macOS keyboard shortcuts
The Mac shortcuts worth knowing by heart, from Cmd+Space to Option+Shift+Cmd+V, grouped by what they do. Filter the sheet, then print it or save it as a PDF.
Showing all 109 shortcuts.
Everyday 18 shortcuts
| Action | Mac |
|---|---|
| Copy the selection | Cmd+C |
| Cut the selection | Cmd+X |
| Paste | Cmd+V |
| Paste and match style. Pastes without the source formatting, in apps that support it. | Option+Shift+Cmd+V |
| Undo | Cmd+Z |
| Redo | Shift+Cmd+Z |
| Select all | Cmd+A |
| Find | Cmd+F |
| Find the next match | Cmd+G |
| Find the previous match | Shift+Cmd+G |
| Save | Cmd+S |
| Save As or duplicate | Shift+Cmd+S |
| Open | Cmd+O |
| Cmd+P | |
| New tab. In apps with tabs, such as Finder and Safari. | Cmd+T |
| Open the app's settings | Cmd+Comma |
| Show or hide Spotlight search | Cmd+Space |
| Open the Character Viewer (emoji and symbols) | Control+Cmd+Space or Fn+E |
Apps & windows 15 shortcuts
| Action | Mac |
|---|---|
| Switch to the next most recent app | Cmd+Tab |
| Switch between windows of the front app | Cmd+Grave accent |
| Switch to the previous window of the front app | Shift+Cmd+Grave accent |
| Close the front window | Cmd+W |
| Close all windows of the app | Option+Cmd+W |
| Minimize the front window to the Dock | Cmd+M |
| Minimize all windows of the front app | Option+Cmd+M |
| Hide the front app | Cmd+H |
| Hide all other apps | Option+Cmd+H |
| Quit the app | Cmd+Q |
| Force Quit an app | Option+Cmd+Esc |
| Use the app in full screen. In apps that support full screen. | Control+Cmd+F |
| Open Mission Control | Control+Up arrow |
| Show all windows of the front app | Control+Down arrow |
| Show the desktop | Fn+H or Fn+F11 |
Window tiling 8 shortcuts
| Action | Mac |
|---|---|
| Fill the screen with the window. Tiling shortcuts need macOS Sequoia 15 or later. | Fn+Control+F |
| Centre the window | Fn+Control+C |
| Move the window to the left half | Fn+Control+Left arrow |
| Move the window to the right half | Fn+Control+Right arrow |
| Move the window to the top half | Fn+Control+Up arrow |
| Move the window to the bottom half | Fn+Control+Down arrow |
| Return the window to its size before tiling | Fn+Control+R |
| Put this window left and the previous one right | Fn+Control+Shift+Left arrow |
Screenshots & recording 6 shortcuts
| Action | Mac |
|---|---|
| Screenshot of the whole screen | Shift+Cmd+3 |
| Screenshot of an area you drag to select | Shift+Cmd+4 |
| Screenshot of one window. Press Shift+Cmd+4, then the Space bar, then click the window. | Shift+Cmd+4 then Space |
| Open the Screenshot toolbar (capture options and screen recording) | Shift+Cmd+5 |
| Copy a screenshot of an area to the clipboard instead of saving a file | Control+Shift+Cmd+4 |
| Copy a screenshot of the whole screen to the clipboard | Control+Shift+Cmd+3 |
Finder 27 shortcuts
| Action | Mac |
|---|---|
| Preview the selected item with Quick Look | Space or Cmd+Y |
| Rename the selected item | Return |
| Duplicate the selected files | Cmd+D |
| Get Info for the selected file | Cmd+I |
| Move the selected item to the Trash | Cmd+Delete |
| Empty the Trash | Shift+Cmd+Delete |
| Empty the Trash without a confirmation dialog | Option+Shift+Cmd+Delete |
| Move files you copied to this folder. Copy the files with Cmd+C first. | Option+Cmd+V |
| New Finder window | Cmd+N |
| New folder | Shift+Cmd+N |
| Go to Folder (type a path) | Shift+Cmd+G |
| Open the enclosing folder | Cmd+Up arrow |
| Open the selected item | Cmd+Down arrow |
| Go to the previous folder | Cmd+Left bracket |
| Go to the next folder | Cmd+Right bracket |
| View as icons | Cmd+1 |
| View as a list | Cmd+2 |
| View as columns | Cmd+3 |
| View as a gallery | Cmd+4 |
| Open the Applications folder | Shift+Cmd+A |
