Ghostty Cheatsheet

Splits and Tabs

Use this Ghostty reference while you build software engineering projects, review code, or refresh the syntax you reach for most.

Splits

Splits are native UI, not a multiplexer. Ghostty calls each terminal in the tree a surface.

Action	Argument	Notes
`new_split`	`right`, `down`, `left`, `up`, `auto`	`auto` splits along the larger dimension
`goto_split`	`right`, `down`, `left`, `up`, `previous`, `next`	`previous` / `next` walk creation order
`resize_split`	`direction,pixels`	`resize_split:up,10`
`equalize_splits`	—	evens out every split in the window
`toggle_split_zoom`	—	the focused split fills the tab
`close_surface`	—	closes the focused split or tab

keybind = cmd+d=new_split:right
keybind = cmd+shift+d=new_split:down
keybind = cmd+opt+left=goto_split:left
keybind = ctrl+cmd+left=resize_split:left,20
keybind = cmd+shift+enter=toggle_split_zoom

Split defaults

Trigger (macOS)	Trigger (Linux)	Action
`cmd+d`	`ctrl+shift+o`	`new_split:right`
`cmd+shift+d`	`ctrl+shift+e`	`new_split:down`
`cmd+[` / `cmd+]`	`ctrl+super+[` / `ctrl+super+]`	`goto_split:previous` / `:next`
`cmd+opt+arrow`	`ctrl+alt+arrow`	`goto_split` directional
`cmd+ctrl+arrow`	`super+ctrl+shift+arrow`	`resize_split` by 10px
`cmd+ctrl+=`	—	`equalize_splits`
`cmd+shift+enter`	`ctrl+shift+enter`	`toggle_split_zoom`

Tabs

Action	Argument	Notes
`new_tab`	—
`goto_tab`	`1`–`n`
`previous_tab` / `next_tab` / `last_tab`	—
`move_tab`	signed integer	reorder relative to current position
`close_tab`	`this`, `other`, `all`
`toggle_tab_overview`	—	GTK tab overview
`prompt_tab_title` / `set_tab_title`	— / text	rename a tab
`prompt_surface_title` / `set_surface_title`	— / text	rename a split

keybind = cmd+t=new_tab
keybind = cmd+shift+]=next_tab
keybind = cmd+opt+w=close_tab:this
keybind = cmd+shift+i=prompt_tab_title

cmd+1 through cmd+8 (macOS) and alt+1 through alt+8 (Linux) jump to tabs 1 to 8. cmd+9 and alt+9 jump to the last tab, not tab 9.

Windows

Action	Argument
`new_window`	—
`goto_window`	`previous`, `next`
`close_window` / `close_all_windows`	—
`toggle_fullscreen` / `toggle_maximize`	—
`toggle_window_decorations`	—
`toggle_window_float_on_top`	—
`reset_window_size`	— (macOS only)

Working directory inheritance

Each level has its own switch, all true by default.

window-inherit-working-directory = true
tab-inherit-working-directory = true
split-inherit-working-directory = true
window-inherit-font-size = true
working-directory = /Users/me/code   # fallback when nothing was focused

With shell integration active, a new terminal starts in the working directory of the previously focused terminal, which is what makes this feel seamless.

Appearance of the tree

Key	Default	Notes
`unfocused-split-opacity`	`0.7`	set `1` to stop dimming, clamped to 0.15–1
`unfocused-split-fill`	background color	color of the dimming rectangle
`split-divider-color`	chosen automatically	since 1.1.0
`split-preserve-zoom`	off	`navigation` keeps zoom when you `goto_split`
`window-new-tab-position`	`current`	or `end`
`window-show-tab-bar`	`auto`	`always`, `auto`, `never`, Linux GTK only

Any operation that changes focus or layout normally unzooms a zoomed split. split-preserve-zoom = navigation changes that so navigating moves the zoom to the newly focused split instead. Prefix any value with no- to turn it off.