10xer mode reference

10xer mode is an opt-in Yazi-style browsing map. In Settings → General → BROWSING the row is titled 10xer mode and its subtitle is Opinionated keyboard-centric mode with Yazi-style navigation. Disables some features. Toggle with Ctrl+Shift+M. The footer shows a compact 10X pill in its far right corner, after the item count, while the mode is on. It hides window Search, the pane Close, filter, refresh, and sort controls, and the List and Icons pane header (back, forward, and up buttons with the folder title) in interactive browsers, disables type-to-search, and uses the footer as the typed-command surface. The window's own close button and the clickable List column headings stay. The portal file chooser follows the same preference: it hides the same pane chrome, uses this keymap and the footer prompt, and keeps Accept, Cancel, and the header close control. Enter / o confirm a file. Escape is the way out: it cancels the dialog after dismissing a prompt, filter, or preview. The chooser continues to disallow folder peeking and column mirroring, so i does not open a peek or an extra Miller column there.

Turn it on in Settings → General → BROWSING → 10xer mode, or with Ctrl+Shift+M. The choice is saved and live-updates every window. F1 or ~ opens the in-app table of commands that currently run; it is the only in-app keybinding reference. While the mode is on, the reference lists only the 10xer map, in these sections: the current view's navigation (such as Columns navigation), File chooser (in the file chooser only), Places, Files and selection, Preview, 10xer mode (the keys the default map lacks), Search and tools, and Preview media. Turning the mode on or off, in any window, switches an open reference to the newly active map. While the mode is on, the Settings row shows (experimental feature, under active development) under its subtitle. The footer shows only the 10X pill; the experimental note is in its accessible name and description.

Paste destinations, cursor versus filled selection, and pointer ownership stay as in keyboard navigation.

The keys work on every keyboard layout. On Russian and other non-Latin layouts a letter key acts as the Latin letter it carries, so the key that types о is j. Digits count by their position on the top row, and Caps Lock never changes a command. On a German layout, ö in the file list arms the ; chord, as ; does. See keyboard layouts for the full rules.

Enter and leave

Ctrl+Shift+M also works while a browser text field has focus; modal dialogs keep their own input handling. With the Russian layout active and a text field focused, Shift and the ё key type Ё rather than toggling the reference.

Turning the mode on in an open window shows a centered 10xer splash for about 1.5 seconds. It takes no focus or clicks, and with reduced motion it appears without animation. A saved choice applies at launch in every window, before Settings opens, and launching with the mode already saved shows no splash. The footer keeps its height when the 10X pill appears.

Turning the mode on hides an open pane filter bar and re-runs its query with f matching. Turning the mode off shows the bar again and re-runs the query with default matching.

Type to search, Keep arrows in file list, and Include subfolders stay saved and editable. While the mode is on they are unused, and those Settings rows show Not used in 10xer mode. Mirror columns selection stays in effect and drives the Columns cursor.

Leaving the mode clears footer prompts (including typed credentials), chords, find highlights, retained filters/search results, a keyboard folder peek, and preview keyboard ownership in every open browser window. It leaves the ordinary listing's filled selection, any Miller column already opened, and any open preview intact. Default Ctrl+F again follows the saved Include subfolders preference; a previous s search does not force it to recurse.

Navigation

Arrows stay in the file list. In List and Columns, h is parent, never the sidebar. In Icons, h / j / k / l and arrows move among tiles.

In Columns, the saved Mirror columns selection preference (on by default) applies to the cursor: shortly after j / k / arrows land on a directory, its contents open in the next Miller column without moving focus. On a file the child column closes, and a previewable file opens the preview drawer when Single-click file previews is also on; focus stays in the listing. With mirroring off, cursor keys only move the cursor. While a v / V range is active, mirroring waits, so walking the range never opens or closes a column. In List and Icons, cursor keys never open a child column or a preview. l / Right enters a directory or a file preview. In Columns, i on a directory opens the next column and leaves focus where it is, even with mirroring off. A second press does not move focus. In List and Icons, i toggles the existing folder-peek popover for the focused directory. That popover is the directory peek, not the saved Folder peeking switch and not a file preview. Pressing i again, or Escape, closes the popover. Escape does not close a Miller column. i on a file opens the preview drawer if it is closed and closes it if it is open; keys stay in the listing, so j / k keep moving the cursor and the preview follows it. Use l / Right (List and Columns) or J / K to read it. An unpreviewable file flashes Nothing to preview. In an empty folder i does nothing.

