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Why does Ctrl + N open a new composer instead of doing cursorDown?Ctrl + N shortcut except cursorDown.
Yet it still stubbornly ignores the expected behavior. WHY?
Open Keyboard Shortcuts with Ctrl + Shift + P.
Disable every single Ctrl + N shortcut except cursorDown.
Open composer using Command + I, type something, and then press Ctrl + N.
Watch in frustration as it defiantly opens a new composer instead of moving the cursor down.
Ctrl + N should just perform the cursorDown action. Simple. No new composers, no surprises.
MacOS
cursor --version --verbose
PLEASE FIX<
Contact: [email protected]
Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
7 Likes
You can ask Cursor for all of its keybinds, and have it give you and walk you through the settings.
As such:
Here’s a suggested response:
Hi there! I understand you want to set up Ctrl+N for cursor movement (similar to Emacs-style navigation). Here’s how you can customize this in Cursor:
Open Cursor’s Keyboard Shortcuts settings:
On macOS: Cmd + K, Cmd + S
Or go to Code → Preferences → Keyboard Shortcuts
Search for “cursorDown” in the shortcuts search bar
To add the Ctrl+N binding:
Click the + icon next to the “cursorDown” command
Press Ctrl+N
This will add it as an alternative binding
You can add this to your keybindings.json file directly:
keybindings.json
Apply
{
“key”: “ctrl+n”,
“command”: “cursorDown”,
“when”: “textInputFocus”
}
Note: If you’re getting conflicts with other shortcuts, you may need to:
Remove any conflicting bindings first
Ensure the “when” clause is specific enough to only trigger in text editing contexts
For other Emacs-style bindings, you might also want to add:
Ctrl+P for cursor up
Ctrl+F for cursor right
Ctrl+B for cursor left
2 Likes
I’ve tried for Ctrl + N, which still refuses to work:
// Remove existing ctrl+n bindings that could conflict
[
// Add new bindings for composer/chat panels
{
"key": "ctrl+n",
"command": "cursorDown",
"when": "textInputFocus && (focusedView == 'workbench.panel.composerViewPane2.view' || focusedView == 'workbench.panel.aichat.view')"
}
]
// Modified bindings for chat/composer input
{
"key": "ctrl+n",
"command": "cursorDown",
"when": "inChatInput || composerInput || chatInputFocus"
}
// General input focus bindings
{
"key": "ctrl+n",
"command": "cursorDown",
"when": "inputFocus && !editorTextFocus && !suggestWidgetVisible && !inQuickOpen"
}
Ctrl + P works perfectly. It’s just Ctrl + N that’s being unreasonably stubborn. Any ideas? Or, better yet, a fix?
im on windows, so I cant test this, but does this help:
Here are the Mac-specific instructions for managing Cursor’s keybindings:
View All Keybindings :
Press ⌘ + K, ⌘ + S (Command + K, Command + S)
Or navigate through: Cursor → Preferences → Keyboard Shortcuts
To Export Current Keybindings :
Open the Keyboard Shortcuts editor
Click the “…” (three dots) in the top-right corner
Select “Show Current Keybindings”
For the Emacs-style navigation, here’s a macOS-compatible keybindings.json configuration:
[
{
"key": "ctrl+n",
"command": "cursorDown",
"when": "textInputFocus && !suggestWidgetVisible"
},
{
"key": "ctrl+p",
"command": "cursorUp",
"when": "textInputFocus && !suggestWidgetVisible"
},
{
"key": "ctrl+f",
"command": "cursorRight",
"when": "textInputFocus"
},
{
"key": "ctrl+b",
"command": "cursorLeft",
"when": "textInputFocus"
}
]
To modify your keybindings:
Open Command Palette (⌘ + Shift + P)
Type “Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON)”
Add the above configurations
Note : If you want to see all default keybindings in Cursor:
Open Command Palette
Type “Open Default Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON)”
This will show you all built-in keybindings
For the Composer panel specifically, you might want to add:
{
"key": "ctrl+n",
"command": "cursorDown",
"when": "textInputFocus && (focusedView == 'workbench.panel.composerViewPane2.view' || focusedView == 'workbench.panel.aichat.view')"
}
Mac-Specific Notes :
Remember that on Mac, ⌘ (Command) is different from ^ (Control)
The keybindings use ctrl instead of cmd to maintain Emacs-style consistency
If you’re having issues with system shortcuts, you might need to check System Preferences → Keyboard → Shortcuts to ensure there are no conflicts
The file location for keybindings on Mac is typically: ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/User/keybindings.json
1 Like
Drat.
I think there is a huge vacuum of opportunity in the Forging of the UX within Cursor through its Agentic YOLObility to have the bot update Cursor IDE settings and such…
–
It just is a little too sycophantic/eager_to_claim_success that it often bullshits one into a corner…
1 Like
xc1427
January 21, 2025, 10:52am
8
The same case for me. Please fix that @cursorteam
2 Likes
Now that Ctrl+A is mapped to “Select All,” it’s super annoying for Unix keyboard shortcut lovers…
2 Likes
catkins
February 5, 2025, 3:50am
11
In my case, `Ctrl+A` works normal as move cursor to line start, you can check my key bindings below:
NOT WORK IN THE NEW VERSION
cursor --version --verbose
xc1427
February 6, 2025, 4:45am
13
That’s really sad they didn’t fix it in this new version.
1 Like
It was prolly in the release notes I must have missed…
1 Like
thanks for reporting this! just so i understand correctly, you’d like to override ctrl + n so it doesn’t open a new composer/noop?
1 Like
catkins
February 11, 2025, 10:48am
16
On macOS, Ctrl + N/P/B/F move the cursor (down/up/left/right) like arrow keys, and Ctrl + A/E jump to the start/end of a line, this works system-wide. Windows users rely more on arrow keys, so this feels unfamiliar. The issue is that Cursor forces overrides Ctrl + N/A, breaking this natural flow, which is frustrating for Mac users.
2 Likes
1kabe
February 12, 2025, 9:23am
17
Ctrl+k is also overridden on macOS. It is used to delete from the cursor position to the end of the line. All existing shortcuts can be found under Text-editing shortcuts here: Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support
1 Like
catkins
February 21, 2025, 8:45am
18
@ericzakariasson
The Feb 21 update still hasn’t fixed the Ctrl+N mess in Composer.
we’re moving away from cmd+n in 0.46, so hopefully should be resolved!
1 Like
Will Ctrl-N Ctrl-P work for moving up/down in this list in version 0.46?
2 Likes
1kabe
February 25, 2025, 1:20pm
21
This is still an issue in 0.46. Ctrl+k (as well as a/e/f/b/p) works well which is great, but ctrl+n still creates a new chat
1 Like
My prompts are vanishing left and right …
.