> For the complete documentation index and Markdown links, see [llms.txt](/docs/llms.txt).

# Tab Switcher

The Tab Switcher provides a quick way to navigate between open tabs in Zed. It
displays a list of your open tabs sorted by recent usage, making it easy to jump
back to whatever you were just working on.

![Tab Switcher with multiple panes](https://zed.dev/img/features/tab-switcher.png)

## Quick Switching

When the Tab Switcher is opened using <kbd class="keybinding">ctrl-tab&#124;ctrl-tab</kbd>, instead of
running the <code class="hljs">tab switcher: toggle</code> from the command palette, it'll stay
active as long as the <kbd class="keybinding">ctrl</kbd> key is held down.

While holding down <kbd class="keybinding">ctrl</kbd>, each subsequent <kbd
class="keybinding">tab</kbd> press cycles to the next item (<kbd
class="keybinding">shift</kbd> to cycle backwards) and, when <kbd
class="keybinding">ctrl</kbd> is released, the selected item is confirmed and
the switcher is closed.

## Opening the Tab Switcher

The Tab Switcher can also be opened with either <code class="hljs">tab switcher: toggle</code> (<kbd class="keybinding">ctrl-tab&#124;ctrl-tab</kbd>)
or <code class="hljs">tab switcher: toggle all</code>.

While the Tab Switcher is open, you can:

- Press <kbd class="keybinding">down&#124;down</kbd> to move to the next tab in the list
- Press <kbd class="keybinding">up&#124;up</kbd> to move to the previous tab
- Press <kbd class="keybinding">enter</kbd> to confirm the selected tab and close the switcher
- Press <kbd class="keybinding">escape</kbd> to close the switcher and return to the original tab from which
  the switcher was opened
- Press <kbd class="keybinding">ctrl-backspace&#124;ctrl-backspace</kbd> to close the currently selected tab

As you navigate through the list, Zed will update the pane's active item to
match the selected tab.

## Action Reference

| Action                                    | Description                                       |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| <code class="hljs">tab switcher: toggle</code>            | Open the Tab Switcher for the current pane        |
| <code class="hljs">tab switcher: toggle all</code>         | Open the Tab Switcher showing tabs from all panes |
| <code class="hljs">tab switcher: close selected item</code> | Close the selected tab in the Tab Switcher        |