iPad Gestures & Touch Controls

Circuitry is built for touch — full gesture support so the canvas feels native on iPad.

Everything you do on desktop works on iPad, with gestures that make drawing, navigating, and editing fast and natural.

Canvas gestures

GestureAction
Single tapSelect a tool or object
Drag a selected objectMove it (tap to select first, then drag)
One-finger drag on empty canvasPan the viewport
Two-finger panMove the viewport
PinchZoom the canvas

A finger is a navigation device by default: it pans, pinches, and taps to select. Prefer to draw without a Pencil? Turn on Draw With Finger in Settings and your finger draws, selects, and drags just like a Pencil.

Keyboard shortcuts (with a keyboard attached)

KeyActionUse case
HHand (pan) toolGlide around the canvas
Shift+TShow/hide the header of the selected expanded nodeMinimalist view
⌘⇧Enter (Ctrl+Shift+Enter on Windows/Linux)Full screenFocus mode

Expand a node, select it and press Shift+T to hide its header, then ⌘⇧Enter for a clean full-screen view — perfect for presentations and documentation.

Apple Pencil

Pair gestures with Apple Pencil for precise, pressure-sensitive drawing. See Apple Pencil High-Resolution Capture.

While the Pencil is on the canvas, palm and stray finger touches are ignored — rest your hand naturally as you write or draw. A deliberate finger tap still selects objects, and a finger can drag selected objects and on-canvas controls.

Powered by your desktop

Heavy work — terminals, native execution, machine-hosted models — can run on your main computer over Circuitry Server while you stay mobile on the iPad.

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