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macOS Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Master macOS with keyboard shortcuts. From basic window management to power-user tricks, this comprehensive guide covers every essential shortcut for productive Mac usage.

Symbol Key Legend

⌘ Command (Cmd)
⌥ Option (Alt)
⌃ Control (Ctrl)
⇧ Shift
⇪ Caps Lock
⎋ Escape (Esc)
⏎ Return (Enter)
⌫ Delete (Backspace)
⌦ Forward Delete
↑ ↓ ← → Arrow Keys
⇥ Tab
␣ Space

🖥️ System & General

⌘ Q
Quit application
⌘ W
Close window
⌘ M
Minimize window
⌘ H
Hide application
⌘ ⌥ H
Hide all other applications
⌘ ⇥
Switch applications (hold ⌘, press ⇥)
⌘ `
Switch windows within app
⌘ ,
Open Preferences/Settings
⌃ ⌘ Q
Lock screen
⌃ ⌘ Power
Force restart (hold)
⌘ ⌥ ⎋
Force Quit Applications window
⌘ ⌃ F
Toggle full screen
⌃ ↑
Mission Control (all windows)
⌃ ↓
Application windows (current app)
⌃ ←/→
Switch between desktops/spaces

🔍 Spotlight & Search

⌘ Space
Open Spotlight search
⌘ ⌥ Space
Open Finder search window
⌘ F
Find in current application
⌘ G
Find next
⌘ ⇧ G
Find previous

📁 Finder

⌘ N
New Finder window
⌘ ⇧ N
Create new folder
⌘ ⌫
Move to Trash
⌘ ⇧ ⌫
Empty Trash
⌘ ⌥ ⇧ ⌫
Empty Trash without confirmation
⌘ ↓
Open selected item
⌘ ↑
Go to parent folder
⌘ [
Go back
⌘ ]
Go forward
⌘ D
Duplicate selected file
⌘ I
Get Info (file details)
⌘ ⌥ I
Inspector window (updates with selection)
⌘ ⇧ .
Show/hide hidden files
⌘ ⇧ D
Open Desktop folder
⌘ ⇧ H
Open Home folder
⌘ ⇧ O
Open Documents folder
⌘ ⇧ F
Open Recents
⌘ ⇧ G
Go to folder (type path)
⌘ ⇧ K
Open Network
⌘ ⇧ A
Open Applications folder
⌘ ⇧ U
Open Utilities folder
⌘ ⌥ L
Open Downloads folder
⌘ J
Show View Options
⌘ 1/2/3/4
Icon/List/Column/Gallery view
⌘ Y
Quick Look preview
⌘ ⌥ Y
Quick Look slideshow
⌘ T
New Finder tab
⌘ ⇧ T
Show/hide Finder tab bar
⌘ ⌥ T
Show/hide toolbar
⌘ ⌥ P
Show/hide path bar
⌘ ⌥ S
Show/hide sidebar
Space
Quick Look (when file selected)
⌘ Click
Open folder in new window/tab

✏️ Text Editing

Basic Editing

⌘ A
Select all
⌘ C
Copy
⌘ X
Cut
⌘ V
Paste
⌘ ⇧ V
Paste and Match Style (plain text)
⌘ ⌥ V
Move (cut & paste in Finder)
⌘ Z
Undo
⌘ ⇧ Z
Redo
⌘ B
Bold
⌘ I
Italic
⌘ U
Underline
⌘ K
Add link (in many apps)
⌘ ;
Show spelling and grammar
⌘ :
Open spelling & grammar panel

Cursor Movement

⌘ ←
Move to beginning of line
⌘ →
Move to end of line
⌘ ↑
Move to beginning of document
⌘ ↓
Move to end of document
⌥ ←
Move cursor left one word
⌥ →
Move cursor right one word
⌃ A
Move to beginning of line (Emacs)
⌃ E
Move to end of line (Emacs)
⌃ P
Move up one line (Emacs)
⌃ N
Move down one line (Emacs)
⌃ F
Move forward one character (Emacs)
⌃ B
Move backward one character (Emacs)

Text Selection

⇧ ←/→
Select one character left/right
⇧ ↑/↓
Select line up/down
⌥ ⇧ ←/→
Select one word left/right
⌘ ⇧ ←/→
Select to beginning/end of line
⌘ ⇧ ↑/↓
Select to beginning/end of document

Text Deletion

⌫
Delete character before cursor
⌦
Delete character after cursor (fn ⌫)
⌥ ⌫
Delete word before cursor
⌥ ⌦
Delete word after cursor (fn ⌥ ⌫)
⌘ ⌫
Delete from cursor to beginning of line
⌃ K
Delete from cursor to end of line (Emacs)

