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Keyboard Shortcuts

The Blink terminal interface includes powerful keyboard shortcuts to help you build and use agents efficiently.

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Essential Shortcuts

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Ctrl+T
shortcut
Toggle between Edit Mode and Run Mode. This is your primary way to switch contexts while developing your agent.
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Ctrl+N
shortcut
Create a new chat. Useful for testing your agent in isolation or organizing different conversations.
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Ctrl+R
shortcut
Reset the current chat. Clears all messages and starts fresh while staying in the same chat.
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Escape
shortcut
Stop the agent and process queued messages. If the agent is currently responding, this will interrupt it. If you have queued messages (sent while the agent was busy), pressing Escape will stop the current response and begin processing the next message in the queue incrementally.
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Ctrl+C
shortcut
Quit Blink. Press twice to confirm exit (prevents accidental quits).

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Message Queuing

When you send multiple messages while the agent is still processing, Blink queues them for sequential processing. This allows you to keep working without waiting for each response. How it works:
  • Messages sent while the agent is busy are added to a queue
  • The terminal status bar shows: X message(s) queued - Press [Escape] to stop and process queue
  • Press Escape to interrupt the current response and process the next queued message
  • Each press of Escape stops the current message and moves to the next one in the queue
This is useful when you realize mid-response that you want to redirect the agent or provide additional context.

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Slash Commands

Slash commands provide quick access to common operations. Type / in the input to see available commands, and use Tab for autocompletion.

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Mode Management

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/edit
command
Switch to Edit Mode where AI helps you build your agent. In this mode, you can modify your agent’s behavior, add tools, and refine how it works.
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/run
command
Switch to Run Mode where you use your agent. Test your agent with real tasks and see how it performs.

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Chat Management

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/reset
command
Reset the current chat and clear all messages. Alias: /clear
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/new [chat-id]
command
Create a new chat with an optional custom ID. If no ID is provided, a unique one is generated.
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/switch [chat-id]
command
Switch to a different chat by ID. Use Tab for autocompletion from your available chats.

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Help

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/help
command
Display help information about building agents, including the development loop and tips for effective agent building.

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Development Workflow

The terminal interface is designed around a rapid iteration workflow:
1

Start in Edit Mode

Press Ctrl+T or type /edit to enter Edit Mode. Describe what you want your agent to do.
2

Switch to Run Mode

Press Ctrl+T or type /run to test your agent. Give it real tasks and observe its behavior.
3

Refine in Edit Mode

Press Ctrl+T again to return to Edit Mode. The AI in Edit Mode has full context of your Run Mode conversations and can help you fix issues.
4

Reset when needed

Use Ctrl+R or /reset to start fresh conversations while testing. Use Ctrl+N or /new to create separate test scenarios.

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Terminal Status Bar

The bottom of the terminal displays useful information:
  • mode: Shows whether you’re in edit or run mode (color-coded: orange for edit, blue for run)
  • chat: Displays the current chat ID
  • tokens: Shows token usage (input → output, with cached tokens if applicable)

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Tips

  • Tab completion: Works for slash commands and their arguments. Start typing and press Tab to autocomplete.
  • Command aliases: /reset and /clear do the same thing - use whichever you prefer.
  • Chat organization: Use /new with descriptive IDs to organize test scenarios (e.g., /new feature-test-1)
  • Quick mode switching: Ctrl+T is faster than typing /edit or /run when you’re iterating quickly.
  • Don’t fear interruptions: Press Escape if your agent starts going in the wrong direction - it’s better to stop and redirect early.
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