In List and Columns, l / Right on a previewable file opens the preview if it is closed and moves keys into that pane. A further l / Right stays there and does not open the file. Then j / k / arrows, g g / Home, G / End, Ctrl+U / Ctrl+D / Ctrl+B / Ctrl+F, and Page Up / Page Down scroll the document instead of the listing. h / Left returns to the miller column or folder without closing the preview or going to the parent; a following h still goes to the parent. Unpreviewable files and empty folders flash Nothing to preview. Icons have no preview-entry key. While the preview owns keys, an accent bar runs across the top of its header, like the Miller column destination bar, and no column shows that bar. The listing keeps its fill and location, and its cursor returns with the keys. Leaving the mode, clicking the listing, or closing the drawer releases ownership; ownership never outlives the drawer.

Preview keyboard ownership

Each preview surface owns a fixed set of keys (below). It also swallows the listing's motion and selection keys (j / k, arrows, paging, Space, v / V, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+R), so they never move or fill the listing behind the drawer.

Listing commands no surface uses hand the keys back to the listing, with the drawer still open, and run there on the previewed item:

• Folders: Backspace, H / L, Alt+Left / Alt+Right / Alt+Up, g places and g + / g −, z / Z. In a document or archive g g still goes to the top, and every other valid g step runs from the listing; an unknown second key flashes Unknown chord and leaves the keys in the preview.
• Prompts: / (except in a searchable document, where it opens find), ?, n / N, f, s.
• Files: o / Enter (except where the surface uses Enter), y, x, p / P, Y / X, d / D / Delete, a, r / F2, c, ,, ., ;, O, M / C, R, Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V (a document or archive tree keeps Ctrl+C), Ctrl+Shift+N, Alt+Enter, and Menu / Shift+F10.

Window commands (Q, F1, ~, F5, Ctrl+K, Ctrl+L, Ctrl+,, Ctrl+1 / Ctrl+2 / Ctrl+3, Ctrl+H, Ctrl+N, Ctrl+Shift+B, Ctrl+Shift+M, undo / redo, text size, and the Ctrl tab shortcuts) work without moving the keys. The exception is a text or source preview shown in SourceView rather than in recycled rows (see limits and fallback): while it has the keys, Ctrl+1 / Ctrl+2 / Ctrl+3 and undo / redo do nothing. Return the keys to the listing first, for example with Shift+Tab. Any other key is swallowed. Inside a text field, F1, Ctrl+Shift+M, Escape, Shift+Tab, F5, Ctrl+K, Ctrl+,, the Ctrl tab shortcuts, and text size still work; every other key is typed or edits the text.

Returning to the listing keeps the drawer open and lands on the same cursor. Closing with Escape or i also returns the keys to the listing, so the Miller column regains its destination bar. i therefore toggles the preview from either side: open from the listing, closed from the preview. A focused media timeline takes the Media keys above. A focused preview button or slider (reached with Tab or the pointer) keeps GTK's own Space / Enter / arrow handling; Shift+Tab and Escape still return or close. The volume slider steps 0.1 with the arrows and 0.2 with Page Up / Page Down; Home mutes and End sets full volume. Browsing archive members never extracts them, opens a listing file, or changes the listing's cursor or fill. Unlocking a password-protected archive hands the keys to its member tree. Ctrl+A / Ctrl+C select all and copy the document's text, never listing items; with l the keys go to the document itself (text, source, or PDF) once it has rendered. In a document, Shift+Left / Shift+Right / Shift+Up / Shift+Down, Shift+Home, and Shift+End select text instead of scrolling, and Ctrl+Home / Ctrl+End move the text caret to the start / end of the document. Keypad / opens find like /. The find button's tooltip reads Find in preview (/) while the mode is on and Find in preview (Ctrl+F) while it is off; toggling the mode updates the tooltip of a preview that is already open. In media, keypad + / − also step the volume.

