PolyTrack Controls: Full Keyboard, Mobile & Editor Shortcuts (0.6.3)

PolyTrack's controls are small enough to learn in one race, but the lists online disagree in two places: whether there is a drift key, and what reset and restart are bound to. Here is the full 0.6.3 set, with those conflicts flagged instead of hidden.

Driving controls

The arrow keys and WASD are interchangeable for driving. 0.6.3 changed how arrow-key bindings are displayed: they now render as arrows instead of the words "Left" and "Right", which is why some screenshots look different from older guides.

There is no drift key

Space is pause, not handbrake. PolyTrack has no dedicated drift button in 0.6.3. Slides come from steering at speed, not from a key that tells the car to break traction.

If a corner will not hold, the fix is usually earlier braking and a smoother entry, not another key. The car has no separate drift mechanic to toggle.

Editor shortcuts

The editor screen also shows Test, Generate, Load, Save and Export along the top, plus an Undo and Redo pair. The shortcut table covers the building actions; the buttons cover testing and sharing.

Spectator camera in 0.6.3

0.6.3 added spectator camera movement up and down on the Z and C keys.Official

Before 0.6.3 the spectator camera could not be raised or lowered. In 0.6.3, Z and C move it up and down while you watch a race. Those keys are separate from the cockpit camera toggle, which is C or M while driving — the same C key serves a different purpose depending on whether you are driving or spectating.

Mobile touch controls

Touch controls have been in the game since 0.4.0. On a phone or tablet the game uses on-screen touch controls instead of a keyboard; the layout is part of the game, not something this guide can remap.

0.6.3 also added a longer screen timeout on mobile while playing, which stops the screen from dimming mid-race. The Android app can rotate between landscape and reverse landscape since 0.6.1.

The mobile guide covers Android, iPhone and Chromebook separately.

If a key does nothing

1. Open Settings > Controls in the game. That screen reflects the build you actually have.
2. Check whether you are driving or spectating; Z and C change meaning.
3. On mobile, check that the on-screen controls are visible and not covered by another overlay.
4. If a key still fails, the build may have rebound it. Trust the in-game screen over any guide, including this one.

Read next

• Make a track in the editor: use the editor shortcuts on a real build.
• PolyTrack multiplayer: rooms, invite codes and 16-player lobbies.
• PolyTrack hub: all guides and the 0.6.3 changelog summary.