Keyboard Shortcuts - Obsidian Chess Studio

Obsidian Chess Studio provides extensive keyboard shortcuts to help you navigate and analyze games efficiently. All shortcuts are fully customizable.

Platform-Specific Keys

The mod key refers to:

macOS: ⌘ Command
Windows/Linux: Ctrl

File Operations

File Management

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+o`	Open File	`OPEN_FILE`
`mod+s`	Save File	`SAVE_FILE`
`mod+r`	Reload App	`APP_RELOAD`
`mod+q`	Exit App	`EXIT_APP`
`mod+i`	Import Board	`IMPORT_BOARD`
`mod+e`	Export Game	`EXPORT_GAME`

Copy & Paste

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+shift+f`	Copy FEN	`COPY_FEN`
`mod+shift+c`	Copy PGN	`COPY_PGN`
`mod+shift+v`	Paste FEN	`PASTE_FEN`

Navigate through game moves efficiently:

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`→`	Next Move	`NEXT_MOVE`
`←`	Previous Move	`PREVIOUS_MOVE`
`↑`	Go to Branch Start	`GO_TO_BRANCH_START`
`↓`	Go to Branch End	`GO_TO_BRANCH_END`
`shift+↑`	Go to Game Start	`GO_TO_START`
`shift+↓`	Go to Game End	`GO_TO_END`
`shift+→`	Next Branching Point	`NEXT_BRANCHING`
`shift+←`	Previous Branching Point	`PREVIOUS_BRANCHING`
`n`	Next Branch	`NEXT_BRANCH`
`p`	Previous Branch	`PREVIOUS_BRANCH`
`mod+g`	Jump to Move	`JUMP_TO_MOVE`
`mod+shift+g`	Go to Position Number	`GO_TO_POSITION_NUMBER`

Use shift+↑/↓ to quickly jump to the beginning or end of a game, then use arrow keys for precise navigation.

Game Browsing

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`PageUp`	Previous Game	`PREVIOUS_GAME`
`PageDown`	Next Game	`NEXT_GAME`

Primary Sections

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+shift+d`	Go to Dashboard	`GO_TO_DASHBOARD`
`mod+shift+p`	Go to Profiles	`GO_TO_PROFILES`
`mod+shift+b`	Go to Databases	`GO_TO_DATABASES`

Board Modes

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+1`	Play Board	`PLAY_BOARD`
`mod+2`	Analyze Board	`ANALYZE_BOARD`
`mod+3`	Train Board	`TRAIN_BOARD`

Secondary Sections

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+alt+e`	Go to Engines	`GO_TO_ENGINES`
`mod+alt+f`	Go to Files	`GO_TO_FILES`
`mod+alt+t`	Go to Tournaments	`GO_TO_TOURNAMENTS`

Board Management

Board Tabs

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+t`	New Board Tab	`NEW_BOARD_TAB`
`mod+w`	Close Board Tab	`CLOSE_BOARD_TAB`
`ctrl+tab`	Cycle Board Tabs	`CYCLE_BOARD_TABS`
`ctrl+shift+tab`	Reverse Cycle Tabs	`REVERSE_CYCLE_BOARD_TABS`
`mod+shift+t`	Duplicate Tab	`DUPLICATE_TAB`
`mod+n`	New Game	`NEW_GAME`

Direct Tab Access

Jump directly to specific tabs using ctrl+alt+[1-9]:

Shortcut	Tab	Key ID
`ctrl+alt+1`	Board Tab 1	`BOARD_TAB_ONE`
`ctrl+alt+2`	Board Tab 2	`BOARD_TAB_TWO`
`ctrl+alt+3`	Board Tab 3	`BOARD_TAB_THREE`
`ctrl+alt+4`	Board Tab 4	`BOARD_TAB_FOUR`
`ctrl+alt+5`	Board Tab 5	`BOARD_TAB_FIVE`
`ctrl+alt+6`	Board Tab 6	`BOARD_TAB_SIX`
`ctrl+alt+7`	Board Tab 7	`BOARD_TAB_SEVEN`
`ctrl+alt+8`	Board Tab 8	`BOARD_TAB_EIGHT`
`ctrl+alt+9`	Last Board Tab	`BOARD_TAB_LAST`