A password prompt takes focus as soon as it appears, including when i or cursor movement shows a locked archive. It then owns the keys like any other surface: the header shows the owner bar, the Miller column drops its bar, and i, h, j, k, and l are typed into the password until Escape, Shift+Tab, or unlocking moves focus. If the drawer is hidden for lack of room when l is pressed, it takes the keys when it reappears for the same file; moving the cursor first cancels that.

With 10xer mode off the default map is unchanged: an archive tree keeps its arrow, k / j / h / l, Enter, Space, and Escape keys described in keyboard navigation, and media keys stay on Ctrl+Alt.

In Icons, h / j / k / l and arrows (including keypad) always move to the next icon in that direction, including while the icons on screen are search results. They stay in the current folder. They never open the preview drawer, dismiss search, or transfer keyboard ownership into a preview. Enter / o still open the focused item. Backspace / Alt+Up still go to the parent.

g g is first item. g h is Home. In Columns, g g and G in a column with no cursor land on its first and last entry.

Selection

Space toggles the keyboard cursor, not pointer hover, and does not preview. i toggles a file's preview without moving focus; in List and Columns, l / Right enter it. On a directory i opens a column or toggles folder peek.

On a cursor-only row, Space adds that item and moves down; it does not deselect it. After Space, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+R, or leaving visual, j / k / g g / G / paging move the cursor without rewriting the fill. v then motion starts a new range from the cursor. V subtracts the walked span. In visual mode, Space toggles the cursor item without moving it.

A range walks the pane in displayed order, including List type groups, and only rewrites the fill of that pane. Walking back toward the anchor restores the items the range had covered; items toggled with Space stay toggled. The footer shows VISUAL or UNSET while a range is active. Pressing the same key again or Escape leaves visual mode and keeps the fill; the other key starts a new range at the cursor. Opening another folder, moving to another pane, changing the view, a pointer selection, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+R, or leaving 10xer mode also end the range. In an empty folder v / V, Space, Ctrl+A, and Ctrl+R flash Nothing to select.

v / V are the only way to select a range. Shift+arrow keys and Shift+Page Up / Shift+Page Down do nothing in the listing; to select while paging, start a range and use Page Up / Page Down or Ctrl+D / Ctrl+U / Ctrl+F / Ctrl+B, which extend it like j / k.

Escape precedence

Dialogs, the shortcut reference, text editors, and an open folder-peek popover handle Escape before browsing; active autoscroll also stops before listing dismissal. Closing the peek does not close a Miller column. In a footer prompt it cancels that prompt: f clears its filter, / / ? clear find highlights, and a nonempty s keeps its results. An armed chord is canceled before any listing action.

With no prompt or chord, each press takes the first applicable step:

• Recursive s results: leave visual mode (keep the fill), dismiss find highlights, close an open preview, then dismiss the results. Dismissal restores an earlier committed f filter if one existed; otherwise it restores the directory listing.
• Ordinary listing or f results: leave visual mode over the f results (keep the fill), dismiss the hidden filter, dismiss find highlights, leave visual mode (keep the fill), close an open preview, then clear the selection. A fill made on the f results goes away with them.

While the preview owns keys, Escape closes an open find bar, then the drawer, before any other step, and closing the drawer returns keys to the listing. Unlike h while the preview owns keys, the preview-close step actually closes the drawer. Leaving visual mode or closing a preview can therefore require an extra Escape before retained search results disappear. Once nothing is left to dismiss, Escape does nothing: it never closes a Miller column or the window. The sidebar and header controls take the same steps; clearing a filter or closing the preview from there returns focus to the file list.

Tabs

From the listing, press t, then a second key. The footer shows t- and its available commands. Escape cancels the chord; text fields, menus, and file-chooser requests do not arm it.

The digit step also accepts Shift with the digit.

The shared Ctrl-based tab shortcuts also remain available: Ctrl+T creates a tab, Ctrl+W closes it, Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab cycle tabs, and Ctrl+Page Up / Ctrl+Page Down select the previous / next tab, wrapping at either end. Ctrl+Shift+Page Up / Ctrl+Shift+Page Down move the active tab left / right, stopping at either end of the strip. Ctrl+Shift+1 to Ctrl+Shift+9 and Ctrl+Shift+0 select a tab directly. Hold Ctrl+Shift to show square number badges; 0 identifies the tenth tab. See browser tabs.

