Sandbox adventure · PC · PlayStation · Xbox · Switch · Mobile

Terraria controls & keybinds

Terraria's PC controls are the classic 2D set: A and D to walk, Space to jump, the mouse to swing and place, and the number row for the hotbar. Quick-use keys for healing, mana, buffs and mounts save the most time.

The keys people look up first

Terraria controls at a glance

Default bindings for the actions searched for most. The full lists, the settings that change how they feel and the printable layout are below.

Action	PC	PlayStation	Xbox
Jump	`Space`	`Cross`	`A`
Aim / ADS		`R3`	`RS`
Interact	`Mouse 1`	`R2`	`RT`
Inventory	`Escape`	`Options`	`Menu`
Mount / vehicle	`R`	`D-pad Right`	`D-pad Right`
Chat / voice	`Enter`

The rest of this game, drawn

Two pages, and they are not interchangeable: this is the reference you look a binding up in, the other measures the hand pressing it. Both figures below are counted from what each page holds.

35 bindings keyboard22controller13settings12 in 3 TRA controls You are here 2 inputs keyboardyescontrollernotouchscreenyes TRA input lab Reads a world seed the way the game does — including ordinary phrases that secretly match a special one.

LMBUse item / attackRMBInteract / openMMBunboundM4unboundM5unboundScroll ↑Cycle hotbarScroll ↓Cycle hotbar

Highlighted keys carry a default action; hover or tap a key for every action bound to it.

Action	Default key
Movement
Move left / right	`A / D`
JumpHold for higher jumps and wings.	`Space`
Go down through platform	`S`
Climb rope / look up	`W`
Grappling hook	`E`
Combat
Use item / attack	`Mouse 1`
Interact / open	`Mouse 2`
Items
Hotbar slots	`1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 0`
Cycle hotbar	`Scroll Up / Scroll Down`
Quick heal	`H`
Quick mana	`J`
Quick buff	`B`
Quick mount	`R`
Throw item	`T`
Interface
Inventory	`Escape`
Map (full screen)	`M`
Map style toggle	`Tab`
Zoom map	`+ / -`
Smart cursor toggle	`Left Ctrl`
Auto selectHold to pick the right tool for the target automatically.	`Left Shift`
Chat	`Enter`
Zoom in / out	`= / -`

Show

Action	PlayStation	Xbox	Switch
Movement
Move	`L3 / D-pad`	`LS / D-pad`	`L3 / D-pad`
Jump	`Cross`	`A`	`B`
Grappling hook	`Triangle`	`Y`	`X`
Combat
Use item / attack	`R2`	`RT`	`ZR`
Interact	`Square`	`X`	`Y`
Aim	`R3`	`RS`	`R3`
Items
Hotbar left / right	`L1 / R1`	`LB / RB`	`L / R`
Quick heal	`D-pad Down`	`D-pad Down`	`D-pad Down`
Quick mana / buff	`D-pad Up / Left`	`D-pad Up / Left`	`D-pad Up / Left`
Quick mount	`D-pad Right`	`D-pad Right`	`D-pad Right`
Interface
Smart cursor	`L2`	`LT`	`ZL`
Inventory	`Options`	`Menu`	`+`
Map	`Touchpad`	`View`	`Touchpad`

Switch labels are derived from the PlayStation and Xbox layouts where the game uses the standard mapping; games without a Switch release show the equivalent position only.

Settings that change how the bindings feel

Recommended starting settings

Terraria's controls menu is short, and the settings that decide how the game feels are mostly one menu across in General. One of them removes the click-per-swing limit from every weapon in the game and ships turned off, which is why so many players believe autoswing is a property of the weapon rather than something they can switch on.

General

Autofire Mobility On OnOff

The game's own description is four words long: enables autoswing for all weapons. Off by default, which is the single most consequential default in Terraria — with it off, every non-autoswing weapon fires once per click, so your damage is capped by how fast you can click rather than by the weapon. Almost no control guide mentions this switch exists.

