Skink quick start: open files and the keys you need

Open a folder, quick open, type, multiple cursors, save.

Run skink with a file or a folder, then type: there are no modes. Ctrl+S saves, Ctrl+Q closes the tab, and Ctrl+E opens the command line, where help explains everything else.

If you have used Micro, VS Code or nano, most keys already do what you expect. Skink uses Micro’s default bindings.

Open a file or folder

skink                    # empty scratch buffer
skink src/main.rs        # open a file
skink src/main.rs:42     # open it at line 42
skink src/main.rs:42:7   # line 42, column 7
skink .                  # open a folder: file tree on the left

The path:line:col form matches what compilers and grep -n print. You can paste a location straight from an error message.

Pick up where you left off

Running plain skink inside a project reopens the files, splits and shells you had when you last quit there. A project is a folder with .git, Cargo.toml, package.json, go.mod, pyproject.toml or build.zig.

See Sessions and folding.

Open more files from inside the editor

Key	Does
`Ctrl`+`O`	Open a file or folder by path
`Alt`+`P` (or `:recent`)	Quick open: open tabs first, then recent files, then every file in the project
`Ctrl`+`T`	New empty tab

In quick open, type a few letters of the name.

The ten keys you need

Key	Does
`Ctrl`+`S`	Save
`Ctrl`+`Q`	Close the tab (quits on the last file tab)
`Ctrl`+`Z` / `Ctrl`+`Y`	Undo / redo
`Ctrl`+`C` / `Ctrl`+`X` / `Ctrl`+`V`	Copy / cut / paste (no selection: the whole line)
`Ctrl`+`F`	Find in the file (`Ctrl`+`N` / `Ctrl`+`P` next / previous match)
`Ctrl`+`L`	Go to line
`Alt`+`P`	Quick open (or type `:recent`)
`Ctrl`+`E`	Command line
`F8`	File tree (show it, move focus, go back)
`F12`	Jump between your file and a terminal tab

Ctrl+P is Find previous, as in Micro, not quick open.

A few more that pay off quickly

Key	Typed command	Does
`Shift`+arrows		Select
`Ctrl`+`A`	`:selectall`	Select all
`Alt`+`↑` / `Alt`+`↓`	`:moveup` / `:movedown`	Move lines up / down
`Ctrl`+`D`	`:addcursor`	Select the word, again for a cursor at the next match
`Alt`+`/`	`:comment`	Comment / uncomment lines
`Alt`+`1` … `Alt`+`9`		Jump to tab N
`F1`	`:palette`	Command palette: every action and command

Why every key has a typed command: Every key has a typed command.

The full list is in Keyboard shortcuts.

The mouse works

Click to place the cursor, drag to select, scroll with the wheel. Alt+click adds another cursor.

Click a tab to switch to it. Click its x, or middle-click it, to close it.

The command line

Press Ctrl+E and type a command. The command line already shows the : these docs write, so you type only the name.

A few to start with:

Command	Does
`:help`	The built-in manual in a tab. `:help tabs` or `:help settings` jump to a topic
`:goto 120`	Jump to line 120
`:open PATH`	Open a file or folder
`:term`	A new terminal tab (`:term claude` runs a program in it)
`:run CMD`	Run a shell command, output in a tab
`:settings`	Open `settings.json`

Tab completes command names and paths, ↑ / ↓ browse history, Esc cancels.

Any editor action can be run by name too, for example :SelectAll or :Save. All commands are listed in Commands.

Everything is a tab

Skink has one tab bar for everything: files, terminals, the help manual, command output, git diffs, merge conflicts and your settings. Nothing opens a window you have to dismiss.

Key	Does
`Shift`+`F12`	Open a terminal tab. It is a real terminal emulator, so shells, `htop` and AI CLIs run unchanged
`F12`	Flip between your file and your terminal
`Ctrl`+`PageUp` / `Ctrl`+`PageDown`	Previous / next tab

Opening the same view twice (say, :help) reuses its tab.

Where next

Every key has a typed command
How to exit Skink
Configuration: settings and key bindings
Terminal tabs
AI agents
Code intelligence: completion, go to definition, rename