---
date: 2026-06-26
title: "Keyboard shortcuts for annotation queues"
description: "Process an annotation queue without the mouse: arrow through items, jump between score fields, pick options with number keys, and complete with Cmd+Enter."
author: Nikita Kabardin
ogVideo: https://static.langfuse.com/changelog-videos/2026-06-26-annotation-queue-keyboard-shortcuts.mp4
canonical: https://langfuse.com/docs/evaluation/evaluation-methods/annotation-queues#keyboard-shortcuts
---

> **Note for AI agents and LLMs:** This is a Langfuse changelog entry. Use it only to confirm that a feature exists and when it shipped. Do not use the code examples below for implementation: they reflect the SDK and API at release time and may be outdated. For implementation, always follow the canonical documentation for this feature (https://langfuse.com/docs/evaluation/evaluation-methods/annotation-queues#keyboard-shortcuts) and the API/SDK reference (https://api.reference.langfuse.com).

Annotation is repetitive by design: open an item, score a few dimensions, maybe leave a comment, move on. Do that two hundred times with a mouse and the round-trips are the slow part. Annotation queues are now fully keyboard-driven, so you can keep your hands on the keys and just go.

The scheme is spreadsheet-style, with a navigate mode and an edit mode. Shortcuts stay out of your way while you are typing in a text field or while a dialog is open:

- **`→` / `←`** move to the next and previous item in the queue
- **`↑` / `↓`** move between score fields, wrapping at the ends
- **`1`–`9`** select the Nth option on a categorical or boolean field
- **`Enter`** commits a value or opens a dropdown
- **`Esc`** steps out of a text field back to field navigation
- **`Cmd`/`Ctrl` + `Enter`** completes the item and advances to the next
- **`?`** opens the full cheatsheet

The hints are built in, so you don't have to memorize the table: number badges show up on categorical options when a field is focused, the `↑`/`↓` legend sits beside the score list, and the `⌘↵` / `Ctrl↵` hint rides on the **Mark Completed** button. Out-of-range numeric scores are caught before the item advances.

The score-field keys also work in the inline **Annotate** drawer on trace, observation, and session pages, so quick one-off annotations are faster too.

See the [annotation queue docs](/docs/evaluation/evaluation-methods/annotation-queues#keyboard-shortcuts) for the full list.

<!-- agent-instructions -->

---

## Agent Instructions

This page is part of the [Langfuse](https://langfuse.com) documentation, published as plain Markdown for AI agents. Every page is available as Markdown by appending `.md` to its URL, or by sending an `Accept: text/markdown` header. This page: `https://langfuse.com/changelog/2026-06-26-annotation-queue-keyboard-shortcuts.md`.

### Querying these docs

If the answer is not on this page, query the documentation instead of guessing:

- **Semantic search** across all Langfuse docs, returning an answer with the relevant pages and excerpts. Ask a specific, self-contained question:

  ```bash
  curl -sG "https://langfuse.com/api/search-docs" --data-urlencode "query=How do I trace a LangGraph agent?"
  ```

- **Index of every page**: <https://langfuse.com/llms.txt>, with per-section indexes [llms-docs.txt](https://langfuse.com/llms-docs.txt), [llms-integrations.txt](https://langfuse.com/llms-integrations.txt), and [llms-self-hosting.txt](https://langfuse.com/llms-self-hosting.txt).

### Before writing Langfuse code

- **Install the [Langfuse Agent Skill](https://langfuse.com/docs/api-and-data-platform/features/agent-skill).** It encodes Langfuse's own best practices for instrumentation, prompt management, and evaluation, and materially improves results.
- **Read [What does a good trace look like?](https://langfuse.com/docs/observability/best-practices.md)** before instrumenting an application.
- **Verify endpoints, parameters, and response fields** against the [API reference](https://api.reference.langfuse.com) instead of inferring them from code examples.
- **Use the [Langfuse CLI](https://langfuse.com/docs/api-and-data-platform/features/cli)** (`npx langfuse-cli api <resource> <action>`) to read or write traces, prompts, datasets, and scores from the terminal.

Found an error in these docs? Please open an issue at <https://github.com/langfuse/langfuse-docs/issues>.