Ctrl+Enter on a focused folder opens it in a new tab and Shift+Enter in a new window; keypad Enter works too. Ctrl+Shift+Enter does nothing, although the default map opens a new tab with it. On a file, Ctrl+Enter and Shift+Enter open it like Enter. The file chooser opens no tab or window; in a folder request Ctrl+Enter chooses the folder (see File chooser).

Files

With an empty fill, y / x / d act on the focused item. Typical flow: cursor or v then motion → y / x → h / l / g h / g 1 → p.

Press ;, then 1–9 or 0 (tenth slot) to run one of the first ten custom actions that match the focused item, or the filled selection when one exists; Shift with the digit works too. The panel over the ;- pill lists them. Matching, order, and confirmation follow the context-menu catalog: top-level actions come before the Actions submenu's, and disabled or unavailable actions, filter misses, non-native locations, and an 11th match are omitted. A vacant slot flashes No action N and does not run a different action. The digit checks the catalog and targets again: if the targets changed since ;, it flashes Selection changed, and if the slot now holds another action, Actions changed; neither runs anything. A confirming action asks first, and a run shows in Jobs like one started from the context menu. See custom actions.

; t opens a terminal in the keyboard-focused folder, the pane holding the cursor, whatever the cursor or selection is on. The panel lists it, then ; c, ; e, and ; E, after the actions. In Trash and other non-local places it flashes Can’t open a terminal here. Ctrl+Alt+T keeps its own rule and prefers a single selected folder; see Not bound for where it still works in this mode.

; c opens the Compress dialog for the fill, or the cursor item when nothing is filled; items without a local path flash Can’t compress these items. ; e extracts one archive beside itself, as the context menu's Extract here does, and selects the result: a single top-level entry lands as-is, and several land in a folder named after the archive. ; E opens extract to › for that archive. Both take the one-item fill or the cursor item: a larger fill flashes Extract one archive at a time, and anything that is not a local archive flashes Not an archive. Empty folders flash Nothing to compress / Nothing to extract.

M (move to ›) and C (copy to ›) fix the fill, or the cursor item when nothing is filled, when the prompt opens; Up / Down choose among the listed folders and never move the cursor away from them. Typing lists destination folders through the folder picker. Enter moves or copies into the chosen folder and keeps you in the current one; a moved cursor item hands the cursor to its neighbor, as d does, without adding the neighbor to the fill. Conflicts ask as p does, with Keep Both focused when it is offered. Neither prompt lists the folders being sent or anything inside them, and M does not list the folder the items are already in. A typed path is still checked: a path ending in / that does not exist (No such folder), a file (Not a folder), a move back into the source folder (Already in this folder), or a folder inside one of the moved or copied folders (Can’t put a folder inside itself) keeps the prompt open with the reason. Text that names no existing folder, such as /tmp/newdir or nowhere, does not show No such folder: Enter acts on the chosen match from the list, or shows No matching folders when nothing is listed. Empty Enter closes the prompt. Escape, focus leaving the prompt, another prompt, leaving the mode, or closing the window discard it. Items that cannot be moved flash Can’t move these items; an empty folder flashes Nothing to move / Nothing to copy. ; E's extract to › uses the same picker and rules and also stays in the current folder.

R restores the fill, or the cursor item, from Trash through the same confirmation as the context menu's Restore. Outside Trash it flashes Only items in Trash can be restored; an empty Trash flashes Nothing to restore.

, a / , m / , s / , e sort the focused pane by name, modified time, size, or type, ascending; with Shift (, A / , M / , S / , E) descending. The pane keeps its cursor and fill, other open Miller columns keep their order, and the choice is saved like a sort chosen from the pane menu or a List heading: for this folder when Remember sort and icon size per folder is on (the default), otherwise as the default sort. In Trash, Recent, remote shares, and other folders that are not remembered, it lasts while the column is open. List headings show the new sort, so clicking one afterwards reverses what is actually applied. . / Ctrl+H / Ctrl+. change the saved hidden-files preference in every window, including over f results; clearing a filter never reveals hidden files on its own.

y / x / d / c c / c n take the focused pane's fill, or its cursor item when nothing is filled, including on f and s results. A hovered row, a parent folder, and a Miller column's open-path marker are never targets. y and Ctrl+C show the copy icon on those items, and x and Ctrl+X show scissors; cut wins when both could apply. The marks follow view changes and every window, and go away when another application takes the clipboard. Nothing moves until a paste completes, and a completed cut move clears its marks.

