Keyboard Shortcut
Shift+Enter — newline without sending
Inserts a line break in the input without submitting the message — plain Enter sends, Shift+Enter doesn't.
For anything longer than a one-liner — a multi-part instruction, a pasted error with several lines — Shift+Enter keeps building the same message across multiple lines instead of sending prematurely on the first Enter.
Not every terminal forwards this key combination correctly out of the box; if it's submitting instead of inserting a newline, that's a terminal keybinding issue rather than anything about Claude Code itself.
See the /terminal-setup entry for installing the keybinding some terminals need for this to work correctly.
Hold Shift and press Enter to add a line without sendingFrequently asked questions
What does Shift+Enter — newline without sending do in Claude Code?
Inserts a line break in the input without submitting the message — plain Enter sends, Shift+Enter doesn't.
How do I use it?
Try: Hold Shift and press Enter to add a line without sending
Any caveats to know about?
See the /terminal-setup entry for installing the keybinding some terminals need for this to work correctly.
Is this covered in the Claude Code Toolkit?
Yes — Shift+Enter — newline without sending and patterns like it are part of the full command, hook, and template pack included with a Claude Code Toolkit subscription.
Want the full command, hook, and template pack?
This is one pattern out of the full Claude Code Toolkit — subscribe for the complete set, plus everything we add going forward.
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