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Keyboard Shortcuts

Quick reference for all keyboard shortcuts in AdaL CLI.

Input Editing

ShortcutAction
\+Enter or Shift+Enter (Mac VS Code terminal)Start a newline
ESCClear input
Ctrl+LClear screen but keep conversation memory
Ctrl+AMove cursor to start of line
Ctrl+EMove cursor to end of line
Ctrl+UClear from start to cursor
Ctrl+KClear from cursor to end

History Navigation

ShortcutAction
Previous command
Next command

During Agent Response

ShortcutAction
Ctrl+CCancel agent streaming/running

Modes & Toggles

ShortcutAction
TabCycle conversation mode (Normal/Plan/Deep Research)
Shift+TabToggle auto-accept edit mode
Ctrl+PToggle plan mode
Ctrl+RExpand/collapse thinking content
?Toggle shortcuts display in footer

Mode Explanations

Conversation Mode Cycle (Tab)

Press Tab to cycle between conversation modes (Normal → Plan → Deep Research) when the input is empty.
When typing slash commands (/) or file mentions (@), Tab is used for autocomplete.

Auto-Accept Mode (Shift+Tab)

When enabled, file edits are applied automatically without confirmation:

[Auto-accept: ON]

> Add error handling to all API endpoints

✓ Edited src/api/users.ts
✓ Edited src/api/products.ts
✓ Edited src/api/orders.ts

Use carefully: Only enable when you trust the changes.

Need finer control? Use /permissions to configure approval behavior for different action types before running larger tasks.

Plan Mode (Ctrl+P)

When enabled, AdaL helps you design and plan features without modifying code or config files:

[Plan Mode: ON]

> Plan how to implement rate limiting for our API

✓ Reading API structure...
✓ Researching best practices...
✓ Creating docs/plan_rate_limiting.md

Created comprehensive plan with:
- Current implementation analysis
- Recommended approach (token bucket algorithm)
- Files to modify (middleware.js, config.js)
- Step-by-step implementation
- Testing strategy

Capabilities in Plan Mode:

  • ✅ Read any file (explore codebase)
  • ✅ Web search and research
  • ✅ Create/edit planning docs (.md, .txt, .rst, etc.)
  • ❌ Modify code/config files (.py, .js, .json, .yaml, etc.)

When to use:

  • Planning complex features before implementation
  • Researching design patterns and best practices
  • Creating technical specs and architecture docs
  • Analyzing codebases without making changes

Workflow: Ctrl+P → design → review plan → Ctrl+P again → implement

Related: Slash Commands · Workflows & Examples