p / P / Ctrl+V paste into the same directory as the default map's Ctrl+V (see keyboard navigation), and pasting never changes pointer or keyboard ownership. Focusing a conflict button does not choose it: nothing changes until you accept, and Cancel or Escape leaves both items untouched. Keep Both is offered only for copies.

d / Delete show a Move … to Trash? confirmation (for example Move 3 items to Trash?) with its confirm button focused; pressing d again confirms it, so d d trashes. D / Shift+Delete, and d inside Trash, show the permanent deletion confirmation with its confirm button focused, so Enter confirms, and d there does nothing. In a folder whose listing reports no Trash support (such as a tmpfs), d / Delete open a permanent confirmation instead, stating that the location doesn't support Trash, with Cancel focused, so d d does not delete there. Errors appear in the usual operation dialogs, and Ctrl+Z undoes what the default map can undo. In Columns, d with focus in an open folder's empty child column asks to trash that folder. While f or s results show no hits, d and D flash Nothing to delete and leave the open folder alone.

a opens create › in the footer. Enter creates an empty file with exactly the typed name in the keyboard-focused folder; spaces and Unicode are kept. A trailing / makes a folder instead and is removed before the name is checked. An empty name, ., .., or a name containing / keeps the prompt open with the reason, and so does a name already taken (including by a broken link), which shows “…” already exists, so you can fix it. Nothing is renumbered, replaced, or followed. Escape, focus leaving the prompt, a clicked row, another prompt, leaving the mode, or closing the window discard the name. Ctrl+Shift+N still adds a numbered new folder and renames it in place. Trash and Recent flash Can’t create items here.

r / F2 open rename › in the footer for the focused item: the cursor item, or the focused f / s hit, never the fill, a hovered row, or an open-path marker. The current name is filled in with a file's stem (or a folder's whole name) selected, as inline rename selects it. The item is fixed when the prompt opens; Up / Down do not move the cursor while it is open. Enter renames the item to exactly the typed name and keeps its contents; an unchanged name does nothing. An invalid name keeps the prompt open with the reason, and a name already taken shows “…” already exists; nothing is replaced. Permission errors and filesystem limits leave the original name and show the usual rename error. Escape, focus leaving the prompt, a clicked row (which keeps its selection), another prompt, leaving the mode, or closing the window discard the typed name. Trash items flash Can’t rename items here. The context menu's Rename and a new folder from Ctrl+Shift+N still edit the name in place.

Empty folder: y / x / d / r / Space flash Nothing to yank / cut / delete / rename / select, and c c / c n flash Nothing to copy. i in an empty folder does nothing; on an unpreviewable file it flashes Nothing to preview. In List and Columns, empty-folder and unpreviewable-file l / Right flash Nothing to preview. With an empty clipboard, p and P flash Nothing to paste. x on items that cannot be cut flashes Can’t cut these items.

O looks up file types and application choices asynchronously for the fill, or the focused item, and opens the Open With chooser without launching anything itself. For a mixed selection, Recommended Applications contains handlers shared by every selected type; Other Applications remains available for an explicit choice. A new key, selection/focus change, navigation, mode exit, or closed window prevents an older lookup from opening a chooser over the new interaction. Unreadable files and broken links flash an error instead of guessing a type from the first item, and so does a selection no application can open. An empty folder flashes Nothing to open.

Places

Press g, then a second key. The chord stays armed while the footer g- pill is showing beside the 10X pill, and a panel over the pill lists the valid second keys; it never takes focus, so the next key still completes the chord. While the sidebar shows full rows, not the narrow icon rail it collapses to when the window runs short of room, keycaps appear on Home (h), Downloads (d), Trash (t), Network (n), Recent (r), Documents (k), Music (m), Pictures (p), Videos (v), and visible PINNED rows (1–9 in display order). ,, c, and ; show the same kind of list (sort options / copy path or name / matching custom actions) while armed. The second key completes only that chord: , a / , m / , s / , e sort instead of create / search, and search-result j / h cannot steal a pending g, c, ;, or t. Sort-chord , n / , t cancel with Unknown chord.

