for keyboard-driven selection, and Ctrl + Shift + F searches the scrollback.
Configuration is a Lua file, ~/.wezterm.lua, and WezTerm hot-applies changes when it reloads — Ctrl + Shift + R forces it, and the Ctrl + Shift + L debug overlay shows errors and lets you evaluate Lua when a config change misbehaves. Ctrl + Shift + P opens the command palette for everything unbound, and font size rides on Ctrl + =, Ctrl + -, Ctrl + 0.
They mirror tmux, where " and % have split panes for decades. WezTerm adopts the same characters (behind the Ctrl + Shift + Alt modifier) so tmux muscle memory transfers — and if you dislike the stretch, both are one line to rebind in .wezterm.lua.
Things you usually mouse-drag: URLs, absolute and relative paths, git hashes, IPs. Ctrl + Shift + Space labels every match on screen with a short letter code; typing the code copies that item instantly. For arbitrary text, use copy mode (Ctrl + Shift + X) instead.
~/.wezterm.lua (created on first save — it does not exist by default). WezTerm watches it and applies most changes automatically; Ctrl + Shift + R reloads on demand, and the debug overlay on Ctrl + Shift + L is where syntax errors appear when a reload silently fails.
Ctrl + Shift + Z temporarily expands the focused pane to the whole tab — full width for reading logs or an editor — and the same key restores your split layout exactly as it was. It is a toggle, not a rearrangement.
Shift + PageUp / Shift + PageDown page through scrollback, Ctrl + Shift + F searches it, and Ctrl + Shift + K clears it. For selecting text while back there, enter copy mode with Ctrl + Shift + X and navigate with the arrow keys.
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"