Comprehensive Ghostty and Neovim keybindings with hand-separation design

[Copilot]

Overview

Implements ergonomic keybinding configurations for Ghostty terminal and Neovim optimized for ZSA Moonlander, using hand-separation philosophy: modifiers on one hand, action keys on the other.

Configuration Structure

Ghostty (.config/ghostty/config)

# Shell/Font/Theme/Window/Platform-specific settings organized in sections
window-show-tab-bar = always
gtk-tabs-location = bottom
macos-titlebar-style = tabs

# Hand-separated keybindings
keybind = alt+e=goto_split:top              # Left hand nav
keybind = ctrl+shift+i=new_split:up         # Right hand creation
keybind = shift+arrow_left=previous_tab     # Standard terminal pattern

Neovim (.config/nvim/lua/config/ghostty-compat.lua)

-- One modifier tier above Ghostty to prevent conflicts
vim.keymap.set("n", "<M-S-e>", "<C-w>k")    -- Alt+Shift vs Alt
vim.keymap.set("n", "<M-S-i>", "<cmd>resize +2<cr>")

Key Design Decisions

Preserved standard sequences:

• Bare Ctrl+R for shell reverse-i-search (unbound in Ghostty)
• Ctrl+F/G reserved for find/find-next
• PageUp/PageDown bound to ignore to prevent escape sequence artifacts (were generating tilde characters)

Navigation patterns:

• Shift+Left/Right for tabs (iTerm2/Konsole convention)
• Alt+ESDF for split navigation (left hand)
• Ctrl+Shift+IJKL for split creation (right hand)

Syntax corrections:

• move_tab:left/right → move_tab:-1/1 (numeric offset required)
• grave_accent → backquote (per Ghostty's key.zig)

Documentation

Comprehensive README with visual ASCII guides, keybinding reference tables, and rationale for preserved/ignored keys.

Original prompt

Add Ghostty and Neovim Keybinding Configurations

Create comprehensive keybinding configurations for Ghostty terminal emulator and Neovim that follow a consistent hand-separation design philosophy.

Design Principles

1. Hand separation: Modifier on one hand, action keys on the other
2. Left hand keys (ESDF, W, R, numbers) = NAVIGATION
3. Right hand keys (IJKL, T) = CREATION / ADJUSTMENT
4. Modifier combinations (ranked by comfort):
   • Alt or Alt+Shift (right thumb) + ESDF (left hand)
   • Ctrl or Ctrl+Shift (left thumb) + IJKL (right hand)
5. Preserve terminal sequences: Ctrl+C (SIGINT), Ctrl+Z (SIGTSTP), Ctrl+V (literal/visual block), Ctrl+D (EOF)
6. Ghostty and Neovim coexist: Different modifier tiers for each

Keyboard Context

ZSA Moonlander keyboard with:

• Left thumb: Ctrl, Del, Space
• Right thumb: Alt, Enter, Space
• Alt+number keys produce F1-F10 (Layer 2), so Alt+n not available for tab switching

Key Assignments

Ghostty Splits

Operation	Keys	Description
Navigate	Alt+ESDF	E=up, S=left, D=down, F=right
Navigate prev/next	Alt+W / Alt+R	Cycle through splits
Create	Ctrl+Shift+IJKL	I=up, J=left, K=down, L=right
Create auto	Ctrl+Shift+Enter	Auto-pick direction
Resize	Ctrl+IJKL	Same layout as create
Equalize	Ctrl+Shift+=	Make all splits equal
Zoom	Ctrl+Shift+\	Toggle maximize current split
Move/Swap (future)	Ctrl+Alt+ESDF	Reserved for future Ghostty feature

Ghostty Tabs

Operation	Keys	Description
Navigate prev/next	Ctrl+W / Ctrl+R	W=previous, R=next
Go to tab N	Ctrl+Shift+1-9	Direct tab access
Move tab	Alt+Shift+A / Alt+Shift+G	A=left, G=right
Create	Ctrl+Shift+T	New tab
Close surface	Ctrl+Shift+W	With confirmation
Close window	Ctrl+Shift+Q	With confirmation

Neovim Windows (within Ghostty splits)

Operation	Keys	Description
Navigate	Alt+Shift+ESDF	+Shift from Ghostty
Navigate prev/next	Alt+Shift+W / Alt+Shift+R	Cycle windows
Create	Ctrl+W, then IJKL	Standard Vim prefix + IJKL
Resize	Alt+Shift+IJKL	Right hand, +Shift variant
Move/Swap	Ctrl+Alt+Shift+ESDF	+Shift from Ghostty
Rotate	Ctrl+W, r/R	Standard Vim

Other Bindings

Operation	Keys
Copy	Ctrl+Shift+C
Paste	Ctrl+Shift+V
Paste selection	Ctrl+Shift+Insert
Search	Ctrl+Shift+/
Scroll page	Shift+PageUp/PageDown
Scroll line	Shift+Up/Down
Scroll top/bottom	Shift+Home/End
Jump prompt	Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down
Font size +/-	Ctrl+Equal / Ctrl+Minus
Font size reset	Ctrl+0
New window	Ctrl+Shift+N
Fullscreen	F11
Quick terminal	Ctrl+` (global)
Command palette	Ctrl+Shift+P
Open config	Ctrl+Shift+,
Tab overview	Ctrl+Shift+A
Reverse search	Ctrl+Shift+R (sends ^R to terminal)

Files to Create

1. Ghostty Configuration

Create .config/ghostty/config with:

# =============================================================================
# Ghostty Keybindings
# =============================================================================
#
# Design Principles:
#   1. Hand separation: Modifier on one hand, action keys on the other
#   2. LEFT HAND KEYS (ESDF, W, R, numbers) = NAVIGATION
#   3. RIGHT HAND KEYS (IJKL, T, O, P) = CREATION / ADJUSTMENT
#   4. Modifier combos (comfort ranked):
#      - Alt or Alt+Shift (right thumb) + ESDF (left hand)
#      - Ctrl or Ctrl+Shift (left thumb) + IJKL (right hand)
#
# Keyboard: ZSA Moonlander
#   Left thumb: Ctrl, Del, Space
#   Right thumb: Alt, Enter, Space
#
# Split/Tab Philosophy:
#   - Alt+ESDF = Ghostty split navigation
#   - Alt+Shift+ESDF = Neovim window navigation (reserved, passes through)
#   - Ctrl+Shift+IJKL = Split creation
#   - Ctrl+IJKL = Split resize
#   - Ctrl+W/R = Tab navigation (left hand)
#   - Ctrl+Shift+T = Tab creation (right hand)
#

# =============================================================================
# COPY / PASTE
# =============================================================================
keybind = ctrl+shift+c=copy_to_clipboard
keybind = ctrl+shift+v=paste_from_clipboard
keybind = ctrl+shift+insert=paste_from_selection

# =============================================================================
# SPLIT NAVIGATION (Left hand - Alt + ESDF)
# =============================================================================
# Alt (right thumb) + ESDF (left hand)
# E=up, S=left, D=down, F=right

keybind = alt+e=goto_split:up
keybind = alt+d=goto_split:down
keybind = alt+s=goto_split:left
keybind = alt+f=goto_split:right

# Cycle through splits
keybind = alt+w=goto_split:previous
keybind = alt+r=goto_split:next

# =============================================================================
# SPLIT CREATION (Right ...

</details>



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