📸 Screenshots

⌘ ⇧ 3
Capture entire screen
⌘ ⇧ 4
Capture selected area (drag to select)
⌘ ⇧ 4, Space
Capture specific window (click window)
⌘ ⇧ 5
Screenshot/screen recording toolbar
⌘ ⇧ 6
Capture Touch Bar (if available)
⌃ + any screenshot
Copy to clipboard instead of saving file
Screenshot Tips:
  • Press ⎋ to cancel screenshot selection
  • Hold ⇧ while dragging to constrain to axis
  • Hold ⌥ while dragging to resize from center
  • Hold Space while dragging to move selection
  • Screenshots save to Desktop by default (change in ⌘⇧5 options)

🗂️ Document & File Operations

⌘ N
New document/window
⌘ O
Open file
⌘ S
Save
⌘ ⇧ S
Save As / Duplicate
⌘ P
Print
⌘ R
Reload/refresh page
⌘ ⌥ S
Save all (in some apps)

🌐 Safari & Web Browsing

⌘ T
New tab
⌘ ⇧ T
Reopen last closed tab
⌘ W
Close tab
⌘ ⇧ W
Close window
⌘ L
Focus address bar
⌘ R
Reload page
⌘ ⇧ R
Reload page (ignore cache)
⌘ [
Back
⌘ ]
Forward
⌘ D
Bookmark page
⌘ ⇧ D
Add to Reading List
⌘ ⇧ L
Show sidebar
⌘ ⇧ B
Show/hide bookmarks bar
⌘ ⌥ B
Show all bookmarks
⌘ 1-9
Jump to tab 1-9
⌃ ⇥
Next tab
⌃ ⇧ ⇥
Previous tab
⌘ ⇧ N
Private browsing window
⌘ +
Zoom in
⌘ -
Zoom out
⌘ 0
Reset zoom
⌘ ⌥ I
Show Web Inspector (Developer Tools)

💬 Mail

⌘ N
New message
⌘ ⇧ D
Send message
⌘ R
Reply
⌘ ⇧ R
Reply all
⌘ ⇧ F
Forward
⌘ ⇧ J
Mark as junk
⌘ ⇧ U
Mark as read/unread
⌘ ⌥ L
Flag message
⌘ ⇧ A
Attach file
⌘ 1/2/3
Switch between Favorites, All Inboxes, etc.

🖊️ Notes

⌘ N
New note
⌘ ⇧ L
Create checklist
⌘ ⇧ T
Create table
⌘ ⇧ H
Heading style
⌘ ⇧ B
Body style
⌘ L
Lock note
⌘ ⇧ P
Pin note

💻 Terminal

⌘ N
New window
⌘ T
New tab
⌘ K
Clear screen
⌘ ⇧ [/]
Previous/next tab
⌃ C
Cancel current command
⌃ D
Exit shell / EOF
⌃ L
Clear screen (alternative)
⌃ A
Move to beginning of line
⌃ E
Move to end of line
⌃ U
Delete to beginning of line
⌃ K
Delete to end of line
⌃ W
Delete previous word
⌃ R
Search command history
↑/↓
Navigate command history
⇥
Auto-complete
⌘ +/-
Increase/decrease font size
⌘ Double-click
Open file/URL at cursor

♿ Accessibility

⌘ ⌥ F5
Open Accessibility Options
⌘ ⌥ 8
Toggle Zoom
⌘ ⌥ +/-
Zoom in/out (when Zoom enabled)
⌘ ⌥ ⌃ 8
Invert colors
⌃ ⌥ ⌘ ,
Decrease contrast
⌃ ⌥ ⌘ .
Increase contrast
⌘ F5
Start/stop VoiceOver
⌃ ⌥
VoiceOver modifier keys (when VO enabled)

🔋 Power & Display

⌃ ⇧ Power
Put displays to sleep
⌃ ⌘ Power
Force restart (hold)
⌃ ⌥ ⌘ Power
Shut down (hold to force)
⌃ ⌘ Q
Lock screen
⌘ ⌥ Power
Put Mac to sleep
⇧ ⌃ Power
Put display to sleep
F1 / F2
Decrease/increase brightness
F10 / F11 / F12
Mute / Volume down / Volume up
Note: On newer MacBooks without physical function keys, use the Touch Bar or press fn to access function key behaviors. Some models use 🌐 (Globe/fn) key combinations instead.

