---
title: "Slack keyboard shortcuts — the full list"
description: "64 Slack keyboard shortcuts, grouped by what they do. Windows, macOS and Linux, with the Mac equivalents where they differ."
url: https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/slack/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Slack keyboard shortcuts

**Slack keyboard shortcuts: 64 shortcuts**

Windows, macOS and Linux

Slack is the team messaging app. A number of these only work in the desktop app rather than in a browser tab, and the single-letter message actions only fire when a message is focused rather than while you are typing. Slack diverges from a plain Ctrl to Command swap in a few places, notably the Home and DM views.

## Navigation

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Ctrl + K | Jump to a channel, DM or conversation — Ctrl + T does the same |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + A | Open the All Unreads view |
| Alt + Shift + Up | Jump to the previous unread conversation — On macOS: ⌥ + ⇧ + ↑ |
| Alt + Shift + Down | Jump to the next unread conversation — On macOS: ⌥ + ⇧ + ↓ |
| Alt + Up | Move to the previous conversation in the sidebar — On macOS: ⌥ + ↑ |
| Alt + Down | Move to the next conversation in the sidebar — On macOS: ⌥ + ↓ |
| Alt + Left | Go back through your history — On macOS: ⌘ + [ |
| Alt + Right | Go forward through your history — On macOS: ⌘ + ] |
| Ctrl + Shift + 1 | Open the Home view — On macOS: ⌃ + 1 |
| Ctrl + Shift + 2 | Browse direct messages — On macOS: ⌘ + ⇧ + K |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + M | Open the Activity view — Desktop app only |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + T | Open the Threads view — Desktop app only |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + L | Browse channels — Desktop app only |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + I | Open the conversation details pane |
| Ctrl/⌘ + number | Switch workspace by its position in the sidebar |

## Messages

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Esc | Mark the current conversation as read |
| Shift + Esc | Mark every conversation as read |
| Alt + click | Mark a message as unread — On macOS: ⌥ + click |
| E | Edit a message you sent |
| Delete | Delete a message you sent |
| T | Open or reply to a thread — The right arrow does the same |
| F | Forward the focused message |
| P | Pin or unpin the focused message |
| A | Save the message to Later, or remove it |
| R | React to the focused message with an emoji |
| M | Set a reminder about the focused message |
| U | Mark everything above the focused message as unread |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Z | Unsend the message you just sent |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + Y | Set your status |

## Composing and formatting

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Ctrl/⌘ + N | Compose a new message — Ctrl/⌘ + ⇧ + K does the same |
| Shift + Enter | Insert a line break instead of sending |
| Shift + Up | Select to the start of the line |
| Shift + Down | Select to the end of the line |
| Ctrl/⌘ + B | Bold the selected text |
| Ctrl/⌘ + I | Italicise the selected text |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + X | Strike through the selected text |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + U | Turn the selected text into a link |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + 9 | Quote the selected text |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + C | Format the selection as inline code |
| Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C | Format the selection as a code block — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + ⇧ + C |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + 8 | Turn the selection into a bulleted list |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + 7 | Turn the selection into a numbered list |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + F | Apply markdown formatting automatically |

## Files and canvas

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Ctrl/⌘ + O | Upload a file — Desktop app only |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + J | Show everything you have downloaded — Desktop app only |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + Enter | Create a snippet |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + N | Create a new canvas |
| Ctrl + Alt + 0 | Format canvas text as a paragraph — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + 0 |
| Ctrl + Alt + 1 | Format canvas text as a big heading — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + 1 |
| Ctrl + Alt + 2 | Format canvas text as a medium heading — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + 2 |
| Ctrl + Alt + 3 | Format canvas text as a small heading — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + 3 |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + 0 | Format canvas text as a checklist |
| Ctrl + Alt + Q | Copy an anchor link to a canvas section — On macOS: ⌃ + ⌥ + Q — Control, not ⌘ |

## Search, calls and app

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Ctrl/⌘ + G | Start a search |
| Ctrl/⌘ + F | Search inside the current conversation |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + H | Start, join, leave or end a huddle |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + Space | Mute or unmute yourself in a huddle |
| Ctrl/⌘ + . | Show or hide the right sidebar |
| Ctrl/⌘ + , | Open preferences — Desktop app only |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + E | Open the People view |
| Ctrl/⌘ + W | Close the current window |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + W | Reopen the last closed window |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Q | Quit Slack — Desktop app only |
| F11 | Toggle full screen — On macOS: ⌃ + ⌘ + F |

## Common questions

### How many keyboard shortcuts does Slack have?

This page lists 64 shortcuts across 5 groups, covering the ones people actually use day to day rather than every binding the application defines.

### Are Slack shortcuts the same on Mac and Windows?

Mostly. The usual difference is that Ctrl on Windows becomes ⌘ on macOS, which is why the shortcuts here are written as "Ctrl/⌘". Where a binding genuinely differs beyond that swap, it is spelled out separately.

## Related pages

- [Microsoft Excel shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/excel/)
- [Windows 11 shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/windows/)
- [macOS shortcuts](https://atoneplace.net/shortcuts/macos/)
- [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/)

## Sources

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