Keyboard shortcuts
Polycode binds thirteen menu commands to keyboard shortcuts from a single catalog, and renders that same catalog in-app under Settings → Appearance → Shortcuts (“Keyboard reference. Current bindings for every menu command.”), so what you see in the app and what you see here can’t drift apart.
Menu commands
| Command | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| New Session | ⌘N | Start a new chat in the active project. |
| New Window | ⌘⇧N | Open a second main window. |
| Rename Session | ⌘S | Rename the active session. |
| Archive Session | ⌘⌫ | Archive the active session (reversible). |
| Delete Session | ⌘⇧⌫ | Permanently delete the session and its history (asks to confirm). |
| Find in Session | ⌘F | Focus search, scoped to the active session. |
| Find Across All Sessions | ⌘⇧F | Focus search across every session. |
| Focus Composer | ⌘K | Move the cursor to the composer. |
| Cancel In-Flight Query | ⌘. | Stop the streaming response. |
| Toggle Sidebar | ⌘\ | Show/hide the session sidebar. |
| Toggle Inspector | ⌘⇧I | Show/hide the per-provider trace panel. |
| Switch Project | ⌘⇧O | Open the project picker. |
| Settings | ⌘, | Open the Settings window. |
A few things worth knowing:
- Find in Session (
⌘F) and Find Across All Sessions (⌘⇧F) focus the same sidebar search field — the only difference is scope. Search runs locally over Polycode’s full-text index. - Archive is reversible (it just sets an archived flag); Delete is a hard, confirmed delete that also removes the session’s exchanges, traces, and search-index rows.
- Every command except New Window targets the focused window, so they’re disabled when no Polycode window has focus. New Window always works.
- Toggle Inspector (
⌘⇧I) and Switch Project (⌘⇧O) are also on the toolbar and the sidebar project picker, respectively — same single binding.
Composer and Quick Prompt keys
These are context-local and aren’t part of the menu catalog above:
| Key | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
⌘⏎ | Composer | Send the prompt. |
Esc | Composer (while streaming) | Cancel the in-flight query. |
@ | Composer | Attach a project file. |
!! | Composer | Target a model for one send. |
⌘⏎ | Quick Prompt overlay | Submit to consensus. |
↑ / ↓ | Quick Prompt overlay | Move the highlight. |
For the composer accelerators in depth, see composing prompts; for the global hotkey that opens Quick Prompt from any app, see Quick Prompt & system integration.
What’s next
- Quick Prompt & system integration — the global hotkey, the menu bar, and Siri/Shortcuts/Spotlight.
- Composing prompts —
@,!!, and attachments. - The inspector — what
⌘⇧Iopens.