Escape key doesn't interrupt in desktop app

Resolved 💬 4 comments Opened Apr 15, 2026 by billquilt Closed May 27, 2026

Description

The Escape key does not trigger app:interrupt in the Claude Code desktop app, despite being configured in ~/.claude/keybindings.json. The same keybinding works correctly in the CLI.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Configure keybindings.json with "escape": "app:interrupt" (this is also the default)
  2. Open Claude Code desktop app
  3. Start a response that takes a while (e.g., a subagent research task)
  4. Press Escape while the response is actively streaming

Expected: Response is interrupted, same as in the CLI.
Actual: Nothing happens. The only way to interrupt is clicking the stop button.

Also tried Cmd+Shift+Escape — no effect.

Environment

  • macOS (Darwin 25.3.0)
  • Claude Code desktop app
  • keybindings.json:
{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "context": "Global",
      "bindings": {
        "escape": "app:interrupt"
      }
    }
  ]
}

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