Settings and keyboard shortcuts

14 minute read · Settings

Open Settings with the gear icon or Cmd+, on macOS / Ctrl+, on Windows and Linux. Search by the name of a control, or select a section on the left. This reference describes the current desktop interface; the website demo does not connect accounts or change desktop preferences.

• Save, retry and reset
• General
• Appearance
• Integrations and agent accounts
• Panel layout
• Editor
• Terminal
• Notifications
• Voice, Mail, MCP and updates
• Skills and project instructions
• Compact sidebar controls
• Vortex Search: files, commands and saved resources
• Customize keyboard shortcuts
• Default keyboard shortcuts
• Workspace, chat and tool shortcuts
• Copy on Windows, Linux and macOS
• Check that a preference worked

Save, retry and reset#

Most preferences save as you change them. Check the saved/error feedback before closing Settings. Retry repeats a failed save. Reset restores the preferences belonging to the selected section after confirmation; it does not erase conversations, projects or saved connections. Mail's SMTP port has its own Apply action because changing it restarts a server.

The defaults below describe a new profile. Your existing account may contain different saved values. Device-specific choices such as microphones, speakers, local editor paths and installed fonts depend on this computer.

General#

There is no startup-screen or restore-last-view selector in the current General section.

Appearance#

These controls affect Vortex itself. They do not change the CSS of the website you are building.

Integrations and agent accounts#

Integrations brings together coding agents, code hosting and deployment accounts. Expand the provider you need and inspect its installation and account status. Installation, signing in, choosing a default account and choosing a model are separate actions.

Read the provider-specific guides before connecting Codex or Claude Code. The chat's Model picker controls the current conversation. Fast mode starts off in new chats and linked tasks use the standard service tier; see models and usage.

Panel layout#

Open the saved Tools launcher, then keep a supported tool docked beside your work or float it inside Vortex. Its heading controls expand, restore and close the view. Closing a panel does not delete the saved connection. Files and change review explains editor positions; chat layouts explains dragging and resizing conversations.

Editor#

The diff toolbar's Unified, Split and Wrap controls affect the current review. They are explained in file and change review.

Terminal#

Scrollback is an output buffer, not an audit log or backup. Increasing it does not restore lines that have already been discarded. For connection controls, see SSH hosts and keys.

Notifications#

If notifications are missing, check both these switches and the operating system's notification/focus settings. See Signals notifications for event-specific subscriptions.

Voice, Mail, MCP and updates#

Skills and project instructions#

Skills is your personal skills library. New skill opens Skill name, When to use it and Skill instructions. Import skill file reads a skill into the library; Find a skill filters it; Edit changes its instructions. The library and a project's enabled skills are separate: use the project's settings to select the skills relevant to that project.

A skill does not sign in to an account, install its dependencies or grant permission to make changes. Read imported instructions before enabling them. Project instructions describe conventions and checks for that checkout; plain chats have no project settings. See workspaces and projects.

Compact sidebar controls#

When the sidebar becomes narrow, Search, Agent activity and Vortex Cloud move into More workspace utilities (the … button). Open it to reach those controls. They return inline when there is enough room. Tools stays accessible; a very narrow sidebar shows its icon instead of the text label. Keyboard commands remain available when a button is inside the overflow menu.

The matching panel-and-four-arrows icons open Chat position and Editor position. They arrange their respective areas; they do not switch projects or change the selected model. Expand/restore stays next to the close control. See chat layouts and editor positions.

Vortex Search: files, commands and saved resources#

Open Vortex Search from the magnifying-glass button, Cmd+P / Ctrl+P for files, or Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P for commands. The compact search field and result list keep commands and resource search in the same keyboard-driven window, identified by the orbit mark. You can use it from an open project or chat; you do not have to go Home first. In Database, Cmd+P / Ctrl+P retains the table picker; use the search button or Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P for Vortex Search.