Find out what it is costing your hand

Autopause Off OnOff

With it on, opening the inventory stops the world — which sounds convenient and quietly removes the pressure the whole combat loop is built around. It also does nothing in multiplayer, so learning with it on teaches timing you lose the moment a friend joins.

Hover Controls Mobility Hold HoldClick

How wings hover. Hold is the default and the honest one: hover lasts exactly as long as your finger does. Click turns it into a state you can forget you are in, twenty blocks above where you meant to land.

Activate Set Bonuses Down UpDown

Which direction fires an armour set's bonus. Down by default, and worth knowing before you spend a fight wondering why nothing happened — this is a directional press, not a key you can find in the bind list.

Controls

Smart Cursor Mode Hold ToggleHold

On the default toggle you press Left Ctrl to switch modes and then forget which mode you are in, which is how a tunnel becomes a hole in your roof. Set to hold and the mode lasts exactly as long as your finger does. PC

Smart Cursor Priority Pickaxe → Axe Pickaxe → AxeAxe → Pickaxe

Which tool the smart cursor reaches for when both would work. The default suits mining; flip it while you are clearing a forest and the cursor stops trying to dig the dirt under the tree you are cutting. PC

Smart Block Placement To Cursor To CursorDisabled

Disabled by default, which surprises most builders. To Cursor runs blocks out to where you are pointing instead of stopping at the last valid tile — the difference between drawing a line and clicking one square at a time. The catch, and experienced builders turn it off for exactly this: it fights the smart cursor, so with both on a careful build can place where neither of them meant. Pick one of the two and leave the other alone. PC

Quick Trash Left Control Left ControlLeft ShiftDisabled

A modifier plus a click throws an item away with no confirmation. It shares Left Control with the smart cursor toggle by default, which is exactly the kind of overlap that ends with something you wanted in the void. PC

Lock On Priority Clearest Line Clearest LineTarget Closest

Which enemy homing weapons commit to. Clearest Line suits a boss with minions in the way; Target Closest suits an event where the thing about to hit you is the thing that matters. Neither is right for both.

Quick Heal Mobility Keep it, move it Any key

Default H, which is four keys from the hand and one of the furthest binds in the game. It now picks the best-fit healing item rather than the first, so it is worth having under a thumb — Q, or a mouse side button. PC

Quick Mana Mobility Next to Quick Heal Any key

Default J, and the same argument: a mage drinks mana mid-fight far more often than a warrior heals. Put the two next to each other so your hand learns one place rather than two. PC

Interface

Tile Grid Visual On, while building OnOff

Draws a five-tile grid around the cursor while you stand still. Off by default and close to essential for symmetrical building, which is most of what people do with this game after the first playthrough. PC

Reach check · your keyboard, this game

Can your board actually play Terraria?

Every default bind, re-scored against the keyboard you own. Distance is measured from the left hand resting on WASD, because that is where it stays while you play.

A 60% board has every key Terraria asks for. 6 of its 22 default binds still need the left hand to leave WASD, so the board is not what holds you back here — the layout is. How that compares with every other game.

A / D Move left / right
Space Jump
S Go down through platform
W Climb rope / look up
Mouse 1 Use item / attack
Mouse 2 Interact / open
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 0 Hotbar slots
Scroll Up / Scroll Down Cycle hotbar
H Quick heal
J Quick mana
B Quick buff
R Quick mount
E Grappling hook
T Throw item
Escape Inventory
M Map (full screen)
Tab Map style toggle
+ / - Zoom map
Left Ctrl Smart cursor toggle
Left Shift Auto select
Enter Chat
= / - Zoom in / out

On the keys: your hand is already there
Comfortable: a finger moves, the hand does not
Stretch: the hand lifts, movement wobbles
Off movement: you let go of A and D to press it
Not on this board: the key does not physically exist

Reach uses the same key geometry as BindIQ, which can rebuild the whole layout for you once you know what is out of reach. Mouse buttons always count as reachable — your right hand is already there.