An unknown second key cancels with Unknown chord.

g + (also keypad +) adds the folder to PINNED and reports its g digit when it is among the first nine visible pins, for example Pinned “Projects” as g 3; a pin beyond the first nine flashes Pinned “Projects” with no digit. g − (also keypad −) removes it and flashes Unpinned “Projects”. A folder already pinned flashes “Projects” is already pinned; unpinning one that is not pinned flashes “Projects” isn’t pinned. g then Shift+keypad + or Shift+keypad − neither pins nor unpins. Where a top-row key types + or −, as on AZERTY, g then that key pins or unpins instead of opening a pin. The digit steps also accept Shift with the digit. Home, the standard folders, Trash, and other places with their own sidebar rows flash Can’t pin “…”.

g Space opens go › in the footer instead of toggling the selection. Typing never navigates; it lists matching folders through the folder picker. Enter, or a click, opens the chosen folder. When nothing is listed, such as for a URI or a path no folder matches, or when the typed path names an existing file or folder, Enter submits the text through the same navigation as the location bar (Ctrl+L). . and .. in a local path resolve as text, without checking the filesystem. A path naming a file opens its folder with the file selected, and URI input is submitted unchanged, except that a password typed in the URI moves into the mount operation instead of the location. A missing or unreachable destination shows the location bar's error and leaves the current folder open. Empty Enter just closes the prompt. Escape cancels without navigating; clicking a listing row ends the prompt and keeps the clicked selection. The entry is cleared on submit, Escape, focus loss, a replacing prompt, and mode exit, and it keeps no undo history, so reopening the prompt or another window cannot recover typed credentials. Anything that looks like a URI (scheme://, a scheme the location bar opens such as sftp:, //host, \\host, or user@host:) lists nothing and is never searched, mounted, or probed before Enter.

Prompts

Typed commands use the footer, never the pane filter revealer or the global search dialog. Enter submits, Escape cancels. Up / Down move the listing or pick a history candidate without leaving the prompt. Clicking a listing row closes the prompt and keeps that selection. An Enter that an input method uses while composing does not submit the prompt; one it passes back does. While a footer prompt has focus, ~ is typed into it; F1 still opens the reference.

/ is a cursor jump; f hides non-matches. The prompt covers the footer and stays focused while you type. Matching is a case-insensitive substring of the name, searched in display order from the cursor and wrapping at either end. Matching substrings stay highlighted in the theme's accent color after Enter in Columns, Icons, and List. Escape from the listing dismisses those highlights without hiding rows. Empty / with Enter closes the prompt and changes nothing. Escape from the prompt cancels without leaving highlights. Pressing / again shows the prompt. n repeats the last query, including multi-character input, in its original direction; N reverses it, and either shows the highlights again. A miss reports No matches for “…” and leaves the cursor where it was. n / N before any find flashes No previous find. Moving focus out of the prompt (clicking a row, another pane) discards it; the committed query is kept per tab and forgotten when the mode is left.

f filters as you type. Enter on f commits the filter, closes the prompt, and returns keyboard focus to the filtered listing (its first result once the results arrive) without opening an item. A following Enter opens the focused item. Opening f again pre-fills the current query. Empty Enter, Escape from the prompt, or Escape from the list clears it. Moving focus out of the prompt keeps what was typed. View rebuilds keep the filter and the funnel collapsed. While a filter is active, the footer count is the displayed result count, including zero, with a file/folder breakdown in its accessible description; motion, Enter, and Ctrl+R act on the results, never on the hidden directory's cursor or fill.

