Appearance
Selection
How Otty handles native text selection and copying to the clipboard.
Selection
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Word selection | double-click |
| Line selection | triple-click |
| Drag selection | left-click + drag |
| Rectangular selection | ⌥ + drag |
| Extend selection | ⇧ + click |
⇧ + arrows | extend the selection by character / line — see below |
| Vi-style keyboard selection | enter Vi Mode |
⇧←/⇧→ extend the selection by a character and ⇧↑/⇧↓ by a line; hold ⌥ to make it rectangular. (⌘+arrows are caret moves — line start/end and page up/down — not selection; see Input.)
Selected text is copied to the clipboard with ⌘C. Enable Copy on Select in Settings to have every selection drop straight into the clipboard.
When a program enables mouse reporting, hold ⌥ (or your bound modifier) to force native selection — see Cursor and Mouse.
Selection Behavior
Three toggles under Settings → Selection tune how the keyboard interacts with the active selection.
Shift+Arrow Select (on by default)
⇧+arrow drives a native selection — ⇧←/⇧→ extend by a character, ⇧↑/⇧↓ by a line, and holding ⌥ makes it rectangular — instead of sending an escape sequence to the program. The anchor starts at the current cursor, and with Copy on Select enabled each extension copies as you go. ⇧⌘+arrow is left untouched, so it still reaches the program. Turn this off if you'd rather pass ⇧+arrow through to a TUI that uses it.
Clear Selection on Typing (on by default)
The active selection is dropped the moment you send a key — ordinary input, Backspace, Tab, IME commits, anything that goes to the program. Turn it off to keep the highlight visible while you type.
Clear Selection on Copy (off by default)
When on, an explicit copy (⌘C, the Edit / right-click menu, or a Vi-mode yank) clears the selection afterward. It deliberately does not apply when Copy on Select is enabled — that mode keeps the selection so you can keep extending it. Left off, the selection stays highlighted after you copy.
Backspace Deletes Selection (on by default)
When you have text selected on the editable prompt line and press Backspace, Otty deletes the whole selection rather than a single character at the cursor — a convenience most terminals don't offer. Turn it off for stock terminal behavior: Backspace then just clears the highlight and erases one character at the cursor. Either way, ⌘X (cut) still deletes the selection.
See also
- Copy and Paste — copying to the clipboard, Copy on Select, and paste protection.
- Cursor and Mouse — mouse reporting and cursor styles.
- Vi Mode — keyboard selection.