Keybindings¶
Press ? inside bibtui at any time for this reference. Modals show their own keys in the footer.
Core¶
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| q | Quit |
| w | Write (save to the .bib file) |
| s | Search |
| e | Edit entry (field form or raw BibTeX) |
| k | Edit keywords |
| v | Toggle field form / raw BibTeX view |
| m | Maximize / restore the table pane |
| < / > | Grow / shrink the detail pane (5% steps, saved to config) |
| ? | Show help |
Adding & removing entries¶
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| n | Create a new entry (pick type, add fields) |
| d | Import entry by DOI |
| Ctrl+V | Paste a raw BibTeX entry |
| Delete / ⌫ | Delete the selected entry (confirm) |
Entry state¶
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| r | Cycle read state (to-read → skimmed → read) |
| p | Cycle priority (high → medium → low) |
| 1–5 | Set star rating |
| 0 | Clear rating |
| Space | Open the linked PDF |
| b | Open the entry's URL in a browser |
| Shift+B | Search OpenAlex for the entry |
PDFs¶
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| f | Fetch the PDF and link it to the entry |
| a | Attach an existing PDF from your Downloads folder |
Copying¶
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+C / ⌘+C | Copy selected text, or the cite key |
| Shift+C | Copy the formatted citation (current CSL style) |
| Ctrl+Y | Copy the full BibTeX entry (also bound to Ctrl+Shift+C / ⌘+Shift+C, but most terminals reserve those for their own copy command — see below) |
Copies go to the OS clipboard via the native tool (pbcopy, wl-copy/xclip/xsel,
clip) and also as an OSC 52 escape for SSH sessions.
Everything else¶
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+P / ⌘+P | Command palette (settings + library actions) |
| Esc | Clear the search, or close a modal |
In any modal
Ctrl+S / ⌘+S writes/saves and Esc cancels.
About the ⌘ and Shift+C-family shortcuts
Plain Ctrl shortcuts (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+S, Ctrl+P, Ctrl+Y) always work. The ⌘ (Cmd) alternative only reaches bibtui in terminals that forward it as a distinct key — Kitty, WezTerm, Ghostty, or iTerm2 with the Kitty keyboard protocol enabled. In macOS Terminal.app and stock iTerm2, Cmd shortcuts are handled by the terminal itself and never reach bibtui, so Ctrl is what you'll actually use there.
Ctrl+Shift+C and ⌘+Shift+C are a step less reliable still: most
terminal emulators claim that exact combination as their own built-in
"copy selected text" shortcut and never forward it to any app at all —
for example Kitty's default keymap binds kitty_mod+c (kitty_mod
defaults to Ctrl+Shift) to copy_to_clipboard, so bibtui never even
sees the keypress there. This is unrelated to Kitty keyboard protocol
support — it happens at the terminal's own keybinding layer, before any
protocol negotiation. Where the terminal doesn't claim it outright,
older/simpler terminals still can't tell Ctrl+Shift+C apart from plain
Ctrl+C at the byte level, so it falls back to "copy cite key" instead.
Either way, use Ctrl+Y for "copy BibTeX entry" — it's the one
guaranteed to reach bibtui everywhere.