Vim mode
Vim mode is tessoa's full-keyboard control scheme: turn it on and, whenever no text box has focus, letter keys stop being typing and become commands — j and k move the cursor, l enters a folder, y copies. If you have used Vim or yazi you can start straight away; this page also lists the whole keymap.
This page assumes you have already turned the switch on. If not, press Ctrl+Shift+P for Settings and find Vim Mode (j/k navigation) in the Input group.
Knowing which keys are in charge
With the switch on, a small badge sits in the bottom-right corner of the window showing the current state:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| NOR | Normal state; letter keys are commands |
| VIS | Visual mode; moving the cursor extends the selection |
| SIDE | Focus is in the sidebar, using the sidebar's own keys |
| FIND | The cursor is in a filter or search box, so typing is typing |
Press a prefix key such as g, w, or , and the badge echoes what you have pressed so far while a small overlay lists the keys that can follow. If you forget what comes next, wait for it to appear.
At any point ? brings up the full Vim Key Reference panel. Press ? again, press Esc, or click anywhere to close it.
Navigation & history
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
j / k | Cursor down / up. Takes a count, so 5j moves five rows down |
h / l | Go up a level / enter a folder or open a file |
gg / G | Jump to the top / bottom. 12G goes to row 12 |
J / K | Half a page down / up, the same as Ctrl+D and Ctrl+U |
H / L | History back / forward |
gh | Go to your home folder |
Selecting & file operations
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
Space | Check the current item and move down a row |
v | Enter visual mode; moving the cursor extends the selection. v again commits, Esc cancels |
| Ctrl+A | Select all / none |
y / x / p | Copy / cut / paste |
d | Delete to the Recycle Bin; u undoes it |
u | Undo |
m | Rename |
a / A | New file / new folder. Either one drops straight into renaming it |
t | Open the tags menu; type to filter, Enter to toggle |
M | Open the context menu — the file menu when the cursor is on a row, the background menu when it is not |
a makes a file and A makes a folder; both create it under a default name first and then let you rename it in place.
Panes & tabs
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
wv / ws | Split right / split down. Focus lands in the new pane |
w then h j k l | Move pane focus in that direction |
wq | Close the current pane |
gt / gT | Next / previous tab |
gn | New tab |
Find, sort & miscellaneous
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
/ | Focus the filter box and filter the current list |
: | Open Settings |
, then n s m r | Sort by name / size / modified date / reverse the direction |
. | Show or hide hidden files |
! | Open the current folder in a terminal |
? | Open the key reference panel |
| Esc | In order: clear a half-typed key sequence → leave visual mode → clear the filter → clear checks |
Pressing the same sort key a second time flips the direction, matching what clicking a column header does.
The sidebar (SIDE)
Press e to hand focus to the sidebar. The badge changes to SIDE and a different set of keys applies. Press e again to leave and collapse the sidebar. From the leftmost pane, pressing w then h and running out of panes also lands you there.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
e | Enter the sidebar; when already there, leave and collapse the panel |
j / k | Move up and down, counts supported |
J / K | Half a page down / up |
{ / } | Previous / next section |
g then l r b t s p | Go straight to Layouts / Recents / Bookmarks / Tags / Storage / Places |
l / h | Expand or open / collapse or go up a level |
Space | Fold or unfold this row |
m / M | Rename in place / open this row's menu |
a / A | Create in this section / create a child |
d | Delete or remove — the same action as Delete in the row menu |
c / L | Recolor a tag / lock or unlock a layout |
/ | Sidebar quick search. Pressing Esc returns to the list and keeps the results |
| Esc | In order: close in-place editors → clear the query → leave the sidebar (the panel stays open) |
w then h j k l | Move focus back to the file area |
While focus is in the sidebar, unbound letter keys are swallowed rather than falling through to the file area.That is deliberate: otherwise you would think you were working in the sidebar, press p out of habit, and paste the clipboard into the current folder — which is troublesome to undo. Ctrl combinations are unaffected and keep working.
How this relates to the normal shortcuts
Vim mode only takes over bare letter keys while no text box has focus. Two things follow from that:
- While the cursor is in the filter box, a rename box, or a search box, typing is typing, and input methods work normally.
- Keys the engine does not recognize pass straight through to the normal shortcuts. So Ctrl+T, F2, and Delete keep working, and turning Vim mode off puts everything back exactly as it was.
The Vim keys are fixed for now and cannot be rebound on the Keyboard Shortcuts page; that page covers the Ctrl-style combinations.