macOS Keyboard Shortcuts Cheatsheet - Finder & System

The real barrier to macOS shortcuts is not the number of combinations but the handful of places where the defaults contradict Windows and Linux muscle memory: Cmd and Ctrl swap primary roles, Cmd+W closes a window without quitting the app, and pressing Q after Cmd+Tab quits whichever app just came forward. This sheet is laid out in six groups - general, Finder, screenshots, window management, system and text editing - and every entry states what the combination does in context rather than only listing keys. Reach for it when you have just switched machines and want the three highest-frequency groups (screenshots, windows, text navigation) solid before adding the rest, or when a key appears dead and you need to check whether an application has claimed that combination. The test for what to memorise is simple: anything that generalises across Finder and native apps is worth keeping, while application-specific semantics matter more as usage than as keystrokes. For dead keys, the Keyboard Shortcuts pane is where to look, because conflicting bindings are hidden there rather than shown disabled.

Shortcuts·54 commands·Last updated 2026-07-31

Typical Use Case

For people new to macOS, or trying to reduce mouse use gradually. Learn these four first — Cmd+Tab to switch apps, Cmd+Space for Spotlight, Cmd+Shift+4 to screenshot, and Cmd+M/H to manage windows — and they cover most of a normal day. System differences are the biggest trap: macOS has no Alt+Tab, and Ctrl+C is not copy; Command plays that role. Organised in six groups: general, Finder, screenshots, window management, system and text editing.

General 9

Cmd+Space

Open Spotlight search

Cmd+Tab

Switch to next most recently used app

Cmd+Shift+Tab

Cycle apps in reverse order

Cmd+Q

Quit current app

Cmd+W

Close current window or tab

Cmd+N

New window in current app

Cmd+O

Open file

Cmd+S

Save

Cmd+P

Finder 10

Cmd+N

New Finder window

Cmd+Shift+N

New folder

Cmd+Shift+D

Go to Desktop

Cmd+Shift+O

Go to Documents folder

Cmd+Shift+A

Go to Applications folder

Cmd+Shift+G

Go to folder by path

Cmd+Delete

Move to Trash

Cmd+Shift+Delete

Empty Trash

Space

Quick Look selected file

Cmd+I

Get file info

Screenshots 7

Cmd+Shift+3

Screenshot full screen, save to Desktop

Cmd+Shift+4

Screenshot selection, drag to choose area

Cmd+Shift+4+Space

Screenshot specific window (press Space after)

Cmd+Shift+5

Open screenshot toolbar (screenshot + recording)

Cmd+Shift+6

Screenshot Touch Bar (Touch Bar models)

Ctrl+Cmd+Shift+3

Full screen to clipboard (no file)

Ctrl+Cmd+Shift+4

Selection to clipboard (no file)

Window Management 9

Cmd+M

Minimize current window

Cmd+Option+M

Minimize all windows of current app

Cmd+H

Hide current app

Cmd+Option+H

Hide all other apps

Cmd+W

Close current window

Cmd+Option+W

Close all windows of current app

F11

Show Desktop

Mission Control (F3)

Open Mission Control, view all windows

Cmd+F3

Show Desktop (alternative to F11)

System 7

Cmd+Option+Esc

Force Quit Apps dialog

Ctrl+Cmd+Q

Lock screen immediately

Cmd+Shift+Q

Log out current user

Ctrl+Cmd+Power

Force restart (use with caution, may lose unsaved data)

Cmd+Option+Power

Sleep

Cmd+Control+Space

Open Emoji & Symbols viewer

Cmd+Comma(,)