Analysis & Annotations

Move Annotations

Quickly annotate moves with standard chess symbols:

Shortcut	Symbol	Meaning	Key ID
`ctrl+1`	‼️	Brilliant Move	`ANNOTATION_BRILLIANT`
`ctrl+2`	❗	Good Move	`ANNOTATION_GOOD`
`ctrl+3`	⁉️	Interesting Move	`ANNOTATION_INTERESTING`
`ctrl+4`	⁉️	Dubious Move	`ANNOTATION_DUBIOUS`
`ctrl+5`	❓	Mistake	`ANNOTATION_MISTAKE`
`ctrl+6`	❓❓	Blunder	`ANNOTATION_BLUNDER`

// After making a move, press ctrl+2 to mark it as a good move
// This is equivalent to adding the "!" annotation in PGN

Comments & Variations

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`ctrl+c`	Add Comment	`ADD_COMMENT`
`ctrl+e`	Edit Comment	`EDIT_COMMENT`
`ctrl+shift+v`	Add Variation	`ADD_VARIATION`
`ctrl+shift+up`	Promote Variation	`PROMOTE_VARIATION`
`ctrl+shift+delete`	Delete Variation	`DELETE_VARIATION`
`ctrl+shift+c`	Collapse Variations	`COLLAPSE_VARIATIONS`
`delete`	Delete Move	`DELETE_MOVE`

Deleting a move will remove all subsequent moves in that line. Use variations to preserve alternative lines.

Engine Controls

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+shift+e`	Toggle Engine	`TOGGLE_ENGINE`
`escape`	Stop Engine	`STOP_ENGINE`
`mod+a`	Analyze Position	`ANALYZE_POSITION`
`mod+shift+i`	Infinite Analysis	`INFINITE_ANALYSIS`
`e`	Toggle Eval Bar	`TOGGLE_EVAL_BAR`
`shift+e`	Toggle All Engines	`TOGGLE_ALL_ENGINES`

Board Control

Position Setup

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`f`	Swap Orientation	`SWAP_ORIENTATION`
`shift+f`	Flip Board	`FLIP_BOARD`
`mod+0`	Reset Position	`RESET_POSITION`
`mod+shift+s`	Setup Position	`SETUP_POSITION`
`mod+l`	Clear Shapes	`CLEAR_SHAPES`
`mod+b`	Blindfold Mode	`BLINDFOLD`

Swap Orientation (f) rotates the board, while Flip Board (shift+f) mirrors the position.

View Tabs

Quickly switch between different panel views:

Shortcut	View	Key ID
`shift+p`	Practice Tab	`PRACTICE_TAB`
`shift+a`	Analysis Tab	`ANALYSIS_TAB`
`shift+b`	Database Tab	`DATABASE_TAB`
`shift+d`	Annotate Tab	`ANNOTATE_TAB`
`shift+i`	Info Tab	`INFO_TAB`

Search & Database

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+k`	Spotlight Search	`SPOTLIGHT_SEARCH`
`mod+f`	Find Position	`FIND_POSITION`
`mod+shift+k`	Quick Search	`QUICK_SEARCH`
`ctrl+shift+f`	Filter Games	`FILTER_GAMES`

Window Management

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+\\`	Toggle Sidebar	`TOGGLE_SIDEBAR`
`mod+n`	Toggle Notation	`TOGGLE_NOTATION`
`f11`	Toggle Fullscreen	`TOGGLE_FULLSCREEN`
`mod+shift+1`	Focus Board	`FOCUS_BOARD`
`mod+shift+2`	Focus Moves	`FOCUS_MOVES`
`mod+shift+b`	Toggle Blur	`TOGGLE_BLUR`

Training & Practice

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`h`	Show Hint	`SHOW_HINT`
`r`	Retry Position	`RETRY_POSITION`
`ctrl+enter`	Mark as Correct	`MARK_AS_CORRECT`
`ctrl+shift+→`	Skip Position	`SKIP_POSITION`

Repertoire Management

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`ctrl+shift+r`	Add to Repertoire	`ADD_TO_REPERTOIRE`
`ctrl+shift+d`	Remove from Repertoire	`REMOVE_FROM_REPERTOIRE`

