Keyboard Toolbar

Mobile keyboards are designed for messaging, not terminal use. Keys like Ctrl, Escape, Tab, pipe |, and tilde ~ are either buried in symbol layers or missing entirely. RemoteConsoleSSH solves this with a custom toolbar that sits above the on-screen keyboard, giving you one-tap access to every key you need for serious terminal work.

Overview

The toolbar is organized into tabs, each grouping related keys by use case. Tap a tab name to switch between them. The built-in tabs cover the most common terminal workflows, and you can add your own Custom Key Collections on top of them.

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Tip

The toolbar is scrollable within each tab. If you do not see the key you need, swipe left or right to reveal more keys.

Tab Reference

Ess (Essential)

The most commonly needed special keys for everyday terminal use. This is the default tab when you open the keyboard.

Key	What it does
`Tab`	Autocomplete commands and file paths
`Esc`	Cancel operations, exit modes (vim normal mode, etc.)
`Up`	Previous command in shell history
`Down`	Next command in shell history
`Left`	Move cursor left
`Right`	Move cursor right
`Ctrl+C`	Interrupt / kill the current process
`Ctrl+D`	Send EOF / exit the current shell
`Ctrl+Z`	Suspend the current process

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Tip

The Ess tab covers 90% of what you need in a typical terminal session. Start here, and explore the other tabs when you need something specific.

Ctrl (Control Keys)

All control key combinations from Ctrl+A through Ctrl+Z. These are essential for shell navigation, process management, and many terminal applications.

The most useful control keys:

Key	What it does
`Ctrl+A`	Move cursor to start of line
`Ctrl+E`	Move cursor to end of line
`Ctrl+C`	Interrupt current process
`Ctrl+D`	EOF / exit shell
`Ctrl+Z`	Suspend current process
`Ctrl+L`	Clear the screen
`Ctrl+R`	Reverse search through command history
`Ctrl+W`	Delete the word before the cursor
`Ctrl+U`	Delete from cursor to start of line
`Ctrl+K`	Delete from cursor to end of line

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Tip

Ctrl+R is one of the most powerful shell shortcuts. It lets you search your command history by typing a few characters. Press Ctrl+R again to cycle through matches. Once you find the command, press Enter to execute it or Esc to edit it first.

Sym (Symbols)

Special characters that are essential for shell scripting and command chaining but tedious to type on a mobile keyboard.

Key	Common use
`\|` (Pipe)	Chain commands: `ls \| grep "test"`
`~` (Tilde)	Home directory: `cd ~`
` (Backtick)	Command substitution: echo `date`
`$` (Dollar)	Variables: `echo $HOME`
`&` (Ampersand)	Background process: `npm start &`
`;` (Semicolon)	Command separator: `mkdir dir; cd dir`
`\` (Backslash)	Escape character, line continuation
`{}` (Braces)	Brace expansion: `mkdir {src,dist,test}`
`[]` (Brackets)	Glob patterns: `ls file[12].txt`
`<>` (Angle brackets)	Redirection: `cat file > output.txt`

Vim

Dedicated keys for vim and neovim users. Having these on a toolbar makes vim on mobile dramatically more usable.

Key	What it does
`Esc`	Return to Normal mode
`:w`	Save the current file
`:q`	Quit vim
`:wq`	Save and quit
`:q!`	Force quit without saving
`h` `j` `k` `l`	Cursor movement (left, down, up, right)
`i`	Enter Insert mode
`v`	Enter Visual mode
`dd`	Delete current line
`yy`	Yank (copy) current line
`p`	Paste

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Tip

If you use vim regularly on mobile, keep the Vim tab open while editing. The Esc key on this tab is especially handy -- it is the most-used key in vim and is not available on mobile keyboards.

tmux

Common tmux operations accessible with one tap. All of these are preceded by the tmux prefix key (Ctrl+B by default).