s always searches the current folder tree, not every indexed root, and matches paths below it the way fzf does: each space-separated term must match somewhere in a hit's path, in any order, as a fuzzy subsequence, so git trading readme finds git/trading/README.md. Each term is tried against the hit's name first, then against its whole path. A term written 'term must appear as one unbroken run of characters, ^term must start the hit's name or its path, term$ must end it, and !term excludes paths that contain it. Terms ignore case. Hits whose names match more terms rank first, then closer matches; among similar matches, folders visited often and recently, and files inside them, rank higher. The characters a hit's name matched stay highlighted in the theme's accent color; while find highlights show, they replace them. Find, f, and s highlights recolor at once when the theme changes. f uses the same terms and highlights, but never recurses: it ignores Include subfolders and matches only the names of the folder's own items, so rep md keeps gamma-report.md. Wildcard filter patterns do not apply in either. S is unbound; there is no content search. Enter on s applies the query, closes the prompt, and returns keyboard focus to the results, on the first hit when there is one. It does not open that hit. A following Enter opens it through ordinary item activation, not Open search results directly. Ctrl+K global search is unchanged. Escape from the prompt keeps the hits so v / V / Space / i can use them (and Right in List and Columns). From those results, Escape dismisses visual mode, find highlights, and an open preview before dismissing search, as described above. In List and Columns, h dismisses search directly unless the preview owns keys, in which case it first returns to the hits without closing the preview. In Icons, h / j / k / l and arrows move among the result icons and do not dismiss search or open an item. Search dismissal restores a previously committed f filter, or the unfiltered directory otherwise. Empty Escape cancels without retaining search results. The footer count is the displayed hit count, not the hidden directory's fill. If another program deletes the cursor's file while the f or s prompt has focus, focus stays in the prompt. If another program renames or moves the searched folder, the s search ends; a search in a shallower Columns column stays. At its left end, the footer shows the search hit under the cursor as a path relative to the searched folder. When space is short, an ellipsis replaces the end of its folder part so the file name stays readable; the accessible name has the full path. While focus is outside the hits, such as in a menu, the sidebar, or F1, the footer keeps the last hit the cursor rested on. f filters show no path. Pressing s again while hits are showing pre-fills their query. A new query, navigation (including opening a directory hit), leaving the mode, or closing the window discards the previous query's pending hits; a view change keeps the search. A folder without a local path, such as Network, flashes Nothing to search.

z (jump ›) and Z (recent ›) pick from the folders Strata has opened, the same saved history as the default map's Ctrl+Shift+K, not a zoxide database. They match each folder's full path with the same terms as s: space-separated fuzzy terms in any order, 'term, ^term, term$, and !term, so z dev str finds ~/dev/strata. z ranks folders whose names match more terms first, a name typed exactly first among those, then by how often and how recently each folder was opened; Z keeps matching folders in last-visit order. The folder already open is left out. Candidates list above the footer as you type, including for empty input, with the first one chosen. Up / Down choose another row (wrapping) while the entry keeps focus, and the footer shows the position, such as 2 of 5. Enter or a click opens the chosen folder once. Editing the text lists fresh candidates and chooses the first again. A miss shows No matching folders, and Enter then leaves the prompt open without navigating. Escape, focus loss, a replacing prompt, and leaving the mode close the prompt without opening a candidate.

Folder picker

g Space, M, C, and ; E pick a folder from a list above the footer, like z. Typed text is matched against the paths of folders below the open folder with the same terms and ranking as s, but only folders are listed (up to 100). Folders that .gitignore or .ignore files exclude, and generated trees such as node_modules/, target/, and .cache/, are not listed; type their path to choose them. A folder the whole query names outright comes first: one at exactly that path below the searched folder, then any with exactly that name, however often other folders were visited. Hidden folders are listed when the listing shows them or a term starts with .. Searches from / skip /proc, /sys, and /dev, and a search below a typed path starts once typing pauses. Other text with a colon, such as 10:30, is an ordinary query.

Text that starts as a path (/, ~, ~/, ./, ../, or just ..) moves the search: everything through its last / names the folder to search below, and the rest is the query, so /etc/ss searches below /etc for ss and ~/dev/ str searches ~/dev. . and .. resolve as text. With nothing after the last /, as in /etc/, the list starts with that folder itself (unless a move or copy would refuse it), then the listed folders below it, the most visited first and then the shallowest. Without an open local folder, such as in Trash, only absolute paths and ~ / ~/ paths work. Other text, including ./ and ../, shows Type a full path here. Another user's home (~name) shows Only ~ and ~/ are supported, and M, C, and ; E show Only local folders can be chosen for a URI.

The first folder is chosen. Up / Down choose another (wrapping) and the footer shows the position (2 of 5); results that arrive later keep that choice while it is still listed. Tab writes the chosen folder into the prompt as ./…/ below the open folder, ~/…/ below home, or an absolute path, always ending in /. That lists the folder first and searches inside it as you type more; Tab never acts on it. Enter or a click acts on the chosen folder. When the typed path names an existing item, Enter acts on it at once unless another folder was chosen with Up / Down. Otherwise Enter before the search finishes waits for it, so a better match found late still wins. While nothing is found yet the footer shows Searching…, and a finished search with no folder shows No matching folders. Editing the text, Escape, focus loss, a replacing prompt, leaving the mode, and closing the window cancel a search, and a late result never changes the list.

