Shortcuts

Shortcuts that work anywhere in the app. The ones that only exist on Windows and Linux have an empty Mac side.

On Windows and Linux, Ctrl with a letter belongs to the terminal (Ctrl+C interrupts, Ctrl+D exits). The exceptions: on Windows, Ctrl+V pastes and Ctrl+C with text selected copies; on the canvas, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y belong to the app. That's why the app's shortcuts use Ctrl+Shift or the Leader key. On the Mac, full screen is the window's green button.

See alsoThe Leader key (Windows and Linux)Windows and Linux only

Tool letters only work with nothing selected on the canvas, so they don't steal what you type in a card. They're the same on Mac, Windows and Linux.

See alsoToolbarShapes and text

Zoom, framing and the canvas's two reading modes.

See alsoZoom and mouse wheelStandard modeFocus mode

Move between cards, groups and workspaces with the keyboard. In Tabs mode, the same keys act on tabs and panes.

Step by step

1. For “twice”, tap the key on its own twice, quickly, and press the number right after.

See alsoKeyboard navigationSwitching workspaces

Link, group, gather into folders, duplicate and arrange cards.

See alsoTentacles (cables)GroupsFoldersArrange and Arrange for reading

Now, history, saved groups, cloud accounts and Open on a server open and close with the same shortcut. On the Mac, “All sessions” closes with Esc. ⇧⌘JLeader J takes you to the next card that needs you.

See alsoThe sidebar

Shortcuts for terminal cards. They act on the terminal that has the keyboard (or the selected one).

On Linux, the middle mouse button also pastes, as in other Linux terminals. Ctrl+V stays with the terminal on Linux, for vim, the shell and Claude Code's image pasting.

See alsoTerminal menu: find, clear and fontInside panels

In Tabs mode, the canvas keys act on tabs and on the panes of a split.

On Windows and Linux, Leader + arrow in Tabs doesn't turn on navigation mode: the arrows that follow go to the terminal.

See alsoTabs keys

Keys that work inside a panel or an open card.

See alsoOpen on a server…Permissions: 1–9 and EscKeys while you speakOpen a file tree

Canvas gestures with the mouse and the trackpad (on Windows and Linux, the touchpad).

See alsoZoom and mouse wheelSelect, move and resize

On Windows and Linux, Ctrl with a letter belongs to the terminal, and Ctrl+Alt is AltGr on many keyboards (like ABNT2). That's why shortcuts that would collide sit on a Leader key: Ctrl+Shift+Space, released, and then a key.

Step by step

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Space and release. A hint shows up on screen with the most used keys: D note, ↩ Standard mode, J Needs you (when someone is waiting), 0 100%, 1–9 workspace and Esc.
2. Within 1.5 seconds, press the command's key. The key never goes to the terminal, even if it isn't a shortcut.
3. After Leader + arrow, you're in navigation mode: the arrows alone keep moving to the neighboring card, and . and , follow and go back along the cables, until Esc or ↩. Any other key leaves the mode and does what it normally does.
4. In Tabs, Leader + arrow goes to the neighboring pane without turning on navigation mode.

Keys work by their position on the keyboard, not by the printed letter: on a different layout, use the key that sits where the US letter is. Octopus never uses Ctrl+Alt or the Windows key.

See alsoThe Leader keyNavigation modeWindows and Linux only

Without the Mac's menu bar, Windows and Linux have an action palette and a few extra shortcuts.

Step by step

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P and type part of an action's name (“Search for an action”). The palette has what the Mac menus have: “New portal”, “New Draw”, “New server…”, “New account”, “Set Up This Computer…”, “Check for Updates…”, “Align › …”, “Go to Card › …”, “Appearance: Light / Dark”, “Group: …”, “Go to workspace …” and the other commands, with the shortcut next to them when there is one.
2. Right-clicking empty canvas gives you “Undo”, “Redo” and “Paste”. In text fields, there's “Cut”, “Copy”, “Paste” and “Select all”.

On the Mac, full screen is the window's green button.

See alsoThe action paletteRight-click menusThe Leader key (Windows and Linux)

On the Mac, the Canvas and Terminal menus in the menu bar list every command with its shortcut next to it.

Step by step

1. Open the Canvas menu to see zoom, appearance, navigation, “Start connection”, “Duplicate Terminal”, arranging, history, saved groups, “Now”, cloud accounts, “All Sessions”, grouping, folders, blur, align, terminals 1 to 9 and switching workspaces.
2. Open the Terminal menu to find, clear, change the font, open the folder's tree, open a shell beside and switch between chat and terminal.
3. The Octopus menu has “About Octopus”, “Check for Updates…”, Settings and “Set Up This Mac…”.

See alsoGeneral