Mastering Moshi's Terminal Keyboard

The complete guide to Moshi's custom keyboard — built for terminal power users, not shrunken from desktops

TL;DR: Moshi's keyboard gives you dedicated Ctrl, Alt, Esc, Tab, and arrow keys. Long-press Ctrl for shortcuts panels with tmux, Claude Code commands, and common Ctrl combos. Double-tap the keyboard button for Enter.

The Problem with Mobile Keyboards

Standard iOS keyboards weren't built for terminals. Need to send Ctrl+C? Good luck. Want to navigate with arrow keys? Hope you enjoy hunting through the emoji picker.

Moshi's keyboard is different. Every key you actually need is one tap away. If you're new to Moshi, check out the complete setup guide first.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Ctrl  Alt │ Esc  Tab │ ↑  ↓  →  ← │ |  /  \  ~  -  _ │  ...  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The Toolbar

The keyboard toolbar lives at the bottom of your screen. It's always visible — even when the iOS keyboard is hidden.

Modifier Keys: Ctrl and Alt

Single tap: Activate the modifier for the next key you press. After you type, it automatically resets.

Double tap (within 400ms): Lock the modifier. A small bar appears under the key. It stays active until you tap it again.

This means you can:

Tap Ctrl, then type c → sends Ctrl+C
Double-tap Ctrl to lock, then type c, d, z → sends Ctrl+C, Ctrl+D, Ctrl+Z

Essential Keys

Key	What it sends
`Esc`	Escape (0x1B) — exit vim modes, cancel operations
`Tab`	Tab (0x09) — autocomplete in shells and editors
`↑` `↓` `→` `←`	Arrow keys — command history, cursor movement

Special Characters

These characters are buried in iOS's secondary keyboards. Moshi puts them front and center:

Key	Use case
`\|`	Pipes — `cat file \| grep pattern`
`/`	Paths — `/usr/local/bin`
`\`	Escape characters, Windows paths
`~`	Home directory — `cd ~`
`-`	Flags — `ls -la`
`_`	Snake_case identifiers

Navigation Keys

Scroll right on the toolbar to find:

Key	What it does
`Home`	Jump to start of line
`End`	Jump to end of line
`PgUp`	Scroll up in tmux, less, vim
`PgDn`	Scroll down in tmux, less, vim

The Shortcuts Panel

Long-press the Ctrl button to open the shortcuts panel. Three tabs of one-tap commands.

Tmux Tab

Sends Ctrl+B (the tmux prefix) followed by the key.

Button	Key	Action
`c`	Ctrl+B c	Create new window
`n`	Ctrl+B n	Next window
`p`	Ctrl+B p	Previous window
`d`	Ctrl+B d	Detach from session
`1-9, 0`	Ctrl+B [num]	Switch to window by number

No need to remember Ctrl+B — just long-press Ctrl and tap the shortcut. For tmux configuration tips, see Using Your Mac as a Remote Agent.

Claude Tab

One-tap commands for Claude Code:

Button	Command
`/clear`	Reset conversation
`/resume`	Continue previous session
`/compact`	Shrink context
`/help`	Show help
`/memory`	View context
`/tasks`	Show todos
`/config`	Open settings
`⇧Tab`	Cycle permission modes

These send the full command followed by Enter — no typing required. For tips on organizing your Claude Code sessions, see My Daily Moshi Workflow.

Ctrl Tab

Common Ctrl+ combinations with hints:

Button	Sends	Action
`C`	Ctrl+C	Stop/interrupt
`D`	Ctrl+D	EOF/exit
`Z`	Ctrl+Z	Suspend process
`L`	Ctrl+L	Clear screen
`A`	Ctrl+A	Jump to start of line
`E`	Ctrl+E	Jump to end of line
`R`	Ctrl+R	Reverse search history
`W`	Ctrl+W	Delete word backward

The Keyboard Toggle Button

The button on the right side of the toolbar controls the iOS keyboard.

Single tap: Show or hide the iOS keyboard.

Double tap: Send Enter key. Faster than reaching for the iOS keyboard's return button.

Long press (if enabled in settings): Start voice dictation.

Voice Dictation

When dictation is enabled, long-press the keyboard button to start recording. Moshi uses on-device Whisper for transcription — your voice never leaves your phone.

Long press keyboard button → recording starts
Speak your command
Release or tap pause → transcription begins
Edit if needed, then tap send

Perfect for quick approvals: "yes" → Enter. Or longer commands when you're away from a desk.

Tips and Tricks

Modifier + Arrow Keys

Combine modifiers with arrow keys for powerful navigation:

Alt + ← / Alt + →: Jump by word in bash/zsh
Ctrl + ← / Ctrl + →: Jump by word in some editors

Quick Interrupt

The most common terminal operation: stopping a runaway process.

Instead of: Tap Ctrl → Type C

Try: Long-press Ctrl → Tap C in the Ctrl panel

Both work. The panel is faster if your finger is already on Ctrl.

Tmux Window Switching

Scrollable number row in the tmux panel. Tap 3 to jump to window 3. No prefix key required — Moshi handles it.

Locked Modifiers for Vim

Editing in vim? Lock Ctrl with a double-tap, then navigate freely:

Ctrl+F: Page down
Ctrl+B: Page up
Ctrl+U: Half page up
Ctrl+D: Half page down

Unlock when you're done.

Comparison: Moshi vs. Other iOS Terminals

For a deeper comparison, see Best iOS Terminal App for AI Coding Agents and Blink Shell Alternatives.

Feature	Moshi	Blink	Termius	Prompt
Dedicated Ctrl key	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Modifier locking	Yes	No	No	No
Tmux shortcuts panel	Yes	No	No	No
Claude Code shortcuts	Yes	No	No	No
Voice input	Yes	No	No	No
Arrow keys always visible	Yes	Partial	No	Partial

Quick Reference

Keyboard Toolbar (left to right)

[Ctrl] [Alt] │ [Esc] [Tab] │ [↑] [↓] [→] [←] │ [|] [/] [\] [~] [-] [_] │ [Home] [End] [PgUp] [PgDn]

Shortcuts Panel (long-press Ctrl)

Tmux: c, n, p, d, 1-9, 0
Claude: /clear, /resume, /compact, /help, /memory, /tasks, /config, ⇧Tab
Ctrl: C, D, Z, L, A, E, R, W

Keyboard Button (right side)

Tap: Toggle iOS keyboard
Double tap: Enter
Long press: Voice dictation (if enabled)

Resources

Moshi — Mobile Terminal for Developers
Complete Setup Guide: Claude Code on iPhone — mosh, tmux, Tailscale, and push notifications
My Daily Moshi Workflow — how to organize tmux windows for AI agents
Using Your Mac as a Remote Agent — always-on server setup
Best iOS Terminal App Comparison — Moshi vs Blink vs Termius
Blink Shell Alternatives — options after the subscription switch
tmux Cheat Sheet
Claude Code Documentation