Keyboard shortcuts

Kernel

Thse are low level shortcuts that are considered to be used for debugging. Whenever possible, it is recommended to use these instead of doing a hard shutdown (holding power button to shutdown the motherboard).

Must be activated first with echo "1" > /proc/sys/kernel/sysrq

A common idiom to remember this is "Reboot Even If System Utterly Broken"

Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+	Unraw -- Take control of keyboard back from X
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+	Terminate -- Send SIGTERM to all processes, allowing them to terminate gracefully
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+	Kill -- Send SIGKILL to all processes, forcing them to terminate immediately .
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+	Sync -- Flush data to disk.
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+	Unmount -- Unmount and remount all filesystems read-only.
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+	Reboot.

Terminal

Virtual console

Keyboard Shortcut	Description
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Reboots Computer (specified in /etc/inittab)
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress, Template:Keypress, Template:Keypress, ...	Switch to n-th virtual console
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Switch to previous virtual console
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Switch to next virtual console
Template:Keypress	When Scroll Lock is activated, input/output is locked
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress/Template:Keypress	Scrolls console buffer up/down
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Clear screen
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Kills current task
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Inserts an EOF
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Pauses current Task

Readline

GNU readline is a commonly used library for line-editing, it is used for example by bash, zsh, ftp and many more (see Arch Package details under "Required By" for more examples). readline is also customizable (see manpage for details).

Keyboard Shortcut	Description
Cursor Movement
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Move cursor one character to the left
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Move cursor one character to the right
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Move cursor one word to the left
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Move cursor one word to the right
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Move cursor to start of the line
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Move cursor to end of the line
Copy & Paste
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Cut everything from line start to cursor
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Cut everything from the cursor to end of the line
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Cut the current word after the cursor
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Cut the current word before the cursor
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Paste the previous cut text
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Paste the second latest cut text
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Paste the first argument of the previous command
Template:Keypress+Template:KeypressorTemplate:Keypress	Paste the last argument of the previous command
History
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Move to the previous line
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Move to the next line
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Search
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Reverse search
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	End search
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Abort search (restores original line)
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Restores all changes made to line
Completion
Template:Keypress	Auto-complete a name
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	List all possible completions
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Insert all possible completions

X11

Keyboard Shortcut	Description
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress, Template:Keypress, Template:Keypress, ...	Switch to n-th virtual console
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress/Template:Keypress	Switch to higher/lower available resolutions
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Kills X-server
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress	Toggles keyboard mouse; uses numpad, mouse click is done by Template:Keypress, use Template:Keypress, Template:Keypress, and Template:Keypressto switch the click to left, middle, and right click
Template:Keypress+Template:Keypress, Mouse Button 3	Copy selected text to clipboard, or paste from clipboard

Links

• Linux Newbie Administrator Guide - Shortcuts and Commands
• The Linux keyboard and console HOWTO