Work in a terminal

A Wrangl terminal works like the terminal you already use. This page covers the parts that are specific to Wrangl.

Copy and paste

• Copy. Select text with the mouse, then press Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on macOS).
• Paste. Press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on macOS).
• Select everything. Press Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on macOS).

Ctrl+C copies only when text is selected. With nothing selected, Ctrl+C goes to the program, so it stops the running command as usual. On macOS, Ctrl+C always stops the command, and Cmd+C copies.

Selecting text doesn't copy it. Use Ctrl+C or the right-click menu.

In the desktop app, if the clipboard holds an image, Ctrl+V passes the key on to the program instead of pasting text. Command-line tools that read images from the clipboard, such as AI coding agents, can then pick up the image.

Right-click menu

Right-click in a terminal to open its menu. Right-clicking also selects the word under the pointer.

Copy, Explain with AI, and Fix Command with AI need selected text. For the two AI actions, see Ask AI about terminal output.

If you open Wrangl in a browser over plain http:// from another computer, the browser blocks clipboard access. Paste in the menu then does nothing, but Ctrl+V still pastes.

Keys that don't reach your shell

Most keys go straight to your shell, including Tab for completion and readline keys such as Ctrl+E, Ctrl+P, Ctrl+L, and Ctrl+D. Wrangl's own shortcuts come first, though, even when a terminal has focus.

Windows and Linux desktop app

These keys don't reach your shell:

Wrangl also uses some Ctrl+Shift and Ctrl+Alt keys, such as Ctrl+Shift+P for the command palette and Ctrl+Alt+T for the theme picker. Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts lists them all.

macOS

Wrangl's shortcuts use Cmd, so your shell gets the Ctrl keys. A few keys still don't reach the shell. Delete (the forward-delete key) and F2 do nothing, as on Windows and Linux. In the desktop app, Ctrl+U also does nothing.

In a browser

The browser version moves some shortcuts to Alt, because browsers keep keys such as Ctrl+W and Ctrl+T for themselves. For example, Close Tab is Alt+W and the agent launcher is Alt+T.

In a browser, these keys don't reach your shell:

• Ctrl+A, Ctrl+B, Ctrl+C with a selection, Ctrl+F, Ctrl+K, Ctrl+S, and Ctrl+V, as in the table above.
• Delete and F2.
• The Ctrl+Shift and Ctrl+Alt shortcuts, as in the desktop app.
• The Alt shortcuts: Alt+N, Alt+T, Alt+W, Alt+PageUp, Alt+PageDown, Alt+=, Alt+-, Alt+0, and Alt+,.

Wrangl doesn't bind Ctrl+R or Ctrl+U in a browser, so your shell gets them. Your browser may keep Ctrl+W, Ctrl+T, and Ctrl+N before Wrangl or the shell sees them.

Give a key back to your shell

To free a key that Wrangl uses as a shortcut, open Settings, select Keyboard Shortcuts, and record a different key combination for that shortcut. For example, record another key for Delete Files to get Delete back. You can't remove a shortcut. Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and Ctrl+U aren't in the list, so you can't give them back.

Shift+Enter

Shift+Enter sends a line feed, the same as Ctrl+J. AI coding agents that run in a terminal, such as Claude Code, use it to start a new line in a prompt without sending it. A plain shell treats it like Enter and runs the command.

Open links and files from the output

Hold Ctrl (Cmd on macOS) and click a web address or a file path in the terminal. A plain click does nothing.

• Web addresses. Wrangl opens http and https links. Other kinds of links show an error message.
• File paths. Wrangl opens the file in its editor. If the file is already open, Wrangl switches to its tab. If the path ends in a line number, such as src/cart.ts:12, src/cart.ts:12:5, or src/cart.ts#L12, the editor jumps to that line.

A file path needs at least one / or \. A bare name such as cart.ts:12 is not a link. Wrangl looks up a relative path from the terminal's folder and from the project folder. The file must be inside one of those folders.

To choose where web links open:

1. Open Settings and select Behavior.
2. In Open Terminal Links In, choose System Default Browser or Wrangl Browser.

System Default Browser is the default. Wrangl Browser opens the link in a browser tab inside Wrangl, which only the desktop app has. In a browser, keep System Default Browser. Wrangl then opens the link in a new browser tab.

Change the look and the scrollback

Open Settings and select Terminal Appearance.

• Font Size sets the terminal text size, from 10 to 24 pixels. The default is 14, and open terminals change right away.
• Scrollback Buffer Size sets how many lines each terminal keeps for scrolling back: 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, or 50,000. The default is 10,000. More lines use more memory.
• Terminal Renderer picks how terminals draw text. Auto is the default and uses your graphics card when it can. The other options are WebGL and DOM. Try DOM if text looks wrong.
• Screen reader mode makes terminal output readable by screen readers. It is off by default.

Scrollback and screen reader changes apply to terminals you open after the change.

Get notified when a long task finishes

Wrangl can tell you when a long-running terminal goes quiet, for example when a build or an AI agent finishes. The setting is Notify when a terminal agent finishes, under Behavior > Notifications in Settings. It is on by default.

A terminal counts as finished when it printed output for at least 20 seconds and then stayed quiet for 8 seconds. Wrangl doesn't notify you about the terminal you are looking at while the Wrangl window has focus. The notification shows the project name and says that the terminal's agent finished.

Wrangl also notifies you when the shell in a terminal exits, for example after you type exit. The message says DONE, or Failed with the exit code. This notification has no setting. Wrangl doesn't send it for terminals that you close yourself.

In a browser, Wrangl uses browser notifications, and the browser asks for permission the first time. Select a notification to go to that terminal. In the desktop app, these are system notifications. Selecting one brings the Wrangl window to the front.

When a terminal you aren't looking at finishes, its pane also gets an amber outline. The outline goes away when you click in the pane or type in it.

Command history

The Command History window is meant to list commands you ran in Wrangl terminals, so you can find one and insert it again.

To open the window:

• In the desktop app, press Ctrl+R (Cmd+R on macOS).
• In a browser, open the command palette and run Command History. Ctrl+R goes to your shell there.
• On a phone, select the ... button at the top of a terminal, then Command history.

The window has a search box and a filter for This Project or All Projects. To insert a listed command at the prompt, select it or press Enter. Wrangl doesn't run it. Clear History deletes the list for the current project.

Choose what the context bar shows

The context bar runs along the bottom of the window. It shows facts about the active project and terminal. Its Terminal button opens a new terminal in the active folder.

To choose what the bar shows, select the gear icon at the right end of the bar (Context bar settings), then turn items on or off.

• Project Name shows the project's name. Off by default.
• Git Branch shows the current branch. Select it to switch to another branch or create one. On by default.
• Git Status shows how many files are modified, staged, and untracked, when there are any. Off by default.
• Working Directory shows the active project or worktree folder. On by default.
• Exit Code shows whether the last command in the active terminal succeeded. On by default. It appears only if your shell reports exit codes to the terminal. Many shells don't do this unless you set up shell integration.

Wrangl saves your choices with your settings. Every browser and phone that connects to the same Wrangl uses them.

Use a terminal on your phone

When you open Wrangl in a phone browser, open the menu, select Terminals, and select New terminal. A row of keys above the keyboard gives you the keys a phone keyboard lacks: Esc, Tab, Ctrl+C, the arrow keys, PgUp, and PgDn. It also has a Paste button. Select the keyboard icon at the start of the row to hide or show the keys. Paste stays visible.