How to exit Skink (quit, save and close)

Ctrl+Q quits. Unsaved work? It asks first.

Press Ctrl+Q. It closes the current tab, and on the last file tab it quits Skink. If the file has unsaved changes, Skink asks first.

F4 and F10 do the same thing. You can also type :quit in the command line.

That’s it: no mode to escape from, no secret word to type. If you came here from years of “how do I exit vim” jokes, Skink is modeless on purpose, so the key that quits always quits.

The quit keys

Key	Does
`Ctrl`+`Q`	Close the tab. On the last file tab, quit Skink
`F4` or `F10`	Same as `Ctrl`+`Q` (while debugging, `F10` steps over)
`Ctrl`+`S` (or `F2`)	Save the file
`F11`	Close the active terminal tab (while debugging, it steps into)
`Alt`+`Q`	Close the focused split pane (its tab stays open)

Save and quit

There is no single “save and quit” key. Press Ctrl+S, then Ctrl+Q.

Or just press Ctrl+Q and answer the prompt with y.

Unsaved changes

When you close a tab that has unsaved edits, the status line asks:

Save changes before quitting? (y)es / (n)o / Esc

(It says “closing” instead of “quitting” when other file tabs remain.)

y saves, then closes.
n closes without saving. The edits are gone.
Esc cancels, so you stay in the file.

Crash recovery

Skink also backs up unsaved edits a few seconds after you stop typing. If Skink or your terminal crashes, opening the file again offers to recover them.

Quit from the command line

Press Ctrl+E, type quit and press Enter. The command line already shows the :, so typing quit gives you :quit.

Command	Does
`:quit` or `:q`	Close the tab (quits on the last file tab), same as `Ctrl`+`Q`
`:qa` or `:quitall`	Quit everything. Refuses when any tab has unsaved changes
`:save` or `:w`	Save the file
`:unsplit`	Close the focused pane
`:only`	Close every pane except the focused one

There is no :wq or :q!. Run :w, then :q.

To throw changes away, run :q and answer n at the save prompt.

Closing terminal tabs

In a terminal tab, almost every key goes to the program running inside. So Ctrl+Q and F10 reach the shell (or htop, or your AI CLI) rather than Skink.

To leave a terminal tab:

F11 closes the terminal tab.
Or type exit in the shell. A finished terminal closes on the next key you press.
F12 jumps back to your file, where Ctrl+Q works again.

Closing the last file tab quits Skink, and any terminal tabs close with it.

Coming back

Run skink with no arguments in the same project and it reopens your files, cursors, splits and shells where you left them.

Turn that off with "restoresession": false. See Sessions and folding.

All keys are listed in Keyboard shortcuts.