iTerm2 keyboard shortcuts

iTerm2 is the power-user terminal emulator for macOS, adding split panes, instant replay, paste history and deep shell integration on top of the standard Terminal. Because a terminal is where developers live all day, its shortcuts for panes, tabs, search and history pay off within hours of learning them. This cheat sheet covers 55 default shortcuts.

Windows & Tabs

New window	`Cmd`+`N`
New tab	`Cmd`+`T`
Close tab or pane	`Cmd`+`W`
Next tab	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`]`
Previous tab	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`[`
Jump to tab 1-9	`Cmd`+`1`
Toggle full screen	`Cmd`+`Enter`
Minimize window	`Cmd`+`M`
Save window arrangement	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`S`
Restore window arrangement	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`R`
Undo close session (within grace period)	`Cmd`+`Z`

Split Panes

Split pane vertically (side by side)	`Cmd`+`D`
Split pane horizontally (stacked)	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`D`
Next pane	`Cmd`+`]`
Previous pane	`Cmd`+`[`
Select pane in direction	`Cmd`+`Option`+`Arrow keys`
Resize split pane divider	`Ctrl`+`Cmd`+`Arrow keys`
Maximize / restore active pane	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`Enter`
Close all panes in tab	`Cmd`+`Option`+`W`
Broadcast input to all panes in current tab	`Cmd`+`Option`+`I`
Broadcast input to all panes in all tabs	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`I`

Search & Navigation

Find	`Cmd`+`F`
Find next	`Cmd`+`G`
Find previous	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`G`
Find cursor (highlight its location)	`Cmd`+`/`
Open Quickly (switch sessions by name)	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`O`
Scroll one page up	`Cmd`+`Page Up`
Scroll one page down	`Cmd`+`Page Down`
Scroll to top of buffer	`Cmd`+`Home`
Scroll to bottom of buffer	`Cmd`+`End`
Open URL or file under click (semantic history)	`Cmd`+`Click`

Marks & Shell Integration

Set a mark at current line	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`M`
Jump to last mark	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`J`
Jump to previous mark / command prompt	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`Up`
Jump to next mark / command prompt	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`Down`
Select output of last command	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`A`
Alert when current command finishes	`Cmd`+`Option`+`A`
Show command history	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`;`

Clipboard & Text

Copy	`Cmd`+`C`
Paste	`Cmd`+`V`
Paste special (advanced paste dialog)	`Cmd`+`Option`+`V`
Show paste history	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`H`
Select all	`Cmd`+`A`
Enter copy mode (keyboard selection)	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`C`
Autocomplete word from screen history	`Cmd`+`;`
Clear buffer	`Cmd`+`K`
Make text bigger	`Cmd`+`=`
Make text smaller	`Cmd`+`-`
Reset text size	`Cmd`+`0`

Tools & Views

Instant Replay (scrub back through terminal history)	`Cmd`+`Option`+`B`
Toggle timestamps for each line	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`E`
Toggle toolbelt sidebar	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`B`
Open composer (edit command before sending)	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`.`
Edit current session settings	`Cmd`+`I`
Open settings	`Cmd`+`,`

Put your top iTerm2 shortcuts on real keys

The five iTerm2 actions most worth binding to a physical macropad key:

Cmd+D Split pane vertically Panes are iTerm2's killer feature; spinning one up should cost zero thought.

Cmd+Option+I Broadcast input to all panes One physical toggle for typing into every server at once, and one to turn it off safely.

Cmd+Shift+A Select output of last command Grab an entire command's output for copying without any mouse scrolling.

Cmd+Shift+H Show paste history Recovers earlier clipboard entries constantly lost while juggling snippets.

Cmd+Option+B Instant Replay Rewind the terminal to see output that scrolled away or was overwritten.

I hand-build small-batch programmable macropads (QMK/VIA) in Barcelona. One press, any shortcut, any app.

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iTerm2 shortcut FAQs

How do I split the screen in iTerm2?

Press Cmd+D to split the current pane vertically (side by side) or Cmd+Shift+D to split horizontally (stacked). Move between panes with Cmd+Option+Arrow keys or Cmd+] and Cmd+[.

How do I type one command into multiple iTerm2 panes at once?

Use broadcast input: Cmd+Option+I sends your keystrokes to every pane in the current tab, and Cmd+Shift+I sends them to all panes in all tabs. Press the same shortcut again to turn it off.

Does iTerm2 have a paste history?

Yes. Press Cmd+Shift+H to open the paste history and pick any recent clipboard entry. With shell integration installed, Cmd+Shift+; similarly opens your command history.

What is Instant Replay in iTerm2?

Instant Replay (Cmd+Option+B) lets you scrub backward and forward through everything that appeared in the terminal, like a video, which is invaluable for recovering output that was overwritten by a full-screen program.

How do I jump back to my previous command prompt in iTerm2?

With shell integration enabled, iTerm2 marks every prompt automatically. Press Cmd+Shift+Up and Cmd+Shift+Down to jump between marks, and Cmd+Shift+A to select the output of the last command.