Navigation

Moving around in Yazi using keyboard shortcuts

Yazi provides Vim-like navigation keybindings for efficient file system browsing.

Basic Movement

Vertical Navigation

Move up and down through files in the current directory:

Key	Action	Description
j / <Down>	Move down	Navigate to the next file
k / <Up>	Move up	Navigate to the previous file

Horizontal Navigation

Move between directories in the Miller columns view:

Key	Action	Description
l / <Right>	Enter directory	Enter the child directory or open file
h / <Left>	Leave directory	Go back to the parent directory

Jump Navigation

Quick Jumps

Keybinding	Action	Description
gg	Jump to top	Go to the first file in the list
G	Jump to bottom	Go to the last file in the list

Page Scrolling

Half Page

Key	Description
<C-u> / <S-PageUp>	Scroll up half page
<C-d> / <S-PageDown>	Scroll down half page

Full Page

Key	Description
<C-b> / <PageUp>	Scroll up one full page
<C-f> / <PageDown>	Scroll down one full page

History Navigation

Navigate through your directory history:

Key	Action	Description
H	Back	Go back to the previous directory in history
L	Forward	Go forward to the next directory in history

History navigation (H/L) is different from parent/child navigation (h/l). History tracks the directories you’ve visited, similar to browser back/forward buttons.

Goto Shortcuts

Quickly jump to common directories:

Keybinding	Destination	Description
gh	~	Go to home directory
gc	~/.config	Go to config directory
gd	~/Downloads	Go to Downloads directory
g<Space>	Interactive	Jump to a directory interactively
gf	Follow symlink	Follow the symlink under cursor

Preview Navigation

Seeking in Preview

Scroll through the preview pane without changing the current selection:

Key	Description
J	Seek down 5 units in the preview
K	Seek up 5 units in the preview

Preview seeking is useful when viewing large files, directories, or images in the preview pane.

Find Mode

Quickly find files by name in the current directory:

1. Start finding

   Press / to find the next file, or ? to find the previous file

2. Type pattern

   Enter the pattern to search for (smart case by default)

3. Navigate results

   • n - Jump to next match
   • N - Jump to previous match

Find Keybindings

Key	Description
/	Find next file (forward)
?	Find previous file (backward)
n	Jump to next found file
N	Jump to previous found file

Filter Mode

Filter files in the current directory:

f  # Start filtering with smart case

When filter mode is active, only files matching your pattern will be displayed.

Filtering is different from finding. Filter hides non-matching files, while find jumps between matches.

Spotting

Spot mode allows you to inspect detailed information about files:

<Tab>  # Toggle spot mode for the hovered file

In spot mode:

• j/k - Navigate lines
• h/l - Swipe between files
• <Tab> or <Esc> - Exit spot mode