Keyboard shortcuts - Yarn Help

A few shortcuts make editing much faster. They don’t work while you’re typing in a field, the Script or the Agent chat, except for the Script shortcuts below.

Playback

Shortcut	What it does
Space	Play or pause
⌥Space	Play from the start
⇧← / ⇧→	Move the playhead back or forward 2 seconds
↑ / ↓	Jump to the previous or next clip or scene edge
Home / End, or ⌘↑ / ⌘↓	Jump to the start or end of the video

Editing

Shortcut	What it does
⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z	Undo / redo
⌘C / ⌘X / ⌘V	Copy, cut or paste a clip at the playhead
Backspace	Delete the selected clip
⌘⇧S	Split the clip at the playhead
⌘⇧C	Split the scene at the playhead
T	Insert text into the overlay at the playhead, or a new one
I	Add Image or Video
D	Add Demo
C	New Agent Comment

You can also paste an image, SVG, Figma frame link, Google Slides slide link or YouTube link anywhere outside a text field. It lands at the playhead. See Import from Figma, Google Slides and SVG.

Timeline

Shortcut	What it does
⌘= / ⌘− (or = / −)	Zoom the timeline in or out
F	Fit the whole timeline in view
⌘E	Add a skip. Move the pointer to size it, click to add, or press Escape to cancel.
⌘S	Add a sync point
⌘O	Add a zoom at the playhead
⌘-drag a clip	Reorder it within its track
⌘-drag a screen recording’s edge	Speed it up or slow it down instead of trimming

Panels and app

Shortcut	What it does
⌘⌥← / ⌘⌥→	Switch between the Agent and Script tabs
⇧Tab	Open the Script tab
⌘⌥↑ / ⌘⌥↓	Previous or next open project tab
⌘N	New draft
⌘⇧\	Switch between light and dark theme

Recorder

Shortcut	What it does
⌘⇧Enter	Start recording
⇧Escape	Stop recording

Canvas

These work when an overlay is selected and the video is paused.

Shortcut	What it does
P / L / R	Pen, line or rectangle tool. R with no overlay at the playhead makes a new one.
Enter	Edit the selected text
Double-click	Edit text, edit a shape’s points, or step into a group
Escape	Deselect, or step out of a group
← ↑ → ↓ / ⇧ + arrows	Nudge the selection 1 px / 10 px
Delete or Backspace	Delete the selected element
⌘A	Select all
⌘C / ⌘X / ⌘V / ⌘D	Copy, cut, paste or duplicate
⌘G / ⌘⇧G	Group / ungroup
⌘[ / ⌘]	Send backward / bring forward
⌘⇧[ / ⌘⇧]	Send to back / bring to front
⌘B / ⌘I	Bold or italic, while editing text
Shift-click	Add to the selection
Hold Shift while resizing	Keep proportions
Hold Option while resizing	Resize from the center
Hold Shift while rotating	Snap to 15° steps
Hold Control while dragging	Turn off snapping
Hold Option	Show spacing measurements

Pen

Shortcut	What it does
Click	Add a point
Click and drag	Add a curved point
Hold Option while dragging	Move each handle on its own
Click the first point	Close the shape
Enter or Escape	Finish an open path
Escape on an empty path	Leave the pen tool

Script

These work while you’re editing in the Script tab.

Shortcut	What it does
⌘Enter	Preview the current line
⇧Enter	Regenerate the current line
⌘B	Bold
Enter	Split the line or camera clip at the cursor
# on an empty line	Start a new scene
⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z or ⌘Y	Undo / redo

Related: The editor at a glance · Clips and scenes

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