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Windows and macOS Keyboard Shortcuts

Compare essential Windows and macOS shortcuts for editing, system navigation, screenshots, browsers, VS Code, and terminal work.

48 matching shortcuts

Common editing

Copy

Where it worksMost apps

Windows

Ctrl + C

macOS

Command + C

What it does

Copies the selected text, file, or item to the clipboard.

Common editing

Paste

Where it worksMost apps

Windows

Ctrl + V

macOS

Command + V

What it does

Pastes the current clipboard contents at the cursor or selection.

Common editing

Cut

Where it worksMost apps

Windows

Ctrl + X

macOS

Command + X

What it does

Removes the selection and places it on the clipboard when the app supports cutting.

Common editing

Undo

Where it worksMost apps

Windows

Ctrl + Z

macOS

Command + Z

What it does

Reverses the most recent supported action.

Common editing

Redo

Where it worksMost editing apps

Windows

Ctrl + YCtrl + Shift + Z

macOS

Shift + Command + Z

What it does

Restores an action that was undone.

Caution

Applications can override or customize this shortcut. Check the app menu when it behaves differently.

Common editing

Select all

Where it worksMost apps

Windows

Ctrl + A

macOS

Command + A

What it does

Selects all relevant content in the current view or field.

Common editing

Find

Where it worksDocuments, editors, and browsers

Windows

Ctrl + F

macOS

Command + F

What it does

Opens the current app's search field for text or items.

Common editing

Save

Where it worksDocument and editing apps

Windows

Ctrl + S

macOS

Command + S

What it does

Saves changes to the active file or document.

Text and code navigation

Move by one word

Where it worksText fields and code editors

Windows

Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow

macOS

Option + Left/Right Arrow

What it does

Moves the cursor one word at a time instead of one character.

Text and code navigation

Move to line start or end

Where it worksText fields and code editors

Windows

HomeEnd

macOS

Command + Left ArrowCommand + Right Arrow

What it does

Moves the cursor directly to the beginning or end of the current line.

Text and code navigation

Move to document start or end

Where it worksDocuments and code editors

Windows

Ctrl + HomeCtrl + End

macOS

Command + Up ArrowCommand + Down Arrow

What it does

Moves directly to the beginning or end of a document.

Text and code navigation

Extend selection by word

Where it worksText fields and code editors

Windows

Ctrl + Shift + Left/Right Arrow

macOS

Option + Shift + Left/Right Arrow

What it does

Expands or shrinks the selection one word at a time.

Text and code navigation

Delete previous word

Where it worksText fields and code editors

Windows

Ctrl + Backspace

macOS

Option + Delete

What it does

Deletes the word immediately before the cursor.

Apps and system

Switch apps

Where it worksOperating system

Windows

Alt + Tab

macOS

Command + Tab

What it does

Shows running apps or windows and moves focus to another one.

Apps and system

Open system search

Where it worksWindows Search or Spotlight

Windows

Windows + S

macOS

Command + Space

What it does

Opens the system search interface for apps, files, settings, and other results.

Apps and system

Lock the screen

Where it worksOperating system

Windows

Windows + L

macOS

Control + Command + Q

What it does

Locks the current session without closing open work.

Apps and system

Show the desktop

Where it worksOperating system

Windows

Windows + D

macOS

Fn + F11

What it does

Temporarily moves or hides windows so the desktop is visible.

Caution

On Mac, function-key settings can require Fn or Globe, and the shortcut can be customized.

Apps and system

Open task or window overview

Where it worksTask View or Mission Control

Windows

Windows + Tab

macOS

Control + Up Arrow

What it does

Displays open windows and desktop workspaces for visual navigation.

Apps and system

Switch virtual desktops

Where it worksVirtual desktops or Spaces

Windows

Windows + Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow

macOS

Control + Left/Right Arrow

What it does

Moves to the workspace immediately to the left or right.

Apps and system

Switch input language

Where it worksOperating system input sources

Windows

Windows + Space

macOS

Control + Space

What it does

Cycles through installed keyboard languages or input sources.

Caution

Keyboard layout, input-source settings, and custom shortcuts can change this key combination.

Screen capture

Capture the full screen

Where it worksOperating system

Windows

Windows + PrtScn

macOS

Shift + Command + 3

What it does

Captures the full screen and saves the image using the system screenshot workflow.

Screen capture

Capture a selected area

Where it worksSnipping Tool or macOS screenshot

Windows

Windows + Shift + S

macOS

Shift + Command + 4

What it does

Lets you drag over a specific portion of the screen to capture it.

Screen capture

Open or start screen recording

Where it worksGame Bar or macOS Screenshot toolbar

Windows

Windows + Alt + R

macOS

Shift + Command + 5

What it does

Starts a supported Windows app recording or opens the macOS capture and recording controls.

Caution

Windows Game Bar recording availability and capture scope depend on the active app and system settings.

Browser

Open a new tab

Where it worksChrome and most browsers

Windows

Ctrl + T

macOS

Command + T

What it does

Opens a new browser tab and moves focus to it.

Browser

Close the current tab

Where it worksChrome and most browsers

Windows

Ctrl + W

macOS

Command + W

What it does

Closes the active browser tab.

