Swap Enter / Meta+Enter

Enter inserts a newline, Option/Alt+Enter submits.

ID swap-enter-submit · Default off · Compatible * · Source

What it does

Flips the default behavior of the Enter key. Pressing Enter inserts a newline into the prompt. Submitting takes a deliberate Option+Enter (macOS) or Alt+Enter (Linux/Windows). Shift+Enter still inserts a newline too, for terminals that speak CSI u.

Why

CJK users, SSH users, and anyone with Slack-style muscle memory constantly submit half-written prompts by accident. This patch makes Enter safe and submission intentional. Tracked upstream at anthropics/claude-code#2054 (72 reactions at time of writing).

Usage

After enabling the patch:

• Enter — inserts a newline
• Option+Enter (mac) / Alt+Enter (linux/win) — submits
• Shift+Enter — inserts a newline (where terminals distinguish it)
• \⏎ (backslash + return) — still inserts a newline

How it works

Keybinding changes alone aren't enough for this one. The Enter key's submit behavior is hard-coded inside useTextInput.ts's handleEnter function, which calls onSubmit() directly for plain Enter and cursor.insert('\n') for Meta/Shift+Enter — it bypasses the keybinding system entirely.

The patch modifies three layers:

1. DEFAULT_BINDINGS — rewrites enter: "chat:submit" to enter: "chat:newline" and adds "meta+enter": "chat:submit" so the help menu and shortcut hints match reality.
2. handleEnter — found by looking for the smallest function containing the literal "Apple_Terminal", a cursor.insert('\n') call, and a key.meta || key.shift logical expression. Inside that function, the patch rewrites the meta || shift branch so meta submits and shift stays as a newline, removes the Apple Terminal fallback branch, and replaces the trailing onSubmit(...) with return cursor so plain Enter becomes a no-op at this layer. Plain Enter then flows through the keybinding system to chat:newline.
3. Tip/help text — rewrites the "Press Shift+Enter to send a multi-line message" hint and the shift + ⏎ for newline / \⏎ for newline help-menu strings so instructions match the new behavior.

Meta+Enter is the only modifier combination that works reliably across all terminals because it sends ESC + CR as a distinct byte sequence. Ctrl+Enter and Shift+Enter both collapse to the same byte as plain Enter in most terminals.