Workaround for Shift+Tab Approval Mode Cycle in Gemini CLI (Windows)

[leourl]

In my use case, plan mode is very useful, but for me (in Windows 11, with default powershell 7 terminal) Shift + Tab dont work, I dont know why. So I showed the releases diffs to gemini cli and asked for a solution, it changed it to F10, for my workflow this is a good keybind. I'm using it like this till the real devs fix this.
Then I asked for a piece of explanation so others can fix the same problem. I hope it helps someone.

I think if you show this to your gemini cli, it can fix itself:

On Windows terminals (PowerShell/CMD), the Shift+Tab shortcut to cycle approval modes in Gemini CLI often fails due to terminal sequence recognition issues or focus conflicts in the UI layer.

1. The Problem

1. Sequence Recognition: Many Windows terminals send ESC O Z for Shift+Tab, which wasn't in the default mapping.
2. Focus Conflict: Even with the sequence recognized, the AppContainer and InputPrompt components often capture Tab events to handle shell focus or autocompletion, blocking the global "Cycle Approval Mode" command.

2. The Solution: F10 Mapping

Since Shift+Tab has multiple architectural conflicts, the most stable solution is to map an additional, non-conflicting key like F10.

2.1. Applied Patches

Keypress Recognition

In dist/src/ui/contexts/KeypressContext.js, the OZ sequence was added to KEY_INFO_MAP:

OZ: { name: 'tab', shift: true },

Key Binding Extension

In dist/src/config/keyBindings.js, F10 was added as a secondary trigger for cycling approval modes:

[Command.CYCLE_APPROVAL_MODE]: [{ key: 'tab', shift: true }, { key: 'f10' }],

3. Automation Script

Use this Node.js script to re-apply the fix after a CLI update if necessary:

const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');
const { execSync } = require('child_process');

try {
    const npmRoot = execSync('npm root -g').toString().trim();
    const basePath = path.join(npmRoot, '@google', 'gemini-cli');

    // 1. Patch keyBindings.js (Add F10)
    const kbPath = path.join(basePath, 'dist', 'src', 'config', 'keyBindings.js');
    if (fs.existsSync(kbPath)) {
        let content = fs.readFileSync(kbPath, 'utf8');
        content = content.replace(
            "[Command.CYCLE_APPROVAL_MODE]: [{ key: 'tab', shift: true }]",
            "[Command.CYCLE_APPROVAL_MODE]: [{ key: 'tab', shift: true }, { key: 'f10' }]"
        );
        fs.writeFileSync(kbPath, content);
        console.log('✅ F10 Shortcut added.');
    }

    // 2. Patch KeypressContext.js (Fix ESC O Z)
    const kpPath = path.join(basePath, 'dist', 'src', 'ui', 'contexts', 'KeypressContext.js');
    if (fs.existsSync(kpPath)) {
        let content = fs.readFileSync(kpPath, 'utf8');
        if (!content.includes("OZ: { name: 'tab', shift: true }")) {
            content = content.replace(
                "Oa: { name: 'up', ctrl: true },",
                "OZ: { name: 'tab', shift: true },
    Oa: { name: 'up', ctrl: true },"
            );
            fs.writeFileSync(kpPath, content);
            console.log('✅ ESC O Z sequence mapped.');
        }
    }
} catch (err) {
    console.error('❌ Error applying patch:', err.message);
}

4. Usage

• F10: Cycle through Default, Auto-edit, and Plan modes.

[scidomino]

I'm legitimately confused by this as shift+tab works just fine on my windows setup. I'm using Microsoft Windows 11 Home 10.0.26100. Which version are you running?

Does shift+tab never work or does it sometimes work and sometimes not?

To see what the keyboard is sending us go to /settings and set Enable Keystroke Logging to true then restart. Then hit shit+tab and then hit F12 to bring up the debug log and show us what you see something like:

│ ℹ  [DEBUG] Raw StdIn: "\u001b[9;2u"                                                                                                                                                                                █│
│ ℹ  [DEBUG] Keystroke: {"name":"tab","shift":true,"alt":false,"ctrl":false,"cmd":false,"insertable":false,"sequence":"\u001b[9;2u"}

[marconardon]

Hello,
same issue here, the Shift key doesn't get detected.

Here's my full log:

Debug Console (F12 to close)
│
│ ℹ Loaded cached credentials.
│
│ ℹ Detected terminal background color: #0c0c0c
│
│ ℹ Hook registry initialized with 0 hook entries
│ ℹ Authenticated via "oauth-personal".
│ ℹ [DEBUG SettingsDialog] Saving general.debugKeystrokeLogging immediately with value: true
│ ℹ [DEBUG] Keystroke:
│ {"name":"escape","shift":false,"alt":true,"ctrl":false,"cmd":false,"insertable":false,"sequence":"\u001b"}
│ ℹ [DEBUG] Keystroke:
│ {"name":"f12","shift":false,"alt":false,"ctrl":false,"cmd":false,"insertable":false,"sequence":"\u001b[24~"} (x5)

[marconardon]

Actually, upgrading to Node v.25.6 solved the issue for me.

[scidomino]

@marconardon Good to hear it works for you. The logs were missing the Raw StdIn: because you didn't restart after changing your settings. That would have told us if GCLI was receiving anything at all when you hit shift+tab.

[leourl]

@marconardon i upgraded to v24.13.1 and now it works, i must confess i'm a little ashamed of myself now haha

[scidomino]

To be clear, this was a legit bug that we fixed. Thanks everyone for your patience!