Keybindings

~/.e/keybindings.json overrides the composer's line-editing keys. It follows the same file-backed pattern as themes and skills.

JSON

{
  "ctrl+j": "none",
  "alt+d": "kill_word"
}

Each key is a chord and each value is an action. Apply changes instantly with /reload, or after you close /settings. A missing or malformed file falls back to e's built-in bindings untouched.

On this page

Chords

A chord is [ctrl+][alt+][shift+]<key>. Modifiers may come in any order, and chords are case-insensitive.

<key> is one of enter, backspace, delete, left, right, up, down, home, end, or a single character. The character may be + or -, as in ctrl+- and ctrl++. e reads modifiers off the front, and whatever remains is the key.

Spell a capital letter with its modifier, shift+a, because that is how the terminal reports it.

Actions

The value is one of these action names:

enter, newline
backspace, delete
left, right, up, down
word_left, word_right
home, end
kill_to_end, kill_to_start, kill_word

Use "none" to unbind a built-in chord. e swallows the key instead of typing it as a literal character.

Which chords reach the keymap

e's application-level shortcuts run first. Only chords they do not claim reach this keymap, so binding one of these here has no effect:

ctrl+c
ctrl+o
ctrl+p
ctrl+v or Command+V, for clipboard image or text paste
tab
shift+tab
menu navigation

An extension's declared shortcut runs after this keymap. See Shortcuts in docs/guides/extend/extensions.md. A chord bound here, or by the composer's built-in bindings, never reaches the extension. Unbind it here with "none" to hand it over. Extensions may only declare ctrl or alt chords.

The chord that moves focus between the conversation and a side pane is not set here. It is ctrl+t by default, and you set it in ~/.e/layout.json. See docs/guides/customize/layout.md.

External editor

ctrl+g opens the draft in an external editor. e uses the first of these that is set:

the editor setting in ~/.e/settings.json, such as "editor": "code --wait"
$VISUAL
$EDITOR
vi

Save and quit to bring the text back. A non-zero exit leaves the draft unchanged.

Prompt history

↑ on an empty composer recalls earlier prompts, including prompts from previous sessions. e keeps the newest thousand in ~/.e/history.jsonl, private to your user. A prompt identical to the last one is not repeated.

Full transcript

In normal chat, the wheel and PageUp/PageDown scroll the conversation while the composer stays editable. Reading above the bottom pauses following new output. End returns to the latest output; submitting a prompt resumes following too. Up/Down remain composer navigation and prompt history.

Both review depths reveal retained thinking and tool calls folded from normal chat. Closing the reader restores the previous chat reading position and draft.

Ctrl+O opens the review screen at the latest output. Tool details wrap with the reference's │ rails, and the rail connector renders in the theme's muted tone. The footer has a navigation row, a blank row, and the usual model and context status.

The screen has two depths:

Review folds each tool detail to three lines behind a → to expand hint.
Full shows every row.

The reader's keys:

Up/Down scroll one row. The mouse wheel scrolls three.
PageUp/PageDown scroll a page. Home/End jump to the ends.
←/→ switch between the Review and Full depths.
Scrolling up pauses following new output. Returning to the bottom resumes it.
Ctrl+O or Esc closes the reader. Ctrl+C closes it and keeps e's global cancellation behavior.
Typing and pasting in the reader leave the draft alone.

The reader uses the alternate terminal screen, so expanded tool output does not replace your normal scrollback. Closing the reader returns to the previous view and preserves the draft.

Set transcript_hint in ~/.e/settings.json to override the footer wording. It applies the next time you open the reader, at both depths. The defaults are:

Review · ←/→ switch · ctrl o close · PgUp/PgDn scroll · Esc close
Full detail · ←/→ switch · ctrl o close · PgUp/PgDn scroll · Esc close

Pasted text

A long paste collapses into a marker such as [Pasted text #1, 42000 chars]. The marker uses the same dim grey as image attachments.

Counting

The character count is Unicode codepoints, after CRLF and standalone CR normalize to newlines. The label does not count source lines or wrapped screen rows.

Numbers identify collapsed pastes in the current draft, not every clipboard operation in the session. Existing numbers stay stable. A new paste takes the next number after the highest remaining one. Numbering restarts at #1 when no markers remain, or when you submit or clear the draft.

Editing markers

Deleting or replacing any part of a marker removes the whole marker and its stored text.
Retyping a deleted marker cannot bring the text back.
Clearing or replacing the draft also discards its attachments.
History navigation preserves the unsent draft and its attachments until you return, submit, or clear it.
Submission expands each surviving attachment once.

Paste settings

These preferences in ~/.e/settings.json take effect in a new editor:

paste_placeholder collapses pastes above this codepoint count. The default is 1000, and 0 disables collapsing.
paste_label sets the marker text. The default is "[Pasted text #{id}, {chars} chars]". The optional {lines} and {plural} fields count source lines. {plural} is empty for one line and s otherwise. An empty label inserts the full text rather than creating an invisible attachment.

Draft display

Pastes normalize CRLF and standalone CR to one newline each. Terminal control characters in a draft display as replacement characters, and tabs display as spaces. The underlying draft keeps those characters for submission. Up/Down preserve display columns across wide and combining characters.

Ctrl+C works in every panel. The first press does all of this:

cancels active work and sign-in
clears the draft and any held launch prompt
closes trust and queue navigation
arms exit

Press it again within 1.5 seconds to quit.

Quitting at the trust question does not record a trust decision. Neither does the question's last row: declining exits, and the next launch asks again.

Long trust questions and choices wrap. If they exceed the terminal height, PgUp/PgDn scroll the text without changing the choice. Up/Down change the choice and reveal its label. Override the scrolling hint with "trust_scroll_hint" in ~/.e/settings.json.

Shell composer

Typing ! as the first character replaces the first ┃ gutter with a green !, using the theme's bashMode token. Command text keeps its normal color, and wrapped lines keep neutral rails. Deleting the leading ! restores the normal composer.

The draft and the submitted command keep the original prefix. When that prefix is ! , its space stays editable in the gutter, with its own cursor and selection highlight.