Type a category name such as SSH, databases, workspaces or chats, then select its Search … result with Up / Down and Enter (or Tab). The same input now filters that category. Type the resource name, use the arrows and press Enter to open it. No category bar or mouse click is required.

For example: Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P → databases → Enter → catalog → Enter opens the saved catalog database. You can also type a direct prefix such as db: catalog, ssh: production, ftp: uploads, workspace: client, chat: checkout or signals: api.

Escape inside a category returns to the preceding search and query. Backspace in an empty category query does the same. Escape at the root closes search and restores focus. The original > command prefix still works; removing it returns to file search. Commands retain their current keyboard bindings beside the result.

Opening a saved connection from a project floats its tool over your existing work; the chat and unsent draft stay in place. It uses the normal connection flow, including Vault unlocking, authentication, host verification and connection errors. Selecting a result does not guarantee the server is reachable. Search uses connection labels and addresses, not passwords or private keys, and does not send an AI prompt or consume model tokens.

Only the chosen connection category loads its resource lists. Select Retry loading connections and press Enter to repeat failed loading. If connections are locked, the Open … to unlock result takes you to the tool's existing Vault flow. Sign in to search saved connections. Keyboard Shortcuts in the footer opens the shortcut editor.

Customize keyboard shortcuts#

Open Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts, use its footer link in Vortex Search, or press Cmd+K, then Cmd+S on macOS / Ctrl+K, then Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux.

Changes save with your preferences. The previous binding stops working after replacement. Single-letter workspace shortcuts run only when you are not typing; a custom global shortcut needs a modifier or function key. Commands with no default keys can still be run from search and assigned a binding.

Default keyboard shortcuts#

These are defaults before your custom bindings or operating-system overrides.

In a workspace, when you are not typing: F toggles project files, C (also D) Source Control, P Preview, T the local terminal, K Checks, R Resources and B Background Processes. In API, Cmd/Ctrl+Enter sends a request, Cmd/Ctrl+S saves it, Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+F searches requests, Cmd/Ctrl+F searches the response and Cmd/Ctrl+D duplicates the request when not typing. In Database, Cmd/Ctrl+P opens the table picker and Cmd/Ctrl+S saves a query to a file.

Context matters: a terminal, editor, browser or modal may handle a key before a global action. Cmd+S / Ctrl+S saves the active file editor; Shift+Enter inserts a new line in the chat composer. Closing a view does not delete its saved resource.

Workspace, chat and tool shortcuts#

These commands are also available by name in Vortex Search. In a two-step binding, press the first combination, release it, then press the second. Alt is Option on a Mac. Ctrl+Tab uses the Control key on both platforms.

Hiding the project terminal keeps its sessions available; End Active Shell ends the selected shell. Closing a side panel or hiding the editor does not delete its files or saved connection. Switching chats preserves each draft, and switching projects does not move a chat's project ownership. Workspace creation opens a folder picker; adding a project uses the current workspace.

The active view determines which command receives a shared binding. For example, Cmd/Ctrl+K then H hides a project terminal while working in a workspace, opens Hosts in SSH, and shows request history in API. Project Runtime and Setup, Show Known Hosts, Show Tinker, Reconnect SSH Session and Switch to Signals have no default key combination; run them through search or assign keys in Keyboard Shortcuts.

Copy on Windows, Linux and macOS#

Use Copy buttons for responses, code or tool results. For selected text, use Ctrl+C on Windows/Linux or Cmd+C on macOS. In Windows/Linux terminals, Ctrl+C copies when terminal text is selected; without a selection it still interrupts the running command. Ctrl+Shift+C also copies a terminal selection. Copy buttons use the desktop clipboard bridge with a browser fallback; an actual clipboard failure must not be shown as a successful copy.

Check that a preference worked#

Change one setting, wait for saved feedback, switch to the affected view and reopen Settings to confirm the value. For example, set Terminal font size to 15 px and open a terminal; change Word wrap and inspect a long line in a normal-sized file. If a save fails, keep the error and use Retry instead of repeatedly resetting unrelated preferences.