Step 07 of the Star Citizen beginner guide: the default keybinds for flight, on foot and EVA, plus mining, salvage and scanning, and how to rebind and back up your own layout.
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Default keybinds for Star Citizen Alpha 4.10. The game uses almost every key multiple times across three control modes: On Foot, Flight, and EVA. All binds can be rebound via ESC → Options → Key Bindings.
Most looked-up binds
Ship lightsL
Engage quantum travelHold B then Mouse 1
NAV modeHold B
Decoys and flaresH
Exit seatHold Y
Flight readyR-Alt + R
Night visionR-Alt + L
Cruise control (decoupled flight)C
Lock or unlock ship doorsR-Alt + K
VTOL toggleK
Six that catch people out
The lamp and night vision are different keys
L turns the ship’s exterior lights on. R-Alt+L is light amplification, which brightens the view from inside the cockpit without lighting the hull up for everyone around you. Most people looking for one have found the other.
Quantum travel is two steps, not one
Hold B to cycle into NAV mode, line the marker up, then hold Mouse 1 to spool and jump. Nothing happens on B alone, which is where most people stall.
Cruise control is two different things
If you want your ship to keep going at a set speed, that is decoupled flight on C. Decoupled, the ship holds the speed you have set instead of bleeding it off, and it will not slow down until you thrust against it. Press C again to recouple and the ship slows itself. Separately, the game has a setting it calls Cruise Mode on L-Alt+C, which is about the throttle rather than the flight model: it makes the throttle stay where you put it instead of returning on its own. There are dedicated Enable and Disable keys for that one too, but they ship unbound, so you would have to assign them yourself.
Exit seat, eject and self destruct sit next to each other
Hold Y gets you out of the seat. R-Alt+Y ejects you out of the ship entirely, and holding Backspace starts a self destruct. Worth knowing which is which before you need one in a hurry.
There are two countermeasures on two keys
H launches a decoy, the flare that pulls missiles off you. J launches noise, which breaks a radar lock. Hold H to dump decoys continuously while something is chasing you.
Scanning and the ping are separate
V opens scanning mode. The ping itself is Tab held down, and it works outside scanning mode too.
Full tables for flight, on foot and EVA are below, ordered by how often you will reach for them. Star Citizen reuses almost every key across three control modes, which is why there are so many to remember. If you are looking one of these up for the third time, a touchscreen deck or head tracking is the usual fix.
How to rebind keys and back up your layout // REBIND TIP
Export your custom layout via in-game console: pp_rebindkeys export all mybindings, which saves an XML you can back up or share.
Star Citizen ship and flight keybinds // SHIP CONTROLS
Main controls for flying your ship. NAV mode enables Quantum Travel. SCM mode enables weapons and shields.
THRUST & MOVEMENT
Throttle Up / DownW / S
Strafe Left / RightA / D
Roll Left / RightQ / E
Boost / AfterburnerL-Shift
Space BrakeX
Look BehindHold ,
Speed LimiterL-Alt+Mouse Wheel
Coupled / Decoupled (cruise control)C
Cruise Mode Toggle (throttle)L-Alt+C
SHIP SYSTEMS
General PowerU
Engine / ThrustersI
Ship LightsL
Light Amplification (night vision)R-Alt+L
Landing Mode / Landing GearN
Request Landing / TakeoffL-Alt+N
NAV Mode (Master Mode cycle)Hold B
Engage Quantum TravelHold B then Mouse 1
Exit SeatHold Y
EjectR-Alt+Y
Emergency ExitU+L-Shift
Self DestructHold Backspace
Flight ReadyR-Alt+R
VTOL ToggleK
Lock / Unlock All Doors and PortsR-Alt+K
Redirect shield strength to specific facing to tank incoming fire from that direction.
COUNTERMEASURES
Launch NoiseJ
Launch Decoy (Flares)H
Deploy DecoyHold H
SHIELD FACING
Front / BackNum 8 / Num 2
Left / RightNum 4 / Num 6
Top / BottomNum 7 / Num 1
Reset All EqualNum 5
Offensive combat controls. Weapons and missiles only function in SCM mode.
WEAPONS & MISSILES
Fire Weapon Group 1 / Launch MissileLMB
Fire Weapon Group 2RMB
Cycle Missile TypeMouse Wheel
Missile Operator ModeMMB
Cycle Gimbal AssistG
Reset Armed MissilesL-Alt+G
Repool AmmoL-Alt+1
Change your ship’s power distribution. Keep coolers powered or risk fires and component failure.
SYSTEM TOGGLES
Power: AllU
Power: ThrustersI
Power: ShieldsO
Power: WeaponsP
DISTRIBUTION
Raise Power → WeaponsF5
Raise Power → ThrustersF6
Raise Power → ShieldsF7
Reset DistributionF8
Target lock and pin system. Pin up to three targets for rapid switching in combat.
TARGET LOCK & PINS
Lock / Unlock TargetF8
Lock Pin 1 / 2 / 31 / 2 / 3
Set Pin 1 / 2 / 3L-Alt+1/2/3
Cycle Attackers / Hostiles4 / 5
Cycle Friendlies6
Hail Target9
Cycle Target in ViewT
Use your ship’s scanning capabilities to detect ore deposits, ships, and points of interest.
