Editor modes and presets

Form fields and script panes use a modal text editor with three modes:

Mode	Status line	Purpose
Normal (NOR)	NOR	Move and run editing commands
Insert (INS)	INS	Type text
Select (SEL)	SEL	Select and operate on ranges

The preset is chosen with [editor] keybinding_mode in config.toml: default, vim, helix, emacs, or vscode. default behaves like vim.

In every modal preset Esc leaves insert/select mode, Tab and Shift+Tab move between fields, and Ctrl+Space opens field suggestions.

Vim preset

Normal mode

Keys	Action
h j k l / arrows	Move cursor
w b e, W B E	Move by word
0 $, gg G, Home End	Line / document movement
i a I A	Enter insert mode
v V	Enter select mode
x X, d c y, D C, p P	Delete, operators, paste
o O	Open line below / above
f F t T, ; ,	Find character
r, ~	Replace / switch case
u, Ctrl+R	Undo / redo
Tab, Shift+Tab	Next / previous field

Insert mode

Keys	Action
Esc	Return to normal mode
arrows, Home, End, Ctrl+Left/Right	Move cursor
Backspace, Delete	Delete character
Ctrl+Space	Open suggestions
Tab, Shift+Tab	Next / previous field

Select mode

Keys	Action
Esc	Return to normal mode
v V	Toggle selection
y, d x, c s	Yank, delete, change selection
> <	Indent / unindent
Ctrl+Space	Open suggestions

Helix preset

Normal mode

Keys	Action
h j k l / arrows	Move cursor
w b e, W B E	Move by word
gh gl, gs, gg ge G	Line and document movement
i a I A	Enter insert mode
v	Enter select mode
d c y, p P, o O	Delete, change, yank, paste, open line
x X, %, ;, ~	Extend / select all / collapse / case
ms md mr, mm	Surround and match brackets
Ctrl+A, Ctrl+X	Increment / decrement number
f F t T, r, n N	Find, replace, search
u, U	Undo / redo

Insert mode

Keys	Action
Esc	Return to normal mode
arrows, Home, End, Alt+f b	Move cursor
Backspace/Ctrl+H, Delete/Ctrl+D	Delete character
Ctrl+K, Ctrl+W, Ctrl+U, Alt+D	Delete to end / word / start
Ctrl+Space	Open suggestions

Select mode

Keys	Action
Esc	Return to normal mode
x X, %, ;, _	Extend, select all, collapse, trim
d c y, Alt+d/c, p P	Delete, change, yank, paste
ms md mr, mm	Surround and match brackets
> <, ~ `, Alt+`	Indent and case
u, U	Undo / redo

Emacs preset

Keys	Action
Ctrl+b f p n / arrows	Move cursor
Ctrl+a e, Alt+f b	Line / word movement
i	Enter insert mode
Ctrl+Space	Enter select mode
Ctrl+w, Alt+w, Ctrl+y	Delete, yank, paste
Ctrl+/, Alt+/	Undo / redo
Esc	Leave insert/select mode

VSCode preset

The VSCode preset is modeless: editing happens directly, and selection extends with Shift+ movements. Its key features:

Keys	Action
arrows, Ctrl+Left/Right, Home, End	Move cursor
Backspace, Delete, Ctrl+Backspace, Ctrl+Delete	Delete
Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y / Ctrl+Shift+Z	Undo / redo
Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V	Copy / cut / paste
Shift+ + movement	Extend selection
Ctrl+A	Select all
Ctrl+Space	Open suggestions

Some chords (for example Ctrl+Backspace) require a terminal that reports enhanced key modifiers, such as the Kitty keyboard protocol.

Continue

• Default bindings