Tesseract AI agent app

Tesseract Keyboard Shortcuts

A searchable cheat sheet of Tesseract keyboard shortcuts for Mac, Windows and Linux: the ⌘+P / Ctrl+P menu, Spotlight over any app, Shift+Tab to switch Chat, Plan and Full access, the voice guide, and paste history, plus the built-in code editor's keys. Tesseract runs Claude Code, Codex and 12 more agents, so pair this with Claude Code shortcuts, Codex shortcuts, and OpenCode shortcuts.

Verified against tesseract.dev and the official Tesseract blog (v0.11.35–0.11.37) · Last checked 18 October 2026

What's in this Tesseract cheat sheet

Tesseract is a free desktop app where AI agents plan, edit, run and check work while you review. Each conversation runs on its own agent framework, so Claude Code can work in one conversation while Codex works in another, beside a code editor, a terminal and a live preview. Accounts opened to everyone on 15 October 2026 (v0.11.36), the same day v0.11.35 brought the single ⌘+P menu. Tesseract has no shortcut reference page of its own. This page gathers the keys from its release notes and product pages, with Windows/Linux and macOS tabs and a search box.

The two shortcuts to learn first

⌘+P (Ctrl+P on Windows and Linux) gets you around inside Tesseract. Spotlight works everywhere else: ⌥+Space on Mac or Alt+Shift+Space on Windows and Linux opens Tesseract over any app with a picture of your screen attached. Use Spotlight when the thing you're asking about lives in another app, like an email you want answered.

Not Tesseract OCR. This page is about the AI agent app from tesseract.dev. The open-source Tesseract OCR text recognition engine is a different project, and you run it from the command line.

Windows and Linux share one keyset. Tesseract's documentation lists the Windows and Linux keys together. The one gap is the voice guide: Tesseract documents ⌘+/ for Mac only, so that row is marked Not documented. The code editor group lists the defaults of Monaco, the editor Tesseract builds in. Tesseract may override a few of them.

Tesseract essentials — menu, Spotlight & voice

Open the menu for everything (conversations, files, actions)
CtrlP
Spotlight: open Tesseract over any app, with your screen attached
AltShiftSpace
Ask a question from the menu in a new conversation
CtrlPtypeEnter
Open the voice guide (ask about the app out loud)
Not documented
Open searchable paste (clipboard) history
AltShiftV

Agent modes & conversations

Cycle modes: Chat → Plan → Full access
ShiftTab
Find a conversation
CtrlPtype name
Find a file in the project
CtrlPtype name
Open one of your computers
CtrlPtype name
Jump to a Settings page
CtrlPtype page
Run any app action by describing it
CtrlPtype action
Start a maker (presentation, website, video)
CtrlP
Switch a conversation's agent framework (Claude Code, Codex…)
Framework menu
Unattended mode (Full access that answers its own questions)
Mode menu

Clipboard & your devices

Paste history (500 items, text and images)
AltShiftV
Copy here, paste on another of your computers
CtrlC
Paste what you copied on another computer
CtrlV

Code editor (Monaco defaults)

Find in file
CtrlF
Find and replace
CtrlH
Select next occurrence
CtrlD
Move line up / down
Alt↑↓
Copy line down
ShiftAlt↓
Delete line
CtrlShiftK
Add cursor above / below
CtrlAlt↑↓
Format document
ShiftAltF
Go to line
CtrlG
Fold / unfold region
CtrlShift[]
Undo / redo
CtrlZY

Mouse + keyboard combos

Open the menu from the title bar
ClickSearch
Edit a website's words or photos in place
Double-click
Turn automatic updates off (update button, bottom right)
Right-click

Tesseract essentials — menu, Spotlight & voice

Open the menu for everything (conversations, files, actions)
⌘P
Spotlight: open Tesseract over any app, with your screen attached
⌥Space
Ask a question from the menu in a new conversation
⌘Ptype↩
Open the voice guide (ask about the app out loud)
⌘/
Open searchable paste (clipboard) history
⇧⌘V

Agent modes & conversations

Cycle modes: Chat → Plan → Full access
⇧Tab
Find a conversation
⌘Ptype name
Find a file in the project
⌘Ptype name
Open one of your computers
⌘Ptype name
Jump to a Settings page
⌘Ptype page
Run any app action by describing it
⌘Ptype action
Start a maker (presentation, website, video)
⌘P
Switch a conversation's agent framework (Claude Code, Codex…)
Framework menu
Unattended mode (Full access that answers its own questions)
Mode menu

Clipboard & your devices

Paste history (500 items, text and images)
⇧⌘V
Copy here, paste on another of your computers
⌘C
Paste what you copied on another computer
⌘V

Code editor (Monaco defaults)

Find in file
⌘F
Find and replace
⌥⌘F
Select next occurrence
⌘D
Move line up / down
⌥↑↓
Copy line down
⇧⌥↓
Delete line
⇧⌘K
Add cursor above / below
⌥⌘↑↓
Format document
⇧⌥F
Go to line
⌃G
Fold / unfold region
⌥⌘[]
Undo / redo
⌘Z⇧⌘Z

Mouse + keyboard combos

Open the menu from the title bar
ClickSearch
Edit a website's words or photos in place
Double-click
Turn automatic updates off (update button, bottom right)
Right-click

How to use the Tesseract ⌘P menu

Since Tesseract 0.11.35, one menu replaces the old finder and command palette. Press ⌘+P (Ctrl+P on Windows and Linux) or click the search button in the title bar.