SCANNING CONTROLS
Toggle Scanning ModeV
Scanning Ping (Hold)Hold Tab
Activate ScanLMB
Increase / Decrease AngleWheel ↑ / Wheel ↓
Controls when operating a mining ship such as the Prospector or MOLE. Manage laser power carefully, because over-energising destroys the rock.
MINING CONTROLS
Toggle Mining ModeM
Fire Mining LaserLMB
Switch Mining LaserL-Alt+Mouse 1
Increase / Decrease Laser PowerL-Alt+Wheel
Cycle Laser GimbalG
Mining Consumable SlotsL-Alt+1/2/3
Permanent Modifier SlotL-Alt+4
Jettison CargoL-Alt+J
SALVAGE CONTROLS
Toggle Salvage ModeM
Fire Salvage BeamMouse 1
Toggle Fracture BeamR-Alt+W
Toggle Disintegrate BeamR-Alt+S
Focus Beam Left / RightL-Alt+A / L-Alt+D
Cycle Salvage GimbalG
FLIGHT TERMINOLOGY // GLOSSARY
IFCS
Intelligent Flight Control System. Your ship’s onboard computer managing flight stability and safety across all modes.
SCM
Space Combat Maneuver. Normal flight mode for travel and combat. Weapons and shields active. Speed: 75 to 350 m/s depending on ship.
NAV MODE
Navigation mode. Enables Quantum Travel. Shields and weapons offline, so you are completely vulnerable. Switch to SCM before any fight.
COUPLED / DECOUPLED
Coupled: aircraft-style with auto-correction. Decoupled: Newtonian, so the ship continues in any direction until you thrust otherwise. Toggle: L-Alt + C.
AFTERBURNER
Uses a separate fuel tank for ~2x SCM speed. Activate with L-Shift. Monitor your afterburner fuel gauge at the bottom of the HUD.
ESP
Enhanced Stick Precision. Dampens inputs near the target to prevent overshooting. Toggle off for experienced pilots who prefer raw control.
Star Citizen on foot and EVA keybinds // CHARACTER CONTROLS
Walking around on planets, moons, stations, and the interior of ships.
MOVEMENT
Move ForwardW
Move BackwardS
Strafe Left / RightA / D
JumpSpace
Run / SprintL-Shift
Lean Left / RightQ / E
Crouch (Toggle)L-Ctrl
Prone (Toggle)X
Interact / Inner ThoughtF
WEAPONS & ITEMS
Equip Sidearm1
Equip Primary Weapon2
Equip Multi-Tool4
Reload WeaponR
Holster (Hold)Hold R
Equip Med-PenC
FlashlightT
Toggle HelmetL-Alt+H
Wipe VisorL-Alt+X
Personal InventoryI
Your holographic wrist computer for missions, health, contacts, and the star map.
MOBIGLAS APPS
Open MobiGlasF1
StarmapF2
ContactsF11
Chat ToggleF12
Open Chat / SendEnter
Cycle Camera ModeF4
Freelook (Hold)Hold Z
Controls for movement in zero gravity, or Extra-Vehicular Activity.
ZERO-G MOVEMENT
Fly Forward / BackwardW / S
Strafe Left / RightA / D
Roll Left / RightQ / E
Thrust Up / DownSpace / C
BoostL-Shift
BrakeX
Hardware that makes Star Citizen controls easier
Star Citizen reuses nearly every key across three control modes, which is why the list above is as long as it is. Two pieces of kit reduce how much of it you have to memorise, and neither replaces learning the defaults.
GameGlass
Touchscreen control decks
Puts ship systems on a phone or tablet as labelled touch controls, so power triangle, shields, lights, landing gear and quantum no longer compete for keys you have to remember. Most useful for the ship systems and power bindings above, which are the ones new players forget under pressure.
Tracks where you look and moves the in game view with it, which covers freelook without holding a key. It takes the place of the freelook and look-around bindings above and helps most in dogfighting and docking, where you need to see a target that is not in front of you. No headset required.
Both product links above are affiliate links, so this site earns a commission if you buy through them at no extra cost to you. Discounts on both change regularly, so the links go to current pricing rather than quoting a figure that would go stale here.
Star Citizen keybind FAQ
How do I change keybinds in Star Citizen?
Press Esc, then Options, then Key Bindings. Every action on this page can be rebound there. Changes apply immediately and persist between sessions.
How do I back up or share my Star Citizen keybinds?
Open the in game console and run pp_rebindkeys export all mybindings. That writes an XML file you can back up, move to another machine, or share. Import it the same way on the new install.
Why does the same key do different things in Star Citizen?
The game runs three separate control modes: on foot, EVA and in ship. Each has its own binding set, so one key is reused several times. That is why a key that fires a weapon in the pilot seat does something else entirely when you are walking.
What are the most important keybinds for a new player?
Yes. Joysticks, HOTAS setups and gamepads are all supported and can be bound in the same Key Bindings menu. Mouse and keyboard remains the most common setup and every default on this page assumes it.
