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
gf	Filter in-place by natural-language condition
gc	Restore all rows (clear filter)

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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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Custom: Column Selection (Plugin)

Key	Action
Alt+s / Alt+u	Select / unselect current column
Alt+t	Toggle column selection
Alt+gs / Alt+gu	Select / unselect all columns
Alt+-	Hide all selected columns
Alt+gv	Unhide selected columns
Alt+gV	Unhide all hidden columns
Alt+g# / Alt+g% / Alt+g~	Set int / float / str type for selected
Alt+g$ / Alt+g@	Set currency / date type for selected
Alt+g_	Set width for selected columns
Alt+z_	Auto-fit width for selected columns
Alt+:	Show selected column names

See Column Operations Cheatsheet for full reference.

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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
zm	Copy current cell to tmux paste buffer (custom, requires tmux)

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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           gf → natural-lang filter d/gd  delete row/selected
─────────────────────  gc → clear filter       a     add blank row
[ / ]  asc/desc sort  ANALYSIS                y/p   yank / paste
g[ g]  by key cols    ──────────────────────  U     undo
~#%$@  type cast      Shift+F  frequency      Ctrl+S save
!      key/pin col    Shift+W  pivot
z!     unkey column   Shift+I  describe       SESSION
H/L    slide col      Shift+C  columns sheet  ─────────────────────────
(/)    expand/collapse Shift+M  melt           q/Q/gq quit
g(     expand all     T        transpose      ^Q    abort
                       &        join sheets

What's Next

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