  1. Before you type, pick from the makers, your latest conversations or the quick actions.
  2. Type part of a name to find a conversation, a file, one of your computers or a Settings page.
  3. Type what you want to do, such as "turn off updates", to find the action that does it.
  4. Or type a question and press Enter. Tesseract asks it in a new conversation.

Chat, Plan and Full access with Shift+Tab

Press Shift+Tab in the message box until the mode button shows the mode you want. Chat answers, reads your project and searches the web, and never changes anything. Plan reads and proposes an editable plan you approve. Full access does the work. Unattended is Full access that also answers the agent's own questions, for jobs you leave running. Pick it from the mode menu. The same Shift+Tab habit works in Claude Code and Codex on their own.

14 coding agents, one set of keys

The framework menu next to the message box changes the agent for that conversation only and carries everything said so far. Tesseract runs Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Kimi Code, Qwen Code, MiniMax Code, CodeBuddy, Grok Build, Cursor, Hermes Agent, OpenClaw and NanoClaw. Google's Antigravity CLI became the 14th framework in v0.11.37 on 18 October 2026 (see Antigravity shortcuts). Whichever agent answers, the Tesseract keys on this page stay the same.

Paste history and copying between computers

⇧+⌘+V on Mac and Alt+Shift+V on Windows and Linux open a searchable history of everything you copied. It holds 500 items, with text up to 100,000 characters and images up to 10 MB, and it skips password managers and secure fields. Text and images you copy on one signed-in computer can be pasted on another, which pairs well with Tesseract's Remote Desktop and Mesh private network.

Also see: Claude Code • Codex • OpenCode • Antigravity • Grok Build • Cursor • Raycast • Windows • macOS

Tesseract Shortcuts — Frequently Asked Questions

What does Command+P do in Tesseract?

Command+P on Mac (Ctrl+P on Windows and Linux) opens one menu for everything: conversations, files, your computers, Settings pages, makers and every action. It arrived in Tesseract 0.11.35 on October 15, 2026 and replaced the separate finder and command palette. Type a question and press Enter to ask it in a new conversation.

What is the shortcut to open Tesseract over any app?

Option+Space on Mac, or Alt+Shift+Space on Windows and Linux. Tesseract calls this Spotlight. It opens Tesseract on top of whatever you are doing with a picture of your screen attached, so you can ask about an email, a form or a spreadsheet in another app. Command+P only works inside the Tesseract window.

Why doesn't Option+Space open Tesseract on my Mac?

Another app probably owns Option+Space. Raycast and Alfred both commonly use it to open their launchers. Change the launcher's hotkey in its own settings, then try Option+Space again. On Windows and Linux Tesseract uses Alt+Shift+Space instead, because Alt+Space already opens the window menu on Windows.

How do I switch between Chat, Plan and Full access in Tesseract?

Press Shift+Tab in the message box until the mode button shows the mode you want, or pick it from the mode button under the message box. Chat answers and searches but changes nothing. Plan reads and proposes but changes nothing. Full access does the work. Unattended, which is Full access that also answers the agent's own questions, is in the same menu.

How do I open the clipboard (paste) history in Tesseract?

Press Command+Shift+V on Mac or Alt+Shift+V on Windows and Linux. The history is searchable and keeps 500 items: text up to 100,000 characters and images up to 10 MB. It skips password managers and secure fields, and what you copy on one of your computers can be pasted on another.

What is the Tesseract voice guide shortcut?

Press Command+/ on Mac and ask your question out loud. The guide answers in her own voice and takes you to the right place in the app. It is free, works before you sign in, and speaks any of 99 languages. Tesseract only documents the Mac key. On Windows and Linux, try Ctrl+/ or open the guide from the app.

How do I move a conversation from Claude Code to Codex in Tesseract?

Open the conversation and pick another framework from the framework menu next to the message box. A line above the message box shows where it is going and how many messages it carries. Since Tesseract 0.11.35 earlier tool calls travel as tool calls with their results, so the new agent works from the real history. Tesseract runs 14 frameworks, including Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Grok Build and, since 0.11.37, Antigravity CLI.

Is this the Tesseract OCR engine?

No. This page covers Tesseract from tesseract.dev, a free desktop app that runs AI coding agents such as Claude Code and Codex in one window. Tesseract OCR is an unrelated open-source text recognition engine and is used from the command line or a library, without keyboard shortcuts of its own.

Is Tesseract free, and does it run on Windows and Linux?

Yes. Tesseract is free on Mac, Windows and Linux, with a browser version at app.tesseract.dev. Since version 0.11.36, released October 15, 2026, anyone can create an account with no invite or waiting list. Your Claude, ChatGPT, Google or other agent accounts work as they do anywhere else, and Tesseract adds no charge on top.

Explore more shortcuts

AI coding agent and OS cheat sheets that pair with Tesseract