How that compares

0 keys missing 60%6 far65%all theretenkeylessall there 60% keyboard check 25 of the 70 games we score lose a key on a 60%. This is not one of them.

Terraria control lab

The hotbar reach problem

Terraria's defaults are not wrong, they are spread out. Your left hand holds A or D to move and Space to jump, and your right hand is on the mouse. Everything below has to be pressed without letting go of either. That is why the answer to "best keybinds" is a reach question, not an opinion.

1 Slot 1 Index finger, no movement lost
2 Slot 2 Index finger
3 Slot 3 Middle finger
4 Slot 4 Ring finger, hand starts to lift
5 Slot 5 Stretch: A and D are released for a moment
6 Slot 6 Hand leaves movement
7 Slot 7 Hand leaves movement
8 Slot 8 Hand leaves movement
9 Slot 9 Hand leaves movement
0 Slot 10 Out of reach while moving

Competing for the same hand

H Quick heal — right-hand home row, and your right hand is on the mouse
J Quick mana — same problem as H
B Quick buff — bottom row, reachable only by releasing movement
R Quick mount — reachable, one of the few defaults that is
T Throw item — stretch, rarely needed mid-fight

Slots 1 to 4 are the only ones you can use while moving, so treat 5 to 10 as storage and put the weapons you swap between in the first four. Quick heal and quick mana cannot stay on H and J for boss fights: move them to mouse side buttons, or to Q and F, which the left hand already owns. That single change is what most "best Terraria keybinds" lists are really describing.

One line per question

How to do the things people search for in Terraria

Generated from the default bindings above, so an action and its key can never disagree.

How to jump in Terraria on PC and controller?

To jump in Terraria, press Space on PC, Cross on PlayStation and A on Xbox. Hold for higher jumps and wings.

How to aim in Terraria on controller?

To aim in Terraria, press R3 on PlayStation and RS on Xbox.

How to interact or pick things up in Terraria on PC and controller?

To interact or pick things up in Terraria, press Mouse 1 on PC, R2 on PlayStation and RT on Xbox.

How to open the inventory in Terraria on PC and controller?

To open the inventory in Terraria, press Escape on PC, Options on PlayStation and Menu on Xbox.

How to get on a mount or into a vehicle in Terraria on PC and controller?

To get on a mount or into a vehicle in Terraria, press R on PC, D-pad Right on PlayStation and D-pad Right on Xbox.

How to open chat in Terraria on PC?

To open chat in Terraria, press Enter on PC.

Quick answers

How do I heal quickly in Terraria?

Press H to use the best healing potion in your inventory, J for mana and B for every buff potion at once. On controller they are on the D-pad.

How do I use a grappling hook?

Equip it in the hook slot and press E aimed at the mouse; on controller press Triangle/Y. Hooks work through gaps and pull you to the cursor point.

What is smart cursor?

Left Ctrl toggles it: mining, placing and hammering target the most sensible block near the cursor instead of the exact tile. Turn it off for precise building.

How do I mount?

Equip a mount item in the mount slot and press R; press again to dismount. Mounts stay until you leave them or take a hit that dismounts.

How do I zoom the map?

Press M for the full map, then + and - or the mouse wheel to zoom; Tab cycles the minimap style.

Where to go from here

Next steps for Terraria

Mouse DPI analyzerMeasure the DPI your mouse really delivers before you change anything in game.Gamepad testerSee every button, trigger and stick of your controller live, before blaming the game.Controller deadzone tunerFind the smallest deadzone that hides drift without swallowing slow aim in TRA.Stick drift testFive-second resting sample, so a wandering camera is not blamed on the game.Touch sampling rate testHow often your screen reads your finger — the number that decides how TRA feels on a phone.