Open current app preferences

Text Editing 12

Cmd+C

Copy

Cmd+X

Cut

Cmd+V

Paste

Cmd+Option+Shift+V

Paste and match style

Cmd+Z

Undo

Cmd+Shift+Z

Redo

Cmd+A

Select all

Cmd+F

Find

Cmd+Left Arrow

Go to beginning of line

Cmd+Right Arrow

Go to end of line

Option+Left Arrow

Go to previous word

Option+Right Arrow

Go to next word

Parameter matrix

Parameter	Effect	Example
`Cmd+Space`	Spotlight global search	`Cmd+Space`
`Cmd+Tab`	Switch to the previous app (hold and keep pressing to go in reverse)	`Cmd+Shift+Tab`
`Cmd+Shift+3 / 4`	Capture the full screen / drag-select a region	`Cmd+Shift+4`
`Cmd+Shift+4 then Space`	Capture a specific window	`Press Cmd+Shift+4, then Space`
`Cmd+Shift+5`	Open the screenshot toolbar (including screen recording)	`Cmd+Shift+5`
`Cmd+M / Cmd+H`	Minimize the window / hide the app	`Cmd+Option+H hides all other apps`
`Cmd+W / Cmd+Q`	Close a window / quit the app	`Cmd+W`
`Cmd+Option+Esc`	Force Quit Apps dialog	`Use when an app is unresponsive`
`Ctrl+Cmd+Q`	Lock the screen immediately	`Ctrl+Cmd+Q`
`Cmd+Option+V`	Paste and match style (plain-text content)	`Cmd+Option+Shift+V pastes as plain text`
`Cmd+Shift+.`	Show/hide hidden files	`Cmd+Shift+.`
`Cmd+Ctrl+Space`	Switch input source	`Cmd+Ctrl+Space`

Common pitfalls

SymptomYou habitually press Alt+Tab but nothing happens.

CausemacOS has no Alt+Tab; switch apps with Cmd+Tab.

FixUse Cmd+Tab; Windows users need to deliberately retrain the muscle memory for a while.

SymptomCopy and paste do not work in the terminal.

CauseCmd+C/Cmd+V are interrupt signals in the terminal and do not do copy-paste.

FixIn the terminal, use Cmd+Shift+C / Cmd+Shift+V to copy and paste.

SymptomYou cannot find the file after taking a screenshot.

CauseCmd+Shift+4 saves the screenshot to the clipboard rather than straight to disk.

FixCopy to the clipboard then press Cmd+V to paste and save; or press Cmd+Shift+3 to save directly to the Desktop.

SymptomThe app is unresponsive and Cmd+Q does nothing.

CauseThe process has hung and cannot respond to the quit event.

FixPress Cmd+Option+Esc to open the Force Quit dialog, select the app, and force quit it.

SymptomYou accidentally pressed Cmd+Option+Esc and picked the wrong app, losing all the content you were editing.

CauseForce Quit does not save unsaved data.

FixPress Cmd+S to save important documents first; build the habit of saving before you leave.

SymptomYou accidentally pressed Cmd+Q and quit the app, losing the window layout and all unsaved tabs.

CauseCmd+Q quits the whole app (not just one window), unlike Cmd+W.

FixUse Cmd+W to close a window and Cmd+M to minimize; when you reopen the app, the system usually restores the previous window layout.

Troubleshooting

1Use Spotlight instead of hunting manually
Cmd+Space
Type a filename, app name, or a calculation and it hits directly.
2Capture a specific window instead of a region
Cmd+Shift+4 then Space
After the combo, press Space to enter window-selection mode, then click the target window to capture it.
3Clear all other windows
Cmd+Option+H
Hides only other apps while keeping the current one visible; Cmd+M minimizes the current window.
4Force quit when an app is frozen
Cmd+Option+Esc
Select the app in the dialog and force quit it; make sure you have saved beforehand.
5View hidden files
Cmd+Shift+.
Toggles hidden-file visibility in Finder.

Command Examples

Preview a batch of files without opening or editing them

Select multiple files → Space (Quick Look)
Press Space or Esc again to exit the preview

When you need to check dozens of screenshots or config files, Space previews them an order of magnitude faster than opening them one by one — and avoids the open-on-double-click side effects. Arrow keys page through the preview.

