# Repeat previous command
For repeating a command multiple times, see numeric prefix.

Keyboard commands

~

!

@

#

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^

&amp;

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=

+

Q

W

E

R

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Y

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 |

q

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r

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y

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p

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\

A

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a

s

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j

k

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&lt;

&gt;

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z

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,

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/

q

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Alt

a

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Alt

A

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Alt

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[

Ctrl

Press ctrl&nbsp;+ a to repeat previous command.

Common uses
Wands can be quickly wrested by zapping them once and then holding down ctrl&nbsp;+ a until something interesting happens. (As always when holding down keys in NetHack, this should be done only in a safe location.)
Repeatedly #untrapping a box to make sure it is safe to open becomes much less annoying with this command: you can do the #untrap &gt; sequence once, then just press ctrl&nbsp;+ a, y repeatedly.
When #dipping potions into a fountain or pool to blank them, it is usually necessary to dip them twice. ctrl&nbsp;+ a, y can be used to dip them the second time.
Ranged weapons can be fired in the same direction for several turns in a row with the repeat command; this saves one to two keystrokes.
Limitations
The repeat command interacts rather strangely with spellcasting: pressing ctrl&nbsp;+ a after casting a directional spell will bring up the casting menu to select a spell again (as if you just pressed Z), but when you select a spell, it will be cast in the same direction as your previous cast.
If you try to repeat an E - command, nothing will happen the first time you press ctrl&nbsp;+ a, and the second time you press it you will be told, "You don't have that object." This is probably a bug.
The repeat command is only available if NetHack was compiled with the REDO compile-time option (but this should be the case on nearly all installations).

History
In NetHack 3.4.3 and earlier versions, as well as some variants based on those versions, repeatedly engraving Elbereth is still effective, but it is not possible to do so using this command: pressing ctrl&nbsp;+ a after an engrave command will select the same item you previously engraved with, but will not reenter the same engraving text or skip asking if you want to overwrite the previous engraving.