CDX-101 · Module 1

Keyboard Shortcuts & TUI Navigation

4 min read

Codex provides a full terminal UI (TUI) with keyboard-driven navigation. Understanding these shortcuts is essential for speed — the mouse is optional in Codex. The TUI presents a chat-like interface with a prompt input at the bottom, output scrolling above, and status indicators for model, approval mode, and sandbox state.

# Core Navigation
Ctrl+G         Open $EDITOR to compose a longer prompt
Ctrl+X         Send current input (alternative to Enter)
Ctrl+C         Cancel current generation or exit
Ctrl+L         Clear the screen
Up/Down        Scroll through prompt history

# Composer Shortcuts
Ctrl+A / E     Jump to start / end of line
Ctrl+W         Delete word backward
Ctrl+U         Clear entire input line

When Codex proposes changes, you navigate them through the approval flow. In suggest mode (the default), every file edit and command execution requires your explicit approval. You will see a diff view for file changes and a command preview for shell executions. Press Enter to approve, or type a correction to redirect.

The Codex web app and IDE extension have their own interaction models — the web app uses a task-based UI where you submit prompts and review completed results, while the IDE extension integrates directly into your editor's diff view.

Do This

  • Learn Ctrl+G early — it makes complex prompts much easier to write
  • Use prompt history (Up arrow) to iterate on previous requests
  • Read diffs carefully in suggest mode before approving

Avoid This

  • Approve changes blindly without reading the diff
  • Retype long prompts from scratch instead of using history
  • Ignore the status bar — it tells you which model and mode are active

If you are coming from Claude Code, the keyboard model is similar but not identical. Claude Code uses Shift+Tab to toggle Plan mode and Escape to interrupt. Codex uses Ctrl+C to cancel and relies on its approval modes (suggest/auto-edit/full-auto) rather than a dedicated plan mode. The mental model is different — Claude Code has an explicit plan-then-execute flow, while Codex uses approval granularity to control how much autonomy the agent has.