If you use your Mac regularly for work or play, learning macOS keyboard shortcuts will save you time and effort. To help you discover and memorize essential Mac keyboard shortcuts, we've compiled them into a handy cheat sheet below.

We've covered key combinations for taking screenshots, using boot modes and shutdown routines, managing files in the Finder, navigating documents, and more.

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time. Download the Mac Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet.

Mac Keyboard Shortcuts

Action

Shortcut

Startup

Boot without automatic login

Left shift (Press and hold when macOS progress indicator appears)

Boot in Safe Mode (Intel)

Shift (Press and hold)

Boot in Safe Mode (Apple Silicon)

Power (Press and hold), then select a volume, then hold Shift while clicking Continue in Safe Mode

Boot in Single User Mode (Intel, unavailable in macOS Mojave and later)

Cmd + S

Boot in Verbose Mode (Intel)

Cmd + V

Boot in Target Disk Mode (Intel)

T

Boot from a NetBoot network server

N

Boot to Startup Manager (Intel)

Option

Boot to Startup Manager (Apple Silicon)

Power

Load macOS Recovery (Intel)

Cmd + R

Load macOS Recovery over the internet (Intel)

Option + Cmd + R

Load macOS Recovery (Apple Silicon)

Power, then select Options, then click Continue

Enter Apple Diagnostics (Intel)

D

Enter Apple Diagnostics (Apple Silicon)

Cmd + D

Load Apple Diagnostics over the internet

Option + D

Reset NVRAM or PRAM (Intel, unnecessary on Apple Silicon Macs)

Option + Cmd + P + R

Eject removable media

F12

Finder

Rename selected file or folder

Enter

Duplicate selected file or folder

Cmd + D

Create a new folder

Shift + Cmd + N

Create a new Smart Folder

Option + Cmd + N

Create a new folder from selected file(s)

Control + Cmd + N

Make an alias for the item

Control + Cmd + A

Move selected item(s) to the Trash

Cmd + Delete

Delete selected item(s) immediately

Option + Cmd + Delete

Empty the Trash

Cmd + Shift + Delete

Empty the Trash immediately

Option + Cmd + Shift + Delete

Preview selected file(s) with Quick Look in a window

Space

Preview selected file(s) with Quick Look in fullscreen mode

Option + Space

Start a slideshow using selected item(s)

Control + Space

Go to folder

Cmd + Shift + G

Connect to server

Cmd + K

Move up one folder

Cmd + Up arrow

Move down one folder

Cmd + Down arrow

Eject selected volume

Cmd + E

Get info

Cmd + I

Show Attributes Inspector

Option + Cmd + I

Open a new Finder window

Cmd + N

Close active Finder window

Shift + Cmd + N

Cycle through windows

Cmd + <

Open a new Finder tab

Cmd + T

Close active Finder tab

Cmd + W

Back

Cmd + [

Forward

Cmd + ]

View options

Cmd + J

Icon view

Cmd + 1

List view

Cmd + 2

Column view

Cmd + 3

Gallery view

Cmd + 4

Hide all Finder windows

Cmd + H

Hide all other windows except Finder

Option + Cmd + H

Search

Cmd + F

Open a Computer window

Cmd + Shift + C

Open the Recents folder

Cmd + Shift + F

Open the Documents folder

Cmd + Shift + O

Open the Desktop folder

Cmd + Shift + D

Open the Downloads folder

Option + Cmd + L

Open your account's home folder

Cmd + Shift + H

Open an AirDrop window

Cmd + Shift + R

Open the network browser

Cmd + Shift + K

Open your iCloud Drive

Cmd + Shift + I

Open your public shared folder

Cmd + Shift + S

Open the Applications folder

Cmd + Shift + A

Open the Utilities folder

Cmd + Shift + U

Show/hide the Finder sidebar

Cmd + Control + S

Show/hide the Path Bar

Option + Cmd + P

Show/hide the Status Bar

Option + Cmd + / (Slash)

Document

Bold text

Cmd + B

Italicize text

Cmd + I

Underline text

Cmd + U

Scroll one page up

Fn + Up arrow

Scroll one page down

Fn + Down arrow

Jump to the beginning of the document

Fn + Left arrow

Jump to the end of the document

Fn + Right arrow

General

Display the macOS screenshotting tools

Cmd + 5

Take a screenshot of the entire screen

Shift + Cmd + 3

Take a screenshot of a portion of the screen

Shift + Cmd + 4 (then hold Space to drag the selection, if needed)

Take a screenshot of a specific window or menu

Cmd + Shift + 4, then Space

Select all

Cmd + A

Select multiple non-contiguous item(s)

Cmd + Left click

Select multiple adjacent item(s)

Shift + Left click

Hide current window

Cmd + H

Hide all other windows

Option + Cmd + H

Minimize the current window

Cmd + M

Minimize all windows

Option + Cmd + M

Close current window

Cmd + W

Close all windows

Option + Cmd + W

Open

Cmd + O

Save

Cmd + S

Print

Cmd + P

Find

Cmd + F

Find and replace

Option + Cmd + F

Copy

Cmd + C

Paste

Cmd + V

Paste and delete original items

Option + Cmd + V

Paste and match style

Shift + Option + Cmd + V

Undo

Cmd + Z

Redo

Shift + Cmd + Z

Zoom in

Cmd + + (Plus)

Zoom out

Cmd + - (Minus)

Access in-app help

Cmd + ?

Open preferences for the current app

Cmd + , (Comma)

Open Spotlight search

Cmd + Space

Hide/show the Dock

Option + Cmd + D

Show the Character Viewer

Control + Cmd + Space

Show the emoji picker

Fn

Show desktop icons as stacks

Cmd + Control + 0

Switch the current app to fullscreen mode

Control + Cmd + F

Switch to the next open app

Cmd + Tab

Switch to the previous open app

Shift + Cmd + Tab

Quit the selected app in the app switcher

Cmd + Shift, then Q

Force quit apps

Option + Cmd + Esc

Switch to the next window in the current app

Cmd + ~ (Tilde)

Lock the screen

Cmd + Control + Q

Log out

Shift + Cmd + Q

Log out without confirmation

Option + Shift + Cmd + Q

Put display(s) to sleep

Shift + Control + Eject

Put your computer to sleep

Option + Cmd + Eject

Quit all apps and restart

Control + Cmd + Eject

Quit all apps and shut down

Control + Option + Cmd + Power

Choose from Sleep, Restart, and Shutdown options

Control + Eject

Customize Your macOS Keyboard Shortcuts

Over time, you'll be able to invoke the correct keyboard shortcut for the task at hand without even thinking about it. But if any of them seem cumbersome, you can customize keyboard shortcuts by going to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts.