---
title: "macOS keyboard shortcuts — the full list"
description: "83 macOS keyboard shortcuts, grouped by what they do. macOS, with the Mac equivalents where they differ."
url: https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/macos/
site: "At One Place"
---

# macOS keyboard shortcuts

**macOS keyboard shortcuts: 83 shortcuts**

macOS

Apple's desktop operating system. The four modifiers are ⌘ Command, ⌥ Option, ⌃ Control and ⇧ Shift, and which one a shortcut uses is rarely arbitrary — ⌘ drives app commands, ⌃ drives window and system-level ones. Function-key rows are written without Fn, so add Fn if your keyboard has media keys on top.

## System and Finder

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ⌘ + , | Open settings for the front app |
| ⌘ + N | Open a new Finder window |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + N | Create a new folder |
| ⌘ + I | Show Get Info for the selected file |
| ⌘ + D | Duplicate the selected files |
| ⌘ + E | Eject the selected disk or volume |
| ⌘ + Delete | Move the selection to the Trash |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + Delete | Empty the Trash |
| ⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + Delete | Empty the Trash without confirming |
| ⌘ + 1 | View Finder items as icons |
| ⌘ + 2 | View Finder items as a list |
| ⌘ + 3 | View Finder items in columns |
| ⌘ + J | Open View Options for the window |
| ⌘ + K | Open Connect to Server |
| ⌃ + ⌘ + Space | Open the Character Viewer for emoji and symbols — Fn + E does the same on recent keyboards |
| ⌃ + Space | Switch to the next input source |
| ⌥ + ⌘ + L | Open the Downloads folder |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + I | Open iCloud Drive |

## Windows and apps

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ⌘ + Q | Quit the front app |
| ⌘ + W | Close the front window |
| ⌥ + ⌘ + W | Close every window of the app |
| ⌘ + M | Minimise the front window to the Dock |
| ⌥ + ⌘ + M | Minimise every window of the front app |
| ⌘ + H | Hide the front app |
| ⌥ + ⌘ + H | Hide every other app |
| ⌥ + ⌘ + Esc | Force quit an application |
| ⌘ + Tab | Switch to the next most recently used app |
| ⌘ + ` | Cycle through the windows of the front app |
| ⌘ + O | Open the selected item |
| ⌘ + T | Open a new tab |

## Screenshots

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + 3 | Capture the whole screen |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + 4 | Capture a selected area of the screen |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + 4 then Space | Capture a single window or menu |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + 5 | Open the Screenshot toolbar for capture and recording |
| ⌃ + ⇧ + ⌘ + 3 | Copy the whole screen to the clipboard |
| ⌃ + ⇧ + ⌘ + 4 | Copy a selected area to the clipboard |
| Esc | Cancel a capture in progress |

## Text editing

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ⌘ + C | Copy the selection |
| ⌘ + X | Cut the selection |
| ⌘ + V | Paste the clipboard |
| ⌘ + Z | Undo the last command |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + Z | Redo the last command |
| ⌘ + A | Select everything |
| ⌘ + B | Bold the selected text |
| ⌘ + I | Italicise the selected text |
| ⌘ + U | Underline the selected text |
| ⌥ + Delete | Delete the word to the left of the cursor |
| ⌥ + ← | Move the cursor to the start of the previous word |
| ⌥ + → | Move the cursor to the end of the next word |
| ⌘ + ↑ | Move the cursor to the start of the document |
| ⌘ + ↓ | Move the cursor to the end of the document |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + ← | Select to the start of the line |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + → | Select to the end of the line |

## Navigation and search

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ⌘ + Space | Show or hide Spotlight |
| ⌥ + ⌘ + Space | Open a Finder window with the search field active |
| ⌘ + F | Find in the current document or window |
| ⌘ + G | Find the next occurrence |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + G | Find the previous occurrence |
| Space | Preview the selected item with Quick Look |
| ⌘ + [ | Go back to the previous folder |
| ⌘ + ] | Go forward to the next folder |
| ⌃ + F2 | Move focus to the menu bar |
| ⌃ + F3 | Move focus to the Dock |

## Mission Control and Spaces

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ⌃ + ↑ | Open Mission Control |
| ⌃ + ↓ | Show every window of the front app |
| ⌃ + → | Move to the space on the right |
| ⌃ + ← | Move to the space on the left |
| Fn + F11 | Show the desktop |
| ⌃ + ⌘ + F | Enter or leave full screen |

## Accessibility

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ⌃ + ⌥ + ⌘ + 8 | Invert the screen colours |
| ⌃ + ⌥ + ⌘ + , | Reduce the display contrast |
| ⌃ + ⌥ + ⌘ + . | Increase the display contrast |
| ⌥ + ⌘ + F5 | Open the Accessibility Shortcuts panel — Triple-pressing Touch ID does the same |
| Fn + D | Start or stop dictation |
| ⌃ + F7 | Change how Tab moves focus between controls |

## Power and session

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| ⌥ + ⌘ + Power button | Put the Mac to sleep |
| ⌃ + ⇧ + Power button | Put the displays to sleep |
| ⌃ + Power button | Show the restart, sleep and shut down dialog |
| ⌃ + ⌘ + Power button | Force the Mac to restart |
| ⌃ + ⌥ + ⌘ + Power button | Quit every app and shut down |
| ⌃ + ⌘ + Q | Lock the screen |
| ⇧ + ⌘ + Q | Log out of your user account |
| ⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + Q | Log out immediately without confirming |

## Common questions

### How many keyboard shortcuts does macOS have?

This page lists 83 shortcuts across 8 groups, covering the ones people actually use day to day rather than every binding the application defines.

## Related pages

- [Microsoft Excel shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/excel/)
- [Windows 11 shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/windows/)
- [Microsoft Word shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/word/)
- [Visual Studio Code shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/vscode/)
- [Google Chrome shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/chrome/)
- [Adobe Photoshop shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/photoshop/)
- [Microsoft PowerPoint shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/powerpoint/)
- [Google Sheets shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/google-sheets/)
- [Gmail shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/gmail/)
- [Microsoft Outlook shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/outlook/)
- [Vim shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/vim/)
- [Figma shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/figma/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)