Shortcut Conflict for (cmd+K ) Terminal Clear and AI Window

Ideas Feedback
1

There is a shortcut conflict in the Cursor IDE that prevents the terminal from being cleared using Cmd+K. Instead of clearing the terminal, it opens the AI assistance chat window. This issue disrupts workflow, especially for users accustomed to clearing the terminal frequently.

Environment:

  • IDE: Cursor IDE
  • Operating System: macOS
  • Python environment: pyenv with multiple virtual environments (see attached screenshot for details)

Screenshot 2024-10-13 at 11.34.51
Screenshot 2024-10-13 at 11.34.512832×1774 489 KB

The conflict may stem from the IDE’s predefined shortcut mapping that overrides terminal functions.

Thank you for looking into this issue!

4 Likes
Change Ctrl+l to Ctrl+i - Control L is for Clear terminal
2

Ctrl-L works in any terminal.

Or redefine your shortcut.

1 Like
3

Wow thats super helpful :exploding_head:

4

Just know, Ctrl+L is not default in macOS

1 Like
5

It is for clearing terminal, in any “Unix” as far as I know.

Cursor chat is Cmd-L, of course.

6

Just a note that CTRL+L clears the visible pane but not the whole scroll-back history as is the case with CMD+K. In a way it’s better if you don’t want to lose your previous commands/output in the terminal.

2 Likes
7

cursor has both cmd+L and cmd+K bindings for its key chat functionality, which clashes with the terminal clear commands

3 Likes
Cmd+k remappings
8

Terminal is Ctrl-L on a mac (too).

9

For folks looking to just have Ctrl+l work in their terminal as usual (clear terminal without losing scrollback buffer) while retaining the Ctrl+l functionality for opening up a chat window while coding on a file, you can add the following to your Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON) settings:

{
        "key": "ctrl+l",
        "command": "aichat.newchataction",
        "when": "!terminalFocus"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+l",
        "command": "-aichat.newchataction"
    }

(tested on windows and ubuntu, unsure of whether it’ll work on Mac)

1 Like
10

I believe the point of this thread is the following:

In the context menu cursor clearly states that cmd+k is clear. It is not, it is conflicting with other hotkeys.

THis needs to be corrected. Cursor should not hint a hotkey that has bind conflictions and does not work.

Notes

  1. cmd+l is not the same as cmd-k
  2. these are very old hotkeys, they go back 1-2 decades. Cursor should consider this when picking application specific hotkeys.
7 Likes
11

Agreed. ctrl+L clears the terminal but doesn’t clear the scrollback buffer. cmd+k is the default keybind to also clear scrollback buffer. Having cmd+k firing up the Terminal: generate in terminal is a very bad UX choice and should be set as a different keybind.

As a workaround, from the Keyboard shortcuts settings, look for Terminal: generate in terminal and bind it to something else (I used cmd+g cmd+t chord, as in (g)enerate in (t)erminal).

2 Likes
12

this was the correct answer

13

I am on macOS, and in my case ctrl+L clears both the terminal and scrollback buffer, but I want to keep the buffer! I have not touched the keyboard shortcut settings at all. Why is this? Any advice or settings to change?

14

The cmd+k hot key clears the buffer scrollback even during a command execution. Its a feature integrated in the modern terminals.
In the other hand, ctrl+l is a shell feature that clear the screen by moving the prompt up and cannot be used during a running command, for example when following a log file.

The point here is that Cursor binded a combination that is conflicting with another previously defined by vscode.

15

C’mon, Cmd+K is the default shortcut in MacOS for clearing any terminal. Cursor’s terminal is the ONLY terminal I know which thinks it’s super smart to ignore this rule.

Furthermore, if you press the ellipsis button on the right – guess what you see in the menu: it’s “Clear Terminal (Cmd + K)”! No way, so it was supposed to work like this when it was forked from VS Code, oh wow :slight_smile:

So please don’t tell me to use Ctrl + L instead, as it contradicts the conventional UX of the whole OS.

1 Like