Keyboard Shortcuts Every Mac User Should Know in 2026
The most useful Mac keyboard shortcuts organized by what you're actually doing: editing text, managing windows, navigating files, and working faster.
You don’t need to memorize 200 keyboard shortcuts. You need to know the 30 that save you the most time, organized by when you’d actually use them.
Here they are, grouped by task.
Text editing
These work in almost every Mac app.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Command + A | Select all |
| Command + C | Copy |
| Command + V | Paste |
| Command + Shift + V | Paste without formatting (most apps) |
| Command + X | Cut |
| Command + Z | Undo |
| Command + Shift + Z | Redo |
| Command + F | Find |
| Command + H | Find and replace (in text editors) |
| Option + Delete | Delete previous word |
| Command + Delete | Delete to start of line |
| Option + Left/Right Arrow | Move cursor by word |
| Command + Left/Right Arrow | Move cursor to start/end of line |
| Option + Shift + Left/Right | Select by word |
| Command + Shift + Left/Right | Select to start/end of line |
The standout here: Command+Shift+V (paste without formatting). If you paste text often, this one shortcut saves constant reformatting.
Window and app management
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Command + Tab | Switch between apps |
| Command + ` | Switch between windows of the same app |
| Command + W | Close current tab or window |
| Command + Q | Quit app completely |
| Command + M | Minimize window |
| Command + N | New window or document |
| Command + T | New tab (in browsers and Finder) |
| Control + Command + F | Toggle full screen |
| Command + , | Open current app’s preferences |
The one people miss: Command + ` (backtick). When you have multiple Finder windows or multiple document windows in the same app, this cycles between them. Faster than clicking.
Screenshots
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Command + Shift + 3 | Screenshot entire screen |
| Command + Shift + 4 | Screenshot selected area |
| Command + Shift + 4, then Space | Screenshot a specific window |
| Command + Shift + 5 | Open screenshot toolbar (more options, screen recording) |
All screenshots save to your Desktop by default. You can change the location using the Command+Shift+5 toolbar options.
Finder
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Command + Shift + G | Go to folder (type a path) |
| Command + Shift + . | Show/hide hidden files |
| Space | Quick Look (preview any file) |
| Command + I | Get Info (file details and permissions) |
| Command + Delete | Move to Trash |
| Command + Shift + Delete | Empty Trash |
Quick Look (Space) is one of the best Mac features. Select any file in Finder and press Space to preview it instantly. Works with images, PDFs, videos, text files, and more. Press Space again to dismiss.
System
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Command + Space | Open Spotlight search |
| Control + Command + Q | Lock screen |
| Command + Option + Esc | Force Quit window |
| Control + Command + Space | Emoji and symbol picker |
Special characters
Mac keyboards hide dozens of special characters behind Option-key combinations:
| Shortcut | Character |
|---|---|
| Option + Shift + Minus | Em dash |
| Option + Minus | En dash |
| Option + Shift + 8 | Degree ° |
| Option + 4 | Cents ¢ |
| Option + G | Copyright © |
| Option + R | Registered ® |
| Option + 2 | Trademark ™ |
For a full list of special characters and symbols, see our complete guide to special characters on Mac.
These shortcuts are hard to memorize because you use them infrequently. If you need special characters often, it’s faster to create your own abbreviations. macOS has a built-in text replacement feature (System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements) where you can set ;deg to expand to ° or ;em to expand to an em dash.
For more control, a text expansion app like TypeSnap lets you create shortcuts for anything: symbols, email templates, code snippets, formatted text, even images. Same idea as Apple’s text replacement, but works in every app and supports dynamic content.
How to remember new shortcuts
You won’t remember all of these from reading a list. Pick two or three that are relevant to what you do most. Use them deliberately for a week. Once they’re automatic, pick two more.
The shortcuts that stick are the ones you actually use. The ones you never use aren’t worth memorizing. Better to focus on a handful that match your daily workflow than to try to learn the whole chart.
Stop typing the same things over and over
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