Interactive mode

Complete reference for keyboard shortcuts, input modes, and interactive features in Claude Code sessions.

Keyboard shortcuts

General controls

Shortcut	Description	Context
Ctrl+C	Cancel current input or generation	Standard interrupt
Ctrl+D	Exit Claude Code session	EOF signal
Ctrl+L	Clear terminal screen	Keeps conversation history
Up/Down arrows	Navigate command history	Recall previous inputs
Esc + Esc	Edit previous message	Double-escape to modify

Multiline input

Method	Shortcut	Context
Quick escape	\ + Enter	Works in all terminals
macOS default	Option+Enter	Default on macOS
Terminal setup	Shift+Enter	After /terminal-setup
Paste mode	Paste directly	For code blocks, logs

Quick commands

Shortcut	Description	Notes
# at start	Memory shortcut - add to CLAUDE.md	Prompts for file selection
/ at start	Slash command	See slash commands

Vim mode

Enable vim-style editing with /vim command or configure permanently via /config.

Mode switching

Command	Action	From mode
Esc	Enter NORMAL mode	INSERT
i	Insert before cursor	NORMAL
I	Insert at beginning of line	NORMAL
a	Insert after cursor	NORMAL
A	Insert at end of line	NORMAL
o	Open line below	NORMAL
O	Open line above	NORMAL

Navigation (NORMAL mode)

Command	Action
h/j/k/l	Move left/down/up/right
w	Next word
e	End of word
b	Previous word
0	Beginning of line
$	End of line
^	First non-blank character
gg	Beginning of input
G	End of input

Editing (NORMAL mode)

Command	Action
x	Delete character
dd	Delete line
D	Delete to end of line
dw/de/db	Delete word/to end/back
cc	Change line
C	Change to end of line
cw/ce/cb	Change word/to end/back
.	Repeat last change

Configure your preferred line break behavior in terminal settings. Run /terminal-setup to install Shift+Enter binding for iTerm2 and VS Code terminals.

Command history

Claude Code maintains command history for the current session:

• History is stored per working directory
• Cleared with /clear command
• Use Up/Down arrows to navigate (see keyboard shortcuts above)
• Ctrl+R: Reverse search through history (if supported by terminal)
• Note: History expansion (!) is disabled by default

See also

• Slash commands - Interactive session commands
• CLI reference - Command-line flags and options
• Settings - Configuration options
• Memory management - Managing CLAUDE.md files