🎨 Emoji & Special Characters

⌃ ⌘ Space
Show Emoji & Symbols picker
⌥ + character
Insert special character (e.g., ⌥ + 2 = ™)
⌥ ⇧ + character
Insert alternate special character
Common special characters:
  • ⌥ 2 = ™ (trademark)
  • ⌥ R = ® (registered)
  • ⌥ G = © (copyright)
  • ⌥ 0 = ° (degree)
  • ⌥ - = – (en dash)
  • ⌥ ⇧ - = — (em dash)
  • ⌥ 8 = • (bullet)
  • ⌥ [ = " (opening quote)
  • ⌥ ⇧ [ = " (closing quote)
  • ⌥ ] = ' (opening single quote)
  • ⌥ ⇧ ] = ' (closing single quote)

📋 Advanced Tips & Tricks

1. Hold ⌥ for Hidden Options

Hold ⌥ while clicking menu items to reveal additional options. Examples:

  • Wi-Fi menu → Shows detailed network info
  • Volume/Brightness → Shows full sliders
  • Window minimize button → Minimize all windows
  • Finder File menu → "Copy as Pathname" instead of "Copy"

2. Three-Finger Drag (Enable in Settings)

Go to System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control → Trackpad Options and enable "Dragging" with "Three-finger drag". This lets you move windows without holding the trackpad button.

3. Quick Look Shortcuts

When in Quick Look (Space on selected file):

  • Arrow keys → Navigate between files
  • ⌘ ↑ → Open file in default app
  • Index sheet view → Select multiple files, press Space

4. Spotlight Calculator & Conversions

Type directly in Spotlight (⌘ Space):

  • Math: 234 * 56
  • Conversions: 100 USD to EUR, 5 miles to km
  • Dictionary: Type a word for definition

5. Text Expansion

Create text shortcuts in System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements. For example: omw → "On my way!"

6. Hot Corners

Set actions for screen corners in System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Hot Corners. Quick access to screensaver, Mission Control, etc.

7. Notification Center Quick Access

Click the date/time in menu bar or two-finger swipe left from right edge of trackpad to open Notification Center and widgets.

8. Hidden Dock Tricks

  • ⌘ ⌥ + click Dock app → Show in Finder
  • ⌥ + click Dock divider → Toggle Dock hiding
  • Drag file to Dock app → Open with that app
  • Drag folder to Dock (right side) → Quick access stack

9. Shake to Minimize

Click and "shake" a window (move rapidly side-to-side) to minimize all other windows. Shake again to bring them back.

10. Native Screen Recording

Use ⌘ ⇧ 5 to access screen recording controls. Record entire screen, selected area, or specific window. Includes options for microphone audio and click visualization.

🚀 Power User Workflows

Clipboard History (Third-Party)

macOS doesn't have native clipboard history. Consider apps like:

  • Maccy (free, open-source)
  • Paste (paid, feature-rich)
  • CopyClip 2 (free)

Window Management (Third-Party)

Native Split View is limited. For tiling window management:

  • Rectangle (free, open-source) — keyboard-based tiling
  • Magnet (paid) — snap windows to screen edges
  • BetterSnapTool (paid) — advanced snapping & resizing

Keyboard Maestro / Alfred Workflows

Automate complex tasks with custom shortcuts:

  • Launch apps by typing abbreviations
  • Text expansion with variables
  • Chained actions (open apps, resize windows, load files)
  • Clipboard history with search

Customize Your Shortcuts

Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts to customize or create your own shortcuts for menu commands in any app.

🧠 Practice Challenges

Challenge 1: No-Mouse Navigation

Try completing a full workflow without touching the trackpad:

  1. Launch Safari (⌘ Space → type "Safari" → ⏎)
  2. Open a new tab (⌘ T)
  3. Search for something (⌘ L → type → ⏎)
  4. Switch tabs (⌃ ⇥)
  5. Close Safari (⌘ Q)

Challenge 2: Master Finder Navigation

Navigate to a deeply nested folder using only keyboard:

  1. Open Finder (⌘ ⌥ Space)
  2. Go to Home (⌘ ⇧ H)
  3. Navigate down with arrow keys and ⌘ ↓ to open folders
  4. Go back with ⌘ ↑
  5. Jump directly to a path with ⌘ ⇧ G

Challenge 3: Speed Screenshot Workflow

Capture screenshots in different ways as fast as you can:

  1. Full screen → saved to Desktop
  2. Selected area → copied to clipboard
  3. Specific window → saved to Downloads folder (use ⌘ ⇧ 5 options)

Challenge 4: Text Editing Mastery

Open Notes and practice cursor movement without arrow keys:

  • Jump words with ⌥ ←/→
  • Jump to line ends with ⌘ ←/→
  • Select entire lines with ⌘ ⇧ ←/→
  • Delete words with ⌥ ⌫
  • Delete to line start with ⌘ ⌫

📚 Further Resources

  • Apple's Official Shortcuts: support.apple.com/en-us/HT201236
  • macOS User Guide: Press ⌘ ⇧ ? in any app → "macOS Help"
  • App-Specific Shortcuts: Press ⌘ / or check the Help menu
  • Customize Shortcuts: System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts
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