Search results

While s results are showing:

Space does not preview search rows. Use g g / G to reach the first / last result; Home / End and paging keys are swallowed on result lists rather than moving the hidden directory cursor. Ctrl+R inverts f matches, but is inactive for recursive s hits. Once the preview owns keys, its scrolling map takes precedence.

Sidebar and surrounding controls

Arrows and h / j / k / l stay in the Columns, List, and Icons panes. Tab moves from the file list to the window header. Shift+Tab stays with the files. From the footer or other chrome outside the header and sidebar, the next Tab or arrow key returns to the file list.

Ctrl+N shows or hides the sidebar, like the header toggle, and passes through while the preview owns the keys. Ctrl+B pages up instead of toggling it. Ctrl+Shift+B focuses the sidebar when it is visible; a hidden sidebar stays hidden. Pressing Ctrl+Shift+B again returns to the files. The sidebar toggle's tooltip reads Toggle sidebar (Ctrl+N) while the mode is on and Toggle sidebar (Ctrl+B) while it is off, in windows and in the file chooser.

In the sidebar, j / k and Up / Down move between places and device controls. l, Enter, and Space activate the focused place or device control. h, Left, and Backspace return to the files. Returning without activating keeps the file selection. After a place opens another folder, focus is on that listing. Menu or Shift+F10 on a focused sidebar place, Trash, or drive row opens that row's context menu.

On a header control, Enter and Space activate it. h and j return to the files and do not change directory or run a file operation.

After you return from another window, g, f, and s act on the listing without first clicking a row.

Ctrl+L still edits the location bar. Menus, dialogs, text fields, and the shortcut reference keep their own keys. The file chooser uses these same round trips.

File chooser

The portal file chooser follows the saved preference, and live changes to it, without opening Settings. While the mode is on, a footer under the files carries the same prompts, chords, and feedback, and the pane chrome hides as in a window. Accept, Cancel, the header close control, and List headings stay. Ctrl+Shift+M works in the chooser, even from the name or location field. Turning the mode off there keeps the request open, hides the footer, and restores the chooser's own keys. Lowercase q neither ends the request nor leaves the mode.

The chooser uses this map within the request's limits. A key the request does not allow is refused when it is pressed, not only hidden:

The request takes the fill, or the cursor item when nothing is filled; the automatic first-row selection never counts. A Save request saves in the current folder; in Recent, which has no folder of its own, it saves in the folder of the filled or cursor file. Outside Recent, moving the cursor changes neither the name nor the destination. While the name or location field has focus, every key but F1, Ctrl+Shift+M, and Escape is left to the field; Ctrl+A selects the text. Every request starts with focus in the files. Tab goes from the files to the header, and from the header to the Name field when the request has one (a single-file Save request or a file Open request). From the Name field, Tab follows the dialog's ordinary focus order to the next control, and Escape returns to the files with the edit kept. Saving over an existing file asks first with Cancel focused. Beside Cancel and Save, a Save request shows hints for Enter, plus r and o when it saves one named file.

f and s hits follow the request's folder-only and file-type limits. F1 shows a reference listing only the keys the request allows; Escape closes it without canceling the request. The g panel leaves out g t, g n, g +, and g −.

Still bound

These GUI conventions stay available alongside the Yazi verbs:

Context-menu shortcut hints follow this map (x cut, y yank, p paste, d / D trash / delete, r rename, M / C move / copy to, R restore, i quick preview, next column, or folder peek). The file chooser has no i preview, so its Quick preview item shows no hint. Duplicate, Copy path, Pin to sidebar, and Open in Terminal show no hint, because their default keys (Ctrl+D, y, p, Ctrl+Alt+T) are remapped or not part of this map; Space for preview and Ctrl+R for rename are hidden too. Use c c to copy a path and g + to pin. Properties keeps Alt+Enter.

Not bound

These default-map shortcuts are unbound or remapped while the mode is on: