One thing that never ceases to amaze me about macOS is the amount you can do with just a few keyboard shortcuts. In fact, Apple seems to have coded so many functions into various combinations of key presses that it feels like I’m finding new ones every day. And whether you’re a newbie with a Neo or a veteran from the PowerBook days, there are always new ones to learn.
Here, we’ll show you all of the best macOS keyboard shortcuts that you need to know. Memorize a few of them and you’ll be well on your way to a faster, more convenient way to use your Mac. And if you ever forget one or want to discover a few new shortcuts, just come back here and check our extensive list. Keep in mind that some third-party apps override these combinations with ones of their own.
For even more keyboard tips see The Most Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know.
The key keys
Keyboard shortcuts involve combinations of modifier keys. Here, we will refer to these modifier keys using their abbreviations:
- Command: Cmd
- Control key: Ctrl
- Delete key: Del
- Function key: Fn
- Option key: Opt
Core macOS functions
| Action | Combination |
|---|---|
| Move selected item to the Trash | Cmd-Del |
| Empty the Trash | Shift-Cmd-Del |
| Empty the trash without confirmation | Opt-Cmd-Shift-Del |
| Cycles through apps | Cmd-Tab (Cmd-Shift-Tab reverses the selection) |
| Cycles through the open windows of your currently selected app | Cmd-` |
| Open Spotlight | Cmd-spacebar |
| Search within Finder | Cmd-Opt-spacebar |
| Open the Apps app (macOS Tahoe or later) or open Launchpad (before Tahoe) | Fn-Shift-A |
| Open the Character Viewer | Ctrl-Cmd-spacebar or Fn-E |
| Shows the Desktop | Cmd-F3 or Fn-H or Fn-F11 |
| Opens Mission Control | Ctrl-Up arrow |
| Show all the open windows of the foremost app | Ctrl-Down arrow |
| Open Mission Control settings | Opt-F3 |
| Opens and closes Control Center | Fn-C |
| Starts and stops dictation | Fn-D |
| Opens and closes the Notification Center | Fn-N |
| Lock Screen | Ctrl-Cmd-Q (or press the power button on MacBooks) |
| Log out of your user account | Shift-Cmd-Q |
| Log out of your user account without confirmation | Opt-Shift-Cmd-Q |
Handling text
| Action | Combination |
|---|---|
| Cut | Cmd-X |
| Copy | Cmd-C |
| Paste | Cmd-V |
| Undo | Cmd-Z |
| Redo | Shift-Cmd-Z |
| Bold | Cmd-B |
| Italic | Cmd-I |
| Underline | Cmd-U |
| Insert a web link | Cmd-K |
| Find text on screen | Cmd-F |
| Find next instance of text on screen | Cmd-G |
| Go back to previous instance of text on screen | Shift-Cmd-G |
| Open the Spelling and Grammar window | Shift-Cmd-; |
| Look for misspelled words | Cmd-; |
| Delete word left of insertion point | Opt-Del |
| Delete character left of insertion point | Del or Ctrl-H |
| Delete character right of insertion point | Fn-Del or Ctrl-D |
| Move insertion point to start of document | Cmd-Up arrow |
| Move insertion point to end of document | Cmd-Down arrow |
| Move insertion point to start of current line | Cmd-Left arrow |
| Move insertion point to end of current line | Cmd-Right arrow |
| Move insertion point to start of previous word or the end of next word | Opt-Left arrow or right arrow |
| Move insertion point to paragraph above or below | Opt-Up arrow or down arrow |
| Highlight all text from current insertion point to start of document | Shift-Cmd-Up arrow |
| Highlight all text from current insertion point to end of document | Shift-Cmd-Down arrow |
| Highlight all text from current insertion point to end of line | Shift-Cmd-Right arrow |
| Highlight all text from current insertion point to start of line | Shift-Cmd-Right arrow |
| Highlight all text from current insertion point to start of paragraph | Shift-Opt-Up arrow |
| Highlight all text from current insertion point to end of paragraph | Shift-Opt-Down arrow |
| Highlight all text from current insertion point to same location in line above | Shift-Up arrow |
| Highlight all text from current insertion point to same location in line below | Shift-Down arrow |
| Highlight one character, then select next character | Shift-Right arrow |
| Highlight one character, then select previous character | Shift-Left arrow |
| Move to start of line or paragraph | Ctrl-A |
| Move to end of line or paragraph | Ctrl-E |
| Move one character forward | Ctrl-F |
| Move one character backwards | Ctrl-B |
| Move one line up | Ctrl-P |
| Move one line down | Ctril-N |
| Go back to the insertion point location | Ctrl-L |
| Insert a new line after insertion point | Ctrl-O |
| Swap character to right of insertion point with one to the left | Ctrl-T |
Manage apps and files
| Action | Combination |
|---|---|
| Close active window | Cmd-W |
| Close all app windows, keep app running | Opt-Cmd-W |
| Save file | Cmd-S |
| Cycle through open apps | Cmd-Tab or Shift-Cmd-Tab |
| Hide all windows of the foremost app | Cmd-H |
| Hide all app windows except foremost app | Opt-Cmd-H |
| Enter or exit full screen for foremost app | Ctrl-Cmd-F |
| Minimize current window | Cmd-M |
| Minimize every window of frontmost app | Opt-Cmd-M |
| Open settings for frontmost app | Cmd-, |
| Open new tab | CMd-T |
| Quit app | Cmd-Q |
| Force quit unresponsive app | Opt-Cmd-Esc |
| Preview a file | Select file, then spacebar or Cmd-Y |
| Preview selected files as slideshow | Opt-Cmd-Y |
Explore the Finder
| Action | Combination |
|---|---|
| Duplicate selected items | Cmd-D |
| Eject the selected disk or volume | Cmd-E |
| Search within Finder | Cmd-F |
| Get Info for chosen file | Cmd-I |
| Show View Options | Cmd-J |
| Connect to Server window | Cmd-K |
| Open new Finder window | Cmd-N |
| Create a new tab in Finder | Cmd-T |
| Open selected item | Cmd-Down arrow |
| Go to previous folder | Cmd-[ |
| Go to next folder | Cmd-] |
| Open folder containing the current folder | Cmd-Up arrow |
| Opens folder containing the current folder in a new window | Ctrl-Cmd-Up arrow |
| Change the Finder view, going through icons, a list, columns and a gallery | Cmd-1 through Cmd-4 |
| Open Applications folder | Shift-Cmd-A |
| Open Desktop folder | Shift-Cmd-D |
| Open Computer window | Shift-Cmd-C |
| Open Recents window | Shift-Cmd-F |
| Open Go to Folder window | Shift-Cmd-G |
| Open the Home folder | Shift-Cmd-H |
| Open iCloud Drive | Shift-Cmd-I |
| Open Network window | Shift-Cmd-K |
| Open Downloads folder | Opt-Cmd-L |
| Create new folder | Shift-Cmd-N |
| Create a new Smart Folder | Opt-Cmd-N |
| Open Documents folder | Shift-Cmd-O |
| Make alias of currently selected item | Ctrl-Cmd-A |
| Show/hide Preview side pane in Finder | Shift-Cmd-P |
| Open AirDrop | Shift-Cmd-R |
| Open Shared folder | Shift-Cmd-S |
| Show/hide tab bar in Finder | Shift-Cmd-T |
| Open Utilities folder | Shift-Cmd-U |
| Add selected item to Finder sidebar | Ctrl-Cmd-T |
| Show/hide path bar in Finder | Opt-Cmd-P |
| Show/hide sidebar in Finder | Opt-Cmd-S |
| Show/hide status bar in Finder | Cmd-/ |
| Hide top toolbar in Finder | Opt-Cmd-T |
| Move copied files to a new location. | Opt-Cmd-V |
| Open file/folder while closing original window | Hold Opt while double-clicking file/folder |
| Open folder in new tab/window | Hold Cmd while double-clicking folder |
| Copy item to new location instead of moving it | Drag file while holding Opt |
| Move item to new location instead of copying it | Drag file while holding Cmd |
