Feature Request: Support keybinding customization (e.g. Ctrl+Enter to submit) in Claude Code desktop app

[Hamada8888]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

In the Claude Code desktop app (Code tab), the Enter key always submits the chat message. There is no way to change this behavior.

The ~/.claude/keybindings.json feature (which supports remapping the submit key) only works in the CLI version and has no effect in the desktop app.

This makes it impossible to type multi-line messages naturally using Enter, and forces users to rely on workarounds.

Proposed Solution

Extend the ~/.claude/keybindings.json support to the Claude Code desktop app, so that users can remap the chat submit key (e.g. from Enter to Ctrl+Enter).

This would allow users to use Enter for newlines and Ctrl+Enter for submission, which is a common pattern in many chat and coding tools.

Alternative Solutions

Tried configuring ~/.claude/keybindings.json with "enter": null and "ctrl+enter": "chat:submit", but this has no effect in the desktop app — only works in the CLI version.

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

No response

Additional Context

No response

[github-actions]

Found 2 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] keybindings.json ignored in Claude desktop app — Enter/Shift+Enter always submit #25087
2. [BUG] No method to insert newlines in Windows Desktop App (v1.1.2685) - Shift+Enter, Ctrl+Enter, and backslash all broken #25089

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[passionworkeer]

This would be a huge quality-of-life improvement! For Windows users, having Ctrl+Enter to submit is essential. Consider exposing the keybindings via a config file (~/.claude/keybindings.json) for extensibility.

[gabriensymons]

Looking to use this feature as well.

Here's what a similar setting in the Codex desktop app looks like:

[github-actions]

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.

[aibardefi]

+1 on this. In the Desktop app Code tab, Enter only inserts a newline and I have to use Ctrl+Enter to submit. There's also no visible send button as a fallback.
This is frustrating because every other AI chat interface (ChatGPT, Chat tab in the same app, etc.) uses Enter to send. The ~/.claude/keybindings.json config doesn't work in the Desktop app so there's no workaround.
At minimum, please either:

1. Add an option to use Enter to submit in the Code tab
2. Make keybindings.json work in the Desktop app

[VanessaRussell]

+1 on this. In the Desktop app Code tab, Enter only inserts a newline and I have to use Ctrl+Enter to submit. There's also no visible send button as a fallback. This is frustrating because every other AI chat interface (ChatGPT, Chat tab in the same app, etc.) uses Enter to send. The ~/.claude/keybindings.json config doesn't work in the Desktop app so there's no workaround. At minimum, please either:

1. Add an option to use Enter to submit in the Code tab
2. Make keybindings.json work in the Desktop app

How did you get Ctrl+Enter to be sumbit? That's the whole reason I want keybinds to work.

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.