Ctrl+K, the comic

Ring the bell, say what you want.

The same kitchen as the other comics, with a bell on the counter. Ring it, say a few words, and the chef finds what you mean, writes down the plan, and waits for your nod.

1 One bell for everything

Ctrl+K rings one bell for the whole app. Say a few letters of what you are after, a page, a cook, a book, a pantry, and it is the first thing that comes.

Before you say anything, you get what you picked recently, what needs you right now, and the first few of every kind.

One letter first narrows it down: c for containers, i for images, v for volumes, > for actions only. Parts of words in any order work too: “php res” finds “restart php”.

2 Say what you want

Instructions in plain words: one verb, one or more names, joined by “and” or a comma. The app understands them itself, in all five languages.

You see the plan before it runs. The instruction becomes a list of steps on a card, and nothing happens until you press Enter.

Only what you can undo: removing things and compose down are never instructions. They keep their own page and their own question, so a typo can never delete anything.

3 From anywhere

Ctrl+Shift+Space rings the bell anywhere in Windows, even when the app sits in the tray, and the tray menu searches too.

Switch kitchen, or switch the lights between light and dark, without hunting for the right corner of the window.

In Docker Client MX: Ctrl+K, one box for the whole app, that shows you the plan and waits for Enter.

The cheat sheet

Every picture above, in the app’s words.

The bell on the counter: Ctrl+K, the command palette
A few letters: Search across pages and everything on them
One letter first: A filter: c, i, v, n, p, s or >
Saying what you want: An instruction in plain words
The plan on a card: The steps, shown before they run
“Not from the bell”: Removing and compose down are never instructions
Ringing from the back room: Ctrl+Shift+Space, anywhere in Windows
The lights: Light and dark theme

Now ring your own bell.

Ctrl+K for everything in the app, instructions in plain words in five languages, and a plan you see before anything runs.

What Ctrl+K does →Claude, the comic →Download for Windows