Keyboard Map

Condensed reference for all VisiData keys, organized by function. Use this as a printable quick-reference card.

Learning Focus

Print or bookmark this page. Refer to it during the first two weeks — after that, the most-used keys become automatic. Focus on: navigation (hjkl-style), selection (|, z|), and analysis (Shift+F, Shift+W).

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Navigation

Key	Action
h / l	Move left / right one column
j / k	Move down / up one row
gH / gL	Move to first / last column
gG / gg	Move to last / first row
Ctrl+F / Ctrl+B	Page down / Page up
Ctrl+D / Ctrl+U	Half page down / Half page up
/ regex	Search forward in current column
? regex	Search backward in current column
n / N	Next / previous search match
g/ regex	Search all visible columns
{ / }	Jump to previous / next selected row
Ctrl+^	Toggle between current and previous sheet

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Session Management

Key	Action
q	Quit current sheet (return to previous)
Q	Quit and remove from CommandLog
gq	Quit all sheets (exit VisiData)
^Q	Abort immediately (no save)
Shift+S	Open Sheet List
^G	Show current position + sheet info
^V	Show VisiData version
^L	Redraw screen
^R	Reload sheet from source
Space	Command palette (searchable)
z^H	Help for current sheet type

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Row Selection

Key	Action
s / u	Select / unselect current row
t	Toggle selection of current row
gs / gu	Select / unselect all rows
gt	Toggle all rows
| regex	Select rows matching regex in current column
g| regex	Select rows matching regex in any visible column
z| expr	Select rows matching Python expression
,	Select rows matching current cell value
"	Open filtered sheet (selected rows only)
g"	Open unfiltered copy of all rows

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Column Operations

Key	Action
^	Rename current column
_	Toggle column width (full / default)
g_	Toggle all column widths
z_ N	Set column width to N characters
-	Hide current column
gv	Unhide all hidden columns
H / L	Slide column left / right
gH / gL	Slide column to far left / far right
!	Toggle current column as key column / pinned identifier
z!	Unset current column as key column

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Column Types

Key	Type
~	str (text)
#	int (integer)
%	float (decimal)
$	currency
@	date
z#	len (string length as int)

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Derived Columns and Editing

Key	Action
= expr	Create derived column from expression
g= expr	Bulk set current column for selected rows
: regex	Split column into sub-columns by regex
; regex	Extract capture groups as new columns
* s<Tab>r	Create column replacing regex s→r (new column)
g* s<Tab>r	Replace regex in-place for selected rows
i	Add incremental integer column
gi	Set current column incrementally for selected rows
Space rn Enter	Add leftmost no row-number column (common-config)
+ agg	Set aggregator on current column
z+ agg	Show aggregate result in status bar

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Cell Editing

Key	Action
e	Enter edit mode on current cell
ge text	Set current column for all selected rows to text
^O	Open current cell in external $EDITOR
U	Undo last modification
R	Redo last undo
f	Fill null cells with non-null value above
Ctrl+S	Save current sheet
g Ctrl+S	Save all sheets

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Row Operations

Key	Action
a	Append blank row after current
ga N	Append N blank rows
d	Delete current row
gd	Delete all selected rows
y / gy	Yank current / all selected rows to clipboard
p / P	Paste clipboard rows after / before current
x / gx	Cut current / selected rows
J / K	Slide row down / up
gJ / gK	Slide row to bottom / top

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Sorting

Key	Action
[ / ]	Sort ascending / descending by current column
g[ / g]	Sort by all key columns ascending / descending
z[ / z]	Add to existing sort (cumulative)

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Analysis

Key	Action
Shift+F	Frequency table on current column
gF	Frequency table on all key columns
Shift+W	Pivot table (requires key column set with !)
Shift+I	Describe Sheet (statistical profile of all columns)
Shift+C	Columns Sheet (bulk column metadata editing)
Shift+M	Melt (unpivot) sheet
.	Canvas / graph (requires key column)
T	Transpose sheet (swap rows and columns)
&	Join / append top two selected sheets
g&	Join / append all sheets in Sheet List

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Nested / JSON Columns

Key	Action
(	Expand current nested column one level
g(	Expand all nested columns one level
z( N	Expand current column to depth N
)	Collapse current expanded column
g)	Collapse all expanded columns
zM	Expand list column into multiple rows
Enter	Drill into nested cell / frequency row as child sheet

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CommandLog and Macros

Key	Action
Shift+D	Open CommandLog for current sheet
gD	Open global CommandLog
m key	Start / stop recording macro to key
gm	Open Macro Index

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Sheet Types (Quick Access)

Key	Sheet Type
Shift+F	Frequency Sheet
Shift+W	Pivot Sheet
Shift+I	Describe Sheet
Shift+C	Columns Sheet
Shift+D	CommandLog Sheet
Shift+O	Options Sheet
Shift+M	Melted Sheet
Shift+S	Sheet List
^T	Threads Sheet

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Clipboard (System)

Key	Action
Y	Yank current row to system clipboard
gY	Yank selected rows to system clipboard
zY	Yank current cell value to system clipboard

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Printable Summary (ASCII)

NAVIGATE               SELECT                  EDIT
─────────────────────  ──────────────────────  ─────────────────────────
h/l   col left/right  |  regex → select col   e     edit cell
j/k   row up/down     g| regex → select all   ge    bulk set col
gg/gG first/last row  z| expr  → by expr      =     derived column
g/    search all      ,  → match cell value   g=    bulk set expr
n/N   next/prev match "  → open filtered      *     regex replace (new)
                       s/u → single select    g*    regex replace (inplace)
                       gs/gu → all select     i     incremental column
SORT & TYPE           ──────────────────────  d/gd  delete row/selected
─────────────────────  ANALYSIS               a     add blank row
[ / ]  asc/desc sort  ──────────────────────  y/p   yank / paste
g[ g]  by key cols    Shift+F  frequency      U     undo
~#%$@  type cast      Shift+W  pivot          Ctrl+S save
!      key/pin col    Shift+I  describe
z!     unkey column   Shift+C  columns sheet  SESSION
H/L    slide col      Shift+M  melt           ─────────────────────────
(/)    expand/collapse T        transpose      q/Q/gq quit
g(     expand all     &        join sheets    ^Q    abort

What's Next

• Core Keys Cheatsheet
• Column Operations Cheatsheet
• Analysis Workflows Cheatsheet