Key	What it does
`Prefix` (`Ctrl+B`)	The tmux prefix key -- tap this first, then the action key
`d`	Detach from the current session
`c`	Create a new window
`n`	Switch to the next window
`p`	Switch to the previous window
`[`	Enter scroll / copy mode
`s`	List all sessions (interactive picker)
`%`	Split pane vertically
`"`	Split pane horizontally

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Info

tmux operations require two key presses: the prefix key first, then the action key. The toolbar sends the prefix key (Ctrl+B) when you tap Prefix, then you tap the action key. For example, to create a new window: tap Prefix, then tap c.

Cmd (Common Commands)

Quick-insert buttons for common command beginnings. Tapping one of these inserts the command text into the terminal so you can append arguments and press Enter.

Button	Inserts
`ls`	`ls`
`cd`	`cd`
`pwd`	`pwd`
`cat`	`cat`
`grep`	`grep`
`find`	`find`
`ssh`	`ssh`
`git`	`git`
`docker`	`docker`
`npm`	`npm`
`python`	`python`

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Tip

The Cmd tab is great when you know what command you want to run but do not want to type the first word. Tap git, then type commit -m "message" and press Enter. It saves a few taps on every command.

Fn (Function Keys)

Function keys F1 through F12. These are needed by various TUI (text-based user interface) applications.

Key	Common use
`F1`	Help in many applications
`F2`	Rename in many file managers
`F5`	Refresh / copy in Midnight Commander
`F6`	Move in Midnight Commander
`F7`	Create directory in Midnight Commander
`F8`	Delete in Midnight Commander
`F10`	Exit in many TUI applications
`F12`	Used by various developer tools

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Info

Function keys are primarily needed for TUI applications like htop, mc (Midnight Commander), nano, and some custom scripts. If you do not use these applications, you may never need this tab.

Custom Key Collections

Custom Key Collections let you define your own shortcut tabs and have them appear in the toolbar alongside the built-in ones. Each collection becomes its own tab chip. Collections are saved permanently and survive app restarts.

Creating a collection

Open Settings → Keyboard → Custom Key Collections
Tap Add Collection
Enter a tab title (up to 4 characters — this is what appears on the chip, e.g. git)
Tap Add Key to add your first key

Adding keys

Each key has two modes:

Preset Key — sends a standard terminal key sequence from a built-in list. Choose from Navigation keys (Esc, Tab, arrows, Home, End, …), Ctrl combinations (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Z, …), and Function keys (F1–F12). The correct escape sequence is sent automatically — no configuration needed.

Text — sends arbitrary text to the terminal. Enter any string you want to type. Enable Execute (↵) to automatically append Enter after the text, turning it into a one-tap command runner.

Setting	Description
Label	Up to 4 characters shown on the key chip
Type	Preset Key or Text
Action	The key to send (preset) or text to type
Execute (↵)	Text mode only — appends Enter, executing the command immediately

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Tip

Use Execute (↵) for commands you always run as-is, like git status or docker ps. Leave it off for commands where you want to add arguments first, like git checkout .

Example: a git collection

A collection titled git with these keys makes common git commands a single tap:

Label	Type	Action	Execute
`stat`	Text	`git status`	✓
`push`	Text	`git push`	✓
`pull`	Text	`git pull`	✓
`diff`	Text	`git diff`	✓
`log`	Text	`git log --oneline -10`	✓
`stash`	Text	`git stash`	✓

Saving and discarding

Changes to your collections are staged locally in the editor. Nothing is written until you tap Save in the top-left corner of the Custom Keys screen. If you tap the ✕ button with unsaved changes, the app will ask you to confirm before discarding them.

Reordering keys

Inside the collection editor, drag the handle on the right side of any key row to reorder keys within the collection.

Platform Availability

Platform	Toolbar Available	Notes
iOS	Full support	Appears above the on-screen keyboard
Android	Full support	Appears above the on-screen keyboard
Web	Partial support	Toolbar is visible but some keys may behave differently depending on the browser

On iOS and Android, the toolbar automatically appears when the keyboard is active and hides when the keyboard is dismissed. You can also use the toolbar without the keyboard visible by tapping the terminal area to bring up the input.

What's Next

Voice control -- Speak commands instead of typing them
SSH connections -- Manage your server connections
Persistent sessions with tmux -- Keep your sessions alive across disconnections