Browser

Reopen a closed tab

Where it worksChrome and most browsers

Windows

Ctrl + Shift + T

macOS

Command + Shift + T

What it does

Restores recently closed tabs in reverse closing order.

Browser

Focus the address bar

Where it worksChrome and most browsers

Windows

Ctrl + L

macOS

Command + L

What it does

Selects the current address so you can enter a URL or search immediately.

Browser

Reload the page

Where it worksChrome and most browsers

Windows

Ctrl + R

macOS

Command + R

What it does

Reloads the current page using the browser's normal cache behavior.

Browser

Reload without normal cache

Where it worksChrome

Windows

Ctrl + Shift + R

macOS

Command + Shift + R

What it does

Requests a fresh page load while bypassing the normal cached copy.

Caution

Applications can override or customize this shortcut. Check the app menu when it behaves differently.

Browser

Open Developer Tools

Where it worksChrome and Chromium-based browsers

Windows

Ctrl + Shift + IF12

macOS

Command + Option + I

What it does

Opens the browser tools used to inspect HTML, CSS, console output, network requests, and storage.

Browser

Move between tabs

Where it worksChrome

Windows

Ctrl + TabCtrl + Shift + Tab

macOS

Command + Option + Right ArrowCommand + Option + Left Arrow

What it does

Moves to the next or previous open browser tab.

Caution

Applications can override or customize this shortcut. Check the app menu when it behaves differently.

VS Code

Quick Open

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

Ctrl + P

macOS

Command + P

What it does

Searches workspace files by name and opens the selected file.

VS Code

Open Command Palette

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

Ctrl + Shift + PF1

macOS

Command + Shift + PF1

What it does

Searches and runs VS Code commands without navigating menus.

VS Code

Search across files

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

Ctrl + Shift + F

macOS

Command + Shift + F

What it does

Searches text across files in the current workspace.

VS Code

Toggle integrated terminal

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

Ctrl + `

macOS

Control + `

What it does

Shows or hides the integrated terminal panel.

Caution

Keyboard layout, input-source settings, and custom shortcuts can change this key combination.

VS Code

Toggle line comment

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

Ctrl + /

macOS

Command + /

What it does

Adds or removes the language's line-comment marker for the current line or selection.

Caution

Keyboard layout, input-source settings, and custom shortcuts can change this key combination.

VS Code

Format document

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

Shift + Alt + F

macOS

Shift + Option + F

What it does

Runs the configured formatter for the active document.

Caution

A formatter must be available and selected for the current language.

VS Code

Go to definition

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

F12

macOS

F12Fn + F12

What it does

Moves from a symbol reference to its detected definition.

Caution

On Mac keyboards, function-key settings can require Fn or Globe with F12.

VS Code

Rename symbol

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

F2

macOS

F2Fn + F2

What it does

Renames a recognized symbol across supported references.

Caution

Language support determines whether all references can be found and renamed safely.

VS Code

Split editor

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

Ctrl + \

macOS

Command + \

What it does

Opens another editor group so files can be viewed side by side.

Caution

Keyboard layout, input-source settings, and custom shortcuts can change this key combination.

VS Code

Open Keyboard Shortcuts

Where it worksVisual Studio Code

Windows

Ctrl + K, Ctrl + S

macOS

Command + K, Command + S

What it does

Opens the searchable editor for viewing, changing, and troubleshooting keybindings.

Terminal and shell

Interrupt the running command

Where it worksPowerShell, Bash, zsh, and many shells

Windows

Ctrl + C

macOS

Control + C

What it does

Sends an interrupt signal or cancellation request to the active terminal process.

Caution

Terminal shortcuts depend on the shell, line editor, terminal app, and keymap configuration.

Terminal and shell

Clear the terminal screen

Where it worksPowerShell, Bash, zsh, and many shells

Windows

Ctrl + L

macOS

Control + L

What it does

Clears the visible terminal area while usually preserving command history.

Caution

Terminal shortcuts depend on the shell, line editor, terminal app, and keymap configuration.

Terminal and shell

Complete a command or path

Where it worksPowerShell, Bash, zsh, and many shells

Windows

Tab

macOS

Tab

What it does

Completes or cycles through matching commands, paths, and arguments.

Caution

Terminal shortcuts depend on the shell, line editor, terminal app, and keymap configuration.

Terminal and shell

Browse command history

Where it worksPowerShell, Bash, zsh, and many shells

Windows

Up/Down Arrow

macOS

Up/Down Arrow

What it does

Moves backward or forward through commands entered earlier.

Caution

Terminal shortcuts depend on the shell, line editor, terminal app, and keymap configuration.

Terminal and shell

Search command history

Where it worksPSReadLine, Bash, zsh, and compatible shells

Windows

Ctrl + R

macOS

Control + R

What it does

Starts a reverse search through previously entered commands.

Caution

Terminal shortcuts depend on the shell, line editor, terminal app, and keymap configuration.

Terminal and shell

Move to command-line start

Where it worksShell line editors

Windows

HomeCtrl + A

macOS

Control + A

What it does

Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current command line.

Caution

Terminal shortcuts depend on the shell, line editor, terminal app, and keymap configuration.

Terminal and shell

Move to command-line end

Where it worksShell line editors

Windows

EndCtrl + E

macOS

Control + E

What