Undo/Redo

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+z`	Undo	`UNDO`
`mod+shift+z`	Redo	`REDO`

Settings & Help

Shortcut	Action	Key ID
`mod+,`	Open Settings	`OPEN_SETTINGS`
`mod+/`	Show Keybindings	`SHOW_KEYBINDINGS`
`mod+?`	Toggle Help	`TOGGLE_HELP`

Customization

Accessing Keybindings Settings

To customize keyboard shortcuts:

Press mod+, to open Settings
Navigate to the Keybindings section
Click on any shortcut to reassign it
Press your desired key combination
Save changes

export const keyMapAtom = atomWithStorage(
  "keybindings", 
  keys, 
  defaultStorage(keys, localStorage)
);

Modifiers Reference

When customizing shortcuts, use these platform-agnostic tokens:

Token	macOS	Windows/Linux
`mod`	⌘ Command	Ctrl
`ctrl`	⌃ Control	Ctrl
`alt`	⌥ Option	Alt
`shift`	⇧ Shift	Shift

The format uses lowercase tokens (e.g., mod+shift+f) which are automatically converted to the appropriate display format for your platform.

Formatting Function

Shortcuts are formatted using the formatHotkeyDisplay function:

export function formatHotkeyDisplay(combo: string): string {
  return combo
    .split("+")
    .map((t) => mapTokenForDisplay(t, isMac))
    .join("+");
}

Best Practices

Learn Gradually

Start with basic navigation shortcuts (arrow keys) and gradually add more as you become comfortable.

Use Mnemonics

Many shortcuts follow logical patterns: mod+f for Find, mod+s for Save, etc.

Practice Mode

Training shortcuts (h, r) are optimized for single-key access for faster practice sessions.

Avoid Conflicts

When customizing, ensure new shortcuts don’t conflict with system or browser shortcuts.

Workflow Examples

Quick Analysis Workflow

mod+k         → Search for position
mod+2         → Switch to Analyze mode
mod+shift+e   → Enable engine
→/←           → Navigate moves
ctrl+[1-6]    → Annotate moves
ctrl+c        → Add comments

Database Research Workflow

mod+shift+b   → Open Databases
mod+f         → Find position
shift+b       → View Database tab
PageUp/Down   → Browse games
mod+e         → Export interesting games

Training Session Workflow

mod+3         → Switch to Train mode
shift+p       → Open Practice tab
h             → Get hint if stuck
r             → Retry position
ctrl+enter    → Mark correct
ctrl+shift+→  → Skip if too difficult

Game Analysis

Learn more about analyzing positions

Multi-Engine Analysis

Deep dive into analysis features

Customization

Configure keyboard shortcuts and preferences

Get Started

User Guide

Features

Advanced

​Platform-Specific Keys

​File Operations

​Navigation

​Move Navigation

​Game Browsing

​Application Navigation

​Board Management

​Board Tabs

​Direct Tab Access

​Analysis & Annotations

​Move Annotations

​Comments & Variations

​Engine Controls

​Board Control

​Position Setup

​View Tabs

​Search & Database

​Window Management

​Training & Practice

​Repertoire Management

​Undo/Redo

​Settings & Help

​Customization

​Accessing Keybindings Settings

​Modifiers Reference

​Formatting Function

​Best Practices

Learn Gradually

Use Mnemonics

Practice Mode

Avoid Conflicts

​Workflow Examples

​Quick Analysis Workflow

​Database Research Workflow

​Training Session Workflow

​Related Resources

Game Analysis

Multi-Engine Analysis

Customization

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Platform-Specific Keys

File Operations

Navigation

Move Navigation

Game Browsing

Application Navigation

Board Management

Board Tabs

Direct Tab Access

Analysis & Annotations

Move Annotations

Comments & Variations

Engine Controls

Board Control

Position Setup

View Tabs

Search & Database

Window Management

Training & Practice

Repertoire Management

Undo/Redo

Settings & Help

Customization

Accessing Keybindings Settings

Modifiers Reference

Formatting Function

Best Practices

Workflow Examples

Quick Analysis Workflow

Database Research Workflow

Training Session Workflow

Related Resources