Screenshot straight to the clipboard, skipping "save to Desktop"

Ctrl+Cmd+Shift+3 (capture full screen to clipboard)
Ctrl+Cmd+Shift+4 (capture selection to clipboard)
Paste into the target app

Regular screenshots litter the Desktop with PNGs you must clean up and that carry privacy risk. The Ctrl variants go straight to the clipboard, so the image lands in the chat or document and never accumulates on disk.

Jump straight to a deep folder by path

Cmd+Shift+G
Type ~/work/projects/api/src
Enter

Finder and the shell share the same path syntax, so Cmd+Shift+G accepts the path verbatim. It collapses "click through eight levels" into one input, which adds up daily in deep directory trees.

Hide just the current app and clear the rest of the screen

Cmd+H (hide the current app)
Cmd+Option+H (hide all other apps)
F11 (show the desktop)

Cmd+H hides rather than closes: the process keeps running and every window is preserved, so Cmd+Tab brings it all back. That is the right way to clear the screen for a demo without discarding work state.

Common Pitfalls

Cmd+Shift+Delete empties the Trash irrecoverably, and the confirmation dialog only lingers a few seconds. If unsure, do not press it — on synced drives the deletion propagates to every device.
Ctrl+Cmd+power is a forced restart: unsaved documents are lost with no prompt. Reserve it for applications that are truly unresponsive.
Cmd+Q quits without saving — unsubmitted web forms and unsaved editor content vanish. Save with Cmd+S before quitting.
Cmd+W closes a window, not a tab. Repeated presses in Safari or Chrome can take out several windows at once, so check which window you are keeping before you quit.
Cmd+Option+W closes every window of the current app, discarding any unsaved content in them with no way back.
A hidden app keeps running and keeps consuming CPU and network. When a machine stays hot after the lid is shut, an app you hid hours ago is often the cause.

Tips

Hold Ctrl while taking a screenshot to copy to clipboard instead of saving to Desktop, then paste with Cmd+V.
During Cmd+Shift+4 selection, hold Space to move the selection, hold Shift to lock horizontal or vertical.
After Cmd+Tab, keep holding Cmd and press Q to quit the app or H to hide it.
Holding Option in Finder changes some menu items (e.g. "Open" becomes "Always Open With").

FAQ

macOS has no Alt+Tab — how do I switch apps quickly?

Use Cmd+Tab to move to the previous app, holding the combination and tapping again to go backward (Cmd+Shift+Tab). When choosing among several apps, press Cmd+Tab once and keep holding — macOS shows a list of candidates, move the selection and release. That is more controllable than rapid repeated presses.

How do I capture a single window rather than an area?

Press Cmd+Shift+4 and then tap Space — the cursor turns into a camera icon and clicking any window captures just that window. Cmd+Shift+3 alone captures the whole screen. For the crop-after-the-fact workflow, drag a selection with Cmd+Shift+4; the shot stays on the clipboard instead of being written straight to disk.

Can I swap Cmd and Ctrl?

System Settings → Keyboard → Modifier Keys lets you map Ctrl to Command and vice versa, which helps people carrying Windows muscle memory. Be aware some apps rely on native Ctrl+letter shortcuts — Ctrl+C in the terminal, vim bindings in editors — and a blanket swap breaks those. Swap only the modifier you actually miss rather than all of them.

What is the difference between Cmd+H and Cmd+Option+H?

Cmd+H hides only the application you are currently using, while Cmd+Option+H hides all the others and leaves just that app on screen. The Option variant is the fastest way to clear a cluttered desktop in one action. To pull everything back, press F11 or push the cursor into a screen corner to trigger Mission Control.

How do I paste as plain text without formatting?

Use Cmd+Option+Shift+V, which pastes as plain text and drops the source formatting, fonts and colors. It is especially useful when copying tables or styled text from a web page into an editor — a plain Cmd+V drags along HTML styling that is tedious to clean up.

Official References

Each command links to its official documentation below, so you can verify the latest usage and read deeper.

macOS User Guide

Maintained by LaoHand

Publicly updated on Jul 31, 2026, continuously proofread against official docs.

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