Keyboard navigation

MeowMenu can be used entirely from the keyboard. Open it and start typing to search, or use the keys below.

Quick reference

Key	Action
Type any text	Start or continue a search.
`Enter`	Open the selected result.
`Space`	Add a space to the search query.
`Backspace`	Delete from the search query.
`Tab` / `Shift+Tab`	Switch between Applications and Places.
Arrow keys	Move through results and visible controls.
`Page Up` / `Page Down`	Move through results one page at a time.
`Esc`	Step back or close the menu.
`Shift+F10` or `Menu`	Open the selected item’s context menu.

Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab are intentionally unused.

Searching

Start typing from anywhere in the menu. Text, punctuation, spaces, emoji, and normal input-method text are sent to the search field.

Enter opens the selected result. If focus is still in the search field, it opens the first result.

Applications and Places

Press Tab or Shift+Tab to switch between Applications and Places. The new view opens its default page and selects the first available result. These keys do nothing when Places is disabled.

Moving around

Arrow keys first move within the current area. At an edge, they move to the nearest visible area in that direction. Navigation does not wrap around.

In a list, Up and Down move one result at a time.
In a grid, all four arrow keys follow the visible rows and columns.
In a vertical sidebar, Up and Down move through categories.
In a horizontal sidebar, Left and Right move through categories.
In Session controls, Left and Right move between buttons.

When Switch categories by hovering is enabled, moving to a category also opens it. Otherwise, press Enter or Space to open the selected category.

The Esc key

Repeated presses of Esc step back in this order:

close an open context menu;
cancel a resize;
clear the search query;
close MeowMenu.

Context menus

Select an application and press Shift+F10 or the Menu key to see its actions. This includes Add to Desktop.

For a file or folder in Places, the context menu includes Add Desktop Link. These actions are also available in Full Screen mode, where desktop dragging is not used.

Wayland behavior can depend on the compositor. See Known limitations for the current support notes.