Litematica Hotkeys and Keybinds
Litematica hotkeys are MaLiLib chords, edited with M+C on the Hotkeys tab. On the 1.21.4 build, M opens the menu, M+G toggles ghost blocks, M+L opens the material list, and Numpad Minus opens placement settings.
Why the vanilla Controls screen stays empty
Searching “litematica” in Options, Controls finds nothing, because the mod never registers those keys there. MaLiLib stores them in the mod config and matches multi-key chords. A wiki screenshot from another year, or a YouTube key, is not your file. The table below is the default strings in Hotkeys.java for the Fabric 1.21.4 branch (minecraft 1.21.4, malilib >=0.23.5-). Rebinding is local after that.
Steps
- Open a world with Litematica loaded. Vanilla Controls will not list these keys.
- Press M+C and open the Hotkeys tab, or use the gear beside Litematica in Mod Menu.
- Read the default chord before you rebind it. Empty means unbound.
- Right-click a row to restore that one default if a chord stopped working.
- If M itself is gone, edit openGuiMainMenu in the instance config/litematica.json.
Defaults that are actually bound
| Config name | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| openGuiMainMenu | M | Main menu, on key release |
| openGuiSettings | M, C | Config screen, including the Hotkeys tab |
| openGuiSchematicPlacements | M, P | Schematic Placements |
| openGuiPlacementSettings | Numpad Minus | Configure the selected placement |
| openGuiMaterialList | M, L | Material list for the selected placement |
| openGuiSchematicVerifier | M, V | Schematic Verifier |
| openGuiSelectionManager | M, S | Area selection manager |
| openGuiAreaSettings | Numpad Multiply | Area Editor |
| toggleAllRendering | M, R | All rendering on or off |
| toggleSchematicRendering | M, G | Ghost blocks on or off |
| toolEnabledToggle | M, T | Tool item on or off |
| addSelectionBox | M, A | Add a selection box |
| selectionModeCycle | Left Control, M | Cycle selection mode |
| layerModeNext / Previous | M, Page Up / M, Page Down | Change render layer mode |
| layerNext / layerPrevious | Page Up / Page Down | Move the current layer |
| selectionNudgeModifier | Left Alt | Hold and scroll to nudge |
| operationModeChangeModifier | Left Control | Hold and scroll to cycle tool mode |
| easyPlaceUseKey | Right-click | Place while Easy Place is on |
| toolPlaceCorner1 / 2 | Left-click / right-click | Tool corners, while holding the stick |
| toolSelectElements | Middle-click | Select with the tool |
| saveAreaAsSchematicToFile | Left Control, Left Alt, S | Save the area to a schematic file |
| rerenderSchematic | F3, M | Rebuild the schematic render |
| renderInfoOverlay | I | Info overlay |
The tool item defaults to a stick (minecraft:stick), and toolItemEnabled defaults on. Hold it before Control+scroll or Alt+scroll will do anything. Those scroll handlers also require all rendering to be on. Clicks are ignored while a GUI is open.
Unbound on purpose
easyPlaceToggle is empty, so Easy Place is a Generic checkbox until you bind it. See how to use Easy Place. Rotation and mirror hotkeys are empty too; the configure screen still has Rotation and Mirror buttons.layerSetHere is empty; Page Up and Page Down still move the layer. openGuiLoadedSchematics is empty; Load Schematics is a menu button.
Two more defaults that only matter while the stick is in your hand: Left Alt with middle-click picks the primary block for tool modes that use one, and Left Shift with middle-click picks the secondary block. Those are toolSelectModifierBlock1 and toolSelectModifierBlock2. Holding Right Control (renderOverlayThroughBlocks) draws the schematic overlay through world blocks for as long as the key is held. It does not stick on after you release it. pickBlockToggle is M plus middle-click.
Limits
A laptop without a numpad does not have Numpad Minus until you bind openGuiPlacementSettings. Chords need every key in the pair. The menu key uses release activation and does not allow extra keys, so M+C is a different bind from M. The defaults above are what a fresh litematica.json starts from. If the config screen will not open because the mod crashed, the keys are not the bug. Start with MaLiLib missing.
FAQ
Why are Litematica keys missing from vanilla Controls?
The mod uses MaLiLib’s keybind system, which allows chords. The wiki says to edit them with M+C, then Hotkeys. Fabric users can also open that screen from Mod Menu’s gear.
What does an empty hotkey mean?
The string in Hotkeys.java is empty, so nothing is bound. easyPlaceToggle, schematicPlacementRotation, and schematicPlacementMirror are empty on the 1.21.4 defaults. The buttons in the GUIs still work.
M opens the menu on QWERTY. What about AZERTY?
The wiki notes that a non-QWERTY layout can move the letter. On AZERTY, M can be the comma key. The chord is the layout’s M, not a fixed scancode from a US screenshot.
I unbound the menu. How do I get it back?
M+C still opens config if you only cleared the main menu. If both are gone, the maintainer’s note is to set openGuiMainMenu and openGuiSettings in config/litematica.json, or use Mod Menu.
Questions: hello@minecraftschematicgenerator.com
Reviewed 2026-09-27. Not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.