| Open the Downloads folder | Option+Cmd+L |
| Open the Desktop folder | Shift+Cmd+D |
| Open the Documents folder | Shift+Cmd+O |
| Open your Home folder | Shift+Cmd+H |
| Open AirDrop | Shift+Cmd+R |
| Eject the selected disk | Cmd+E |
System 11 shortcuts
| Action | Mac |
|---|---|
| Lock the screen | Control+Cmd+Q |
| Log out (asks to confirm) | Shift+Cmd+Q |
| Log out straight away | Option+Shift+Cmd+Q |
| Show or hide the Dock | Option+Cmd+D or Fn+A |
| Show or hide Control Center | Fn+C |
| Show or hide Notification Center | Fn+N |
| Start or stop dictation | Fn+D |
| Create a Quick Note | Fn+Q |
| Show or hide Apps. macOS Tahoe 26 or later (Launchpad in earlier versions). | Fn+Shift+A |
| Switch to the previous input source | Control+Space |
| Switch to the next input source | Control+Option+Space |
Text editing 24 shortcuts
| Action | Mac |
|---|---|
| Bold | Cmd+B |
| Italic | Cmd+I |
| Underline | Cmd+U |
| Add a web link | Cmd+K |
| Delete the word to the left | Option+Delete |
| Forward delete (the character to the right) | Fn+Delete |
| Move to the start of the line | Cmd+Left arrow or Control+A |
| Move to the end of the line | Cmd+Right arrow or Control+E |
| Move to the previous word | Option+Left arrow |
| Move to the next word | Option+Right arrow |
| Move to the start of the document | Cmd+Up arrow |
| Move to the end of the document | Cmd+Down arrow |
| Select to the start of the line | Shift+Cmd+Left arrow |
| Select to the end of the line | Shift+Cmd+Right arrow |
| Select to the start of the previous word | Option+Shift+Left arrow |
| Select to the end of the next word | Option+Shift+Right arrow |
| Select to the start of the document | Shift+Cmd+Up arrow |
| Select to the end of the document | Shift+Cmd+Down arrow |
| Cut to the end of the paragraph (paste it back with Control+Y) | Control+K |
| Swap the characters either side of the cursor | Control+T |
| Show the definition of the selected word | Control+Cmd+D |
| Find misspelled words | Cmd+Semicolon |
| Copy style | Option+Cmd+C |
| Paste style | Option+Cmd+V |
No shortcut on this sheet matches. Try other words, or search every sheet.
Reading the Mac keys
Apple writes shortcuts with symbols: ⌘ is Command, ⌥ Option, ⌃ Control and ⇧ Shift. This sheet puts the word on each keycap and keeps Apple's order (Control, Option, Shift, Command), so Option+Shift+Cmd+V means hold all three and tap V. Newer Mac keyboards print a globe on the Fn key; the Fn shortcuts work with either.
A few shortcuts depend on your macOS version: window tiling arrived in macOS Sequoia 15, and Fn+Shift+A opens Apps from macOS Tahoe 26. Apps can claim a shortcut for themselves, and many system shortcuts can be changed or turned off under Keyboard in System Settings.
Printing and saving
Print gives you a two-column sheet without the rest of the site; pick Save as PDF in the print dialog to keep a copy. Filter first to print only what you need, or download the sheet as a Markdown table for your notes.
Sources: Apple's Mac keyboard shortcuts, Take a screenshot on Mac and Tile app windows on Mac.
Questions
How do I type a symbol like © or ™ on a Mac?
Many symbols live on the Option layer: Option+G types ©, Option+2 types ™ and Option+Shift+2 types €. The Mac Option key characters page maps the whole U.S. layout, and Control+Cmd+Space opens the Character Viewer for everything else.
What is the Mac version of Ctrl+Alt+Delete?
Option+Cmd+Esc opens the Force Quit window, where you can close an app that has stopped responding. To lock the Mac instead, press Control+Cmd+Q.
How do I show hidden files in Finder?
Press Shift+Cmd+. (period) in a Finder window or an Open dialog. Files and folders whose names start with a dot appear greyed out; press the same keys again to hide them.