| Make alias | Hold Opt-Cmd, then select item and drag the alias to its location |
| In Finder window, open all subfolders | In List view, hold Opt and click the triangle |
| In Finder window, see all the folders that contain the current one | Cmd-click Finder window title bar |
| In Finder window, select multiple files | Hold Cmd while clicking on the different files |
| In Finder window List view, select a consecutive selection of files | Hold Shift; click the first item, then click the last item |
The Dock
| Action | Combination |
|---|---|
| Add selected item to Dock | Ctrl-Shift-Cmd-T |
| Disable magnification if it is turned on | Hold Shift-Cmd |
| Hide or show Dock | Opt-Cmd-D |
| Select the left-most item in Dock | Fn-A |
| Move between icons | Fn-A, then left or right arrow |
Screenshots
| Action | Combination |
|---|---|
| Shoot entire screen (includes additional displays | Shift-Cmd-3 |
| Select portion of screen to shoot | Shift-Cmd-4, then select the portion |
| Shoot specific window with drop shadow | Shift-Cmd-4, then press Spacebar; move Camera cursor to the window and click |
| Shoot specific window without drop shadow | Shift-Cmd-4, then press Spacebar; move Camera cursor to the window and hold Opt while clicking |
| Open Screenshot app | Shift-Cmd-5 |
Displays
| Action | Combination |
|---|---|
| Raise/lower brightness in smaller increments | Opt-Shift-Brightness up or brightness down |
| Open Display System Settings | Opt-Brightness up or down |
| Change the brightness of an external display (if supported) | Ctrl-Brightness up or down |
| Turn video mirroring on/off | Cmd-Brightness down |
Move and resize windows
| Action | Combination |
|---|---|
| Expands window to fill Desktop | Fn-Ctrl-F |
| Moves window to center of screen | Fn-Ctrl-C |
| Moves and resizes window to fill left half of screen | Fn-Ctrl-Left arrow |
| Moves and resizes window to fill right half of screen | Fn-Ctrl-Right arrow |
| Moves and resizes window to fill top half of screen | Fn-Ctrl-Up arrow |
| Moves and resizes window to fill bottom half of screen | Fn-Ctrl-Down arrow |
| Restores the window to previous size | Fn-Ctrl-R |
| Moves and resizes active window to fill left half of display; window below fills right | Fn-Ctrl-Shift-Left arrow |
| Moves and resizes active window to fill right half of display; window below fills left | Fn-Ctrl-Shift-Right arrow |
| Moves and resizes active window to fill top half of display; window below fills bottom | Fn-Ctrl-Shift-Up arrow |
| Moves and resizes active window to fill bottom half of display; window below fills top | Fn-Ctrl-Shift-Down arrow |
| Moves and resizes active window to fill left half of your screen. Second and third windows fill the top-right and bottom-right portions of your display | Fn-Ctrl-Opt-Shift-Left arrow |
| Moves and resizes active window to fill right half of your screen. Second and third windows fill the top-left and bottom-right portions of your display | Fn-Ctrl-Opt-Shift-Right arrow |
| Moves and resizes active window to fill top half of your screen. Second and third windows fill the bottom-left and bottom-right portions of your display | Fn-Ctrl-Opt-Shift-Up arrow |
| Moves and resizes active window to fill bottom half of your screen. Second and third windows fill the top-left and top-right portions of your display | Fn-Ctrl-Opt-Shift-Down arrow |
Other
| Action | Combination |
|---|---|
| Opens Keyboard System Settings | Opt-Keyboard brightness up or down |
| Adjust keyboard brightness in smaller increments | Opt-Shift-Keyboard brightness up or down |
| Open Sounds Sytem Settings | Opt-Volume up or down |
| Adjust sound volume in smaller increments | Opt-Shift-Volume up or volume down |
