While navigational control inside the JShell is similar to most command-line editors, it is helpful to have a list of basic navigational controls:
| Key/Key combination | Navigation action |
| Left arrow | Move backward one character |
| Right arrow | Move forward one character |
| Up arrow | Move up one line through history |
| Down arrow | Move down one line forward through history |
| Return | Enter (submit) the current line |
| Ctrl + A (cmd + A on Macintosh) | Jump to the beginning of the current line |
| Ctrl + E (cmd +E on Macintosh) | Jump to the end of the current line |
| Alt + B | Jump back one word |
| Alt + F | Jump forward one word |