Keyboard Shortcuts
Every keyboard shortcut in Cerevisor, with context, modifier behavior, and the Escape stack.
Cerevisor's keyboard shortcuts are context-aware. A shortcut may do different things depending on which view you're in (canvas, workshop, memory) and whether a text field has focus. The tables below note context where it matters.
Throughout these docs, Ctrl means ⌘ Cmd on macOS. The app handles this for you; both modifiers work on Mac.
File and workflow
| Shortcut | Context | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+N | Anywhere except text fields | New workflow. Prompts to save if the current one has unsaved changes. |
| Ctrl+O | Anywhere except text fields | Open file dialog. Loads .cerevisor, .cerevisor-world, or .opaal files. |
| Ctrl+S | Anywhere — even inside text fields | Save the current workflow (or skill, if you're in the Workshop). |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Anywhere | Save As — forces the file picker, lets you write to a new path. |
| Ctrl+E | Canvas | Export the generated prompt to a .md file (the "Launch in Claude Code" path). |
Edit
| Shortcut | Context | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+Z | Canvas or editor | Undo the last action. Cerevisor keeps 50 levels of undo per workflow. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z | Canvas or editor | Redo. |
| Ctrl+A | Canvas | Select all agents. |
| Ctrl+C | Canvas, no active text selection | Copy selected agents to clipboard. |
| Ctrl+V | Canvas, no active text selection | Paste agents at the canvas centroid. |
| Ctrl+D | Canvas | Duplicate selected agents in place. |
| Delete / Backspace | Canvas, no active text selection | Delete selected agents and connections. |
View and navigation
| Shortcut | Context | Action |
|---|---|---|
| V | Canvas, not in placement mode | Toggle between Select and Pan modes. |
| Space (hold) | Canvas, not in placement mode | Temporarily switch to Pan mode while held. Release returns to your previous mode. |
| P | Canvas | Toggle the Prompt preview modal open/closed. |
| F11 | Anywhere | Toggle fullscreen mode. Title bar and status bar collapse; the canvas takes the entire window. |
| Escape | Anywhere | Close the topmost overlay. See the Escape stack for the full order. |
| ? or Ctrl+/ | Anywhere | Toggle the Keyboard Shortcuts overlay. |
Control groups
Control groups let you save a multi-agent selection to a numbered slot and recall it instantly, like RTS unit groups.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9 | Save the current selection to slot 1–9. |
| Ctrl+Shift+1 through Ctrl+Shift+9 | Recall the agents in slot 1–9 (replaces current selection). |
Slot indicators appear in the status bar with a count of how many agents are in each. Hover a badge to see the slot's contents.
Placement (quick-add agents)
These shortcuts enter placement mode for the corresponding agent role. After pressing, your cursor becomes the agent's ghost, click anywhere on the canvas to place it.
| Shortcut | Adds |
|---|---|
| 1 | The first agent role in the visible palette order. |
| 2 | Second. |
| 3 | Third. |
| … | … |
| 9 | Ninth. |
| 0 | Tenth. |
The role for each number depends on your current Agent Palette ordering. You can reorder via Settings → Agents → Reorder.
Press Escape during placement to cancel without dropping anything. Right-click also cancels.
Multi-workflow (World View)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt+1 through Alt+9 | Fly the camera to the N-th workflow in the rail and activate it. |
| Ctrl+Shift+W | Replay the world-intro cinematic. |
AI Builder (chat-to-build)
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+L | Toggle the AI Chat Builder panel (the floating chat window). |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Launch the current workflow in Claude Code (only available if you have the Claude CLI installed and configured). |
Inside the chat input:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Enter | Submit the message. |
| Shift+Enter | Insert a newline without submitting. |
When shortcuts are suppressed
By design, shortcuts that would steal focus or destructively act on the canvas are suppressed when you're typing into a text field. Specifically:
- Delete, Backspace, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+D, Ctrl+A do nothing if a text field has focus or you have an active text selection.
- Ctrl+S is the exception; it saves even from inside text fields, because losing in-progress text edits to a missed save is worse than the focus-stealing.
- V, Space, 0–9 are suppressed when an input is focused, so typing letters or numbers into a text field works normally.
Modifier semantics
| Modifier | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Shift + click an agent | Add to or remove from current selection. |
| Shift + drag empty canvas | Marquee-select. |
| Hold Space | Temporary pan mode. |
| Alt + click an agent connection handle | (Reserved.) |
Mac vs. Windows
| Key on Windows | Key on macOS |
|---|---|
| Ctrl | Cmd (⌘) |
| Alt | Option (⌥) |
| Windows key | Cmd (⌘) |
Cerevisor accepts both Ctrl and Cmd on macOS for backward compatibility, Mac users can use either.
The "I forgot the shortcut" affordance
Press ? any time, anywhere in the app. The Shortcuts Overlay opens with the full list grouped by area. It's the same list you see above, just always one keystroke away.