The ones you will use hourly
Eight keys that carry most of the game
Tab flips between build and live mode. Space pauses. F snaps the camera to your Para and M opens the town map. In build mode, B draws walls, O opens the catalogue, G toggles the grid and Alt held down turns snapping off — that last one is what makes grid-free placement feel good. And F5 quick saves, which you should press more than you think.
You can rebind all of it
Paralives ships a full Key Bindings tab in Settings, so nothing below is fixed. Click an action, press the key you want, and it is reassigned. There is also a Reset to Default control at the top of that screen, which is the fastest way out of a broken layout. The bindings on this page are the defaults.
There is no controller support
The official wiki states plainly that controller support is not planned at the moment. On Steam Deck the game runs through Proton with the trackpad and gyro mapped as a mouse, which works but is not the same thing as native gamepad input.
About the three time speeds
Keys 1, 2 and 3 set the three time speeds, but no official source publishes the actual multipliers, and community guides contradict each other — some report ×1/×5/×15, others ×1/×2/×3. We are not going to pick one for you: treat them as slow, faster and fastest until the studio documents the numbers.
Cheat console
Both console shortcuts work; use whichever your keyboard makes easier. Commands are case-insensitive.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Open the cheat console | Ctrl + F1 | Cmd + F1 |
| Open the cheat console (alternate) | Ctrl + Shift + C | Cmd + Shift + C |
| Open the in-game control panel | Ctrl + F2 | Cmd + F2 |
Camera
Identical in build mode and live mode, so these are worth learning first.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Move the camera | W / A / S / D | same |
| Move the camera (alternate) | Arrow keys | same |
| Pivot the camera | Q / E | same |
| Zoom | Scroll wheel | same |
| Zoom (alternate) | - / + | same |
Build mode
The biggest group, and the one where shortcuts save the most time. The placement modifiers — snap, vertical and free rotation — also apply in photo mode.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Switch between Build and Live mode | Tab | same |
| Draw a wall | B | same |
| Open the catalogue | O | same |
| Search the catalogue | Ctrl + F | Cmd + F |
| Pipette — copy a swatchCommunity-tested | I | same |
| Sledgehammer — demolish | K | same |
| Lot mode | L | same |
| Toggle the grid | G | same |
| Rotate 90° | X | same |
| Rotate 45° counter-clockwise | , | same |
| Rotate 45° clockwise | . | same |
| Rotate freely by dragging | Right-click + drag | same |
| Toggle the advanced transform widget | * (numpad) | same |
| Disable snapping | Alt (hold) | Option (hold) |
| Move an object vertically | Shift (hold) | same |
| Copy a wall or floor swatch onto any recolourable item | Alt + left-click (pipette selected) | Option + left-click (pipette selected) |
| Sell the selected object | Delete | same |
| Cancel the current action | Esc | same |
Live mode
Selection, camera focus and time control. Teleporting a Para with Alt + left-click is the one most players never find.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Quick action on whatever is under the cursor | Right-click | same |
| Select Paras by dragging over them | Left-click + drag over Paras | same |
| Centre the camera on the selected Para | F | same |
| Select every Para in the household | Ctrl + U | Cmd + U |
| Teleport the selected Para to where you clicked | Alt + left-click | Option + left-click |
| Select several Paras from their portraits | Shift + left-click (portraits) | same |
| Select multiple inventory items | Ctrl + left-click | Cmd + left-click |
| Select a range of inventory items | Shift + left-click | same |
| Pause time | Spacebar | same |
| Time speed 1 — normal | 1 | same |
| Time speed 2 | 2 | same |
| Time speed 3 — fastest | 3 | same |
| Open the town map | M | same |
Photo mode
Two dedicated keys; the rotation and placement modifiers from build mode carry over.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle Photo Mode | P | same |
| Hide the interface | Ctrl + H | Cmd + H |
General
Work anywhere: undo, floors, wall visibility and quick save.
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | Cmd + Z |
| Redo | Ctrl + Y | Cmd + Y |
| Go up a floor | Page Up | same |
| Go down a floor | Page Down | same |
| Cycle wall visibility forward | Home | same |
| Cycle wall visibility back | End | same |
| Quick save | F5 | same |
Marked bindings are absent from the official wiki's Controls page (it carries a stub notice) and come from player testing instead.
Controls FAQ
- How do I change the controls in Paralives?
- Open Settings and go to the Key Bindings tab. Click any action, then press the key you want to assign. A Reset to Default control at the top of that screen restores the whole layout at once.
- Does Paralives support a controller?
- No. The official wiki states that controller support is not planned at the moment. Paralives is built for mouse and keyboard; Steam Deck players get by with the trackpad mapped as a mouse.
- What is the pipette shortcut in Paralives?
- I selects the pipette. Then Alt + left-click (Option on Mac) copies a wall or floor swatch onto any recolourable item — which is how you match furniture to a wall colour without hunting through swatches.
- How do I hide the interface for screenshots?
- Ctrl + H in photo mode, or Cmd + H on Mac. Press P to enter photo mode in the first place, which also pauses time.
- What are the Mac shortcuts for Paralives?
- The keys are the same; only the modifier changes. Ctrl becomes Cmd and Alt becomes Option. The Mac column below is filled in wherever a binding differs.
- How do I teleport a Para?
- Hold Alt (Option on Mac) and left-click where you want them. It is not a cheat and it does not need the console.
Keep reading
Where these keys matter most
Opening the cheat console
Ctrl+F1 and Cmd+F1 in detail, plus what to type first.
Playing on Mac
Every command with the Cmd modifier, and the Mac-specific quirks.
Build mode tips
Illustrated tricks that lean on the snap and rotation modifiers.
Photo mode
Hiding the UI, composing a shot and where screenshots land.
All console commands
The searchable index of 100+ commands, once the console is open.
Bindings checked against build 0.1.7c on 2026-07-27.