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.
No native controller support
The official wiki states plainly that controller support is not planned at the moment, and the Steam store page carries no Xbox, PlayStation or Steam Input API flag either. What does work is Steam Input, which maps a connected pad onto mouse and keyboard — that is how the game is playable on Steam Deck.
Controller support, platform by platformAbout 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 controls
The camera controls are identical in Build Mode and Live Mode, so learn these first: one action moves the camera, one pivots it in place and one zooms. The optional Classic camera added in 0.1.8 changes how the mouse turns the view — that is covered in the camera section below.
| 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.
Camera
Paralives camera controls: move, rotate and zoom
Three actions cover the whole view: W / A / S / D or Arrow keys drives the camera across the map, Q / E pivots it in place, and Scroll wheel pulls in and out. They behave the same in Build Mode and Live Mode, and every one of them can be rebound in Settings.
Rotating the view
Rotation is the pivot action: it turns the camera around the point where it stands instead of sliding it sideways. Pivot first, then move — that is how players pick an angle on a lot. If the room is invisible rather than oddly framed, that is a floor and wall-visibility problem, and those actions live in the General group above, not in the camera.
Zoom and distance
Zoom rides the mouse wheel by default, with a keyboard alternative listed in the table above. Patch 0.1.8 added camera-move and zoom sensitivity sliders, so if one notch of the wheel throws you across the lot, slow it down there instead of fighting the mouse.
Classic camera vs Paralives camera
The 0.1.8 options menu lets you choose between the default 'Paralives' camera and 'Classic'. In Classic, rotation moves to the middle mouse button and panning to the right button — the scheme players coming from other builder games usually reach for. The edge-scrolling toggle sits in the same panel as the two sensitivity sliders.
Camera not moving? Work through these
No camera-specific bug appears on the studio's acknowledged issue list, so a view that will not move is nearly always a settings or performance problem rather than a broken feature.
- 1If only the camera actions ignore you, open Settings and check Key Bindings. A stray rebind is silent — one click into the catalogue search box and a movement key can be gone — and the Reset to Default control at the top of that screen restores the whole layout at once.
- 2Check which camera mode is active. Switching between the default Paralives camera and the 0.1.8 Classic camera moves rotation and panning onto different mouse buttons, so the gesture you were relying on may simply live somewhere else now.
- 3If the view crawls, hitches or hangs along with everything else, that is framerate rather than camera: cap it, lower shadow distance, and work down the performance checklist.
- 4On Steam Deck there is no in-game camera setting to repair. Sticks and trackpads only move the view because a Steam Input layout emulates the keys, so an empty or third-party layout is the first thing to swap out.
Still stuck? Compare against the low FPS fix guide and the known issues tracker — or, if your hardware has no mouse, the Steam Deck settings page.
Not verified: neither the patch notes nor the wiki document how the default (non-Classic) camera handles mouse-drag rotation, so that is left undescribed here — only the bindings in the table above and the Classic camera scheme quoted from the 0.1.8 notes. No camera bug is listed among the studio's acknowledged issues as of build 0.1.8b.
Trackpad & no-mouse
Playing with a trackpad or without a mouse
Paralives is designed around a mouse, but trackpad-only players can get most of the way there with a few tweaks.
Two-finger scroll orbits and zooms
On a trackpad, two-finger drag orbits the camera and pans the map; pinch zooms. If the direction feels inverted, flip the natural-scroll setting in your OS.
The classic camera (0.1.8) is trackpad-friendly
Patch 0.1.8 added a classic camera option that rotates with the middle mouse button and pans with the right button. On a trackpad, enable it in the options menu and use the keyboard shortcuts below as substitutes.
Keyboard covers build and cheat actions
Build tools, the cheats menu, and the pipette all have keyboard shortcuts — see the General group below. Cheats open with Ctrl+Shift+C (or Cmd+Shift+C on Mac).
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?
- Not natively. The official wiki states that controller support is not planned at the moment and the Steam store page lists no controller support, but Steam Input maps a pad to mouse and keyboard, which is how Deck players get by. Expect a desktop cursor and no button prompts.
- How do I rotate the camera in Paralives?
- Rotation is the pivot action in the Camera group above — it turns the view around where the camera stands instead of sliding it sideways, so pivot first and then move. Patch 0.1.8's optional Classic camera puts rotation on the middle mouse button if you prefer that scheme.
- What is the Classic camera in Paralives?
- An optional camera mode added in patch 0.1.8 and chosen in the options menu between 'Paralives' and 'Classic'. Classic rotates the view with the middle mouse button and pans with the right button, and the same panel carries an edge-scrolling toggle plus camera-move and zoom sensitivity sliders.
- Why is my Paralives camera not moving?
- Check the bindings first: Settings → Key Bindings has a Reset to Default control, and one accidental rebind is enough to silence a single camera action. Then confirm which camera mode is on, because Classic puts rotation and panning on different mouse buttons. If the whole game is stuttering, that is a framerate problem rather than a camera one. The studio lists no camera-specific bug among its acknowledged issues.
- 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.
Controller support by platform
What runs natively, what only works through Steam Input, and why the Deck is the best pad experience.
Bindings checked against build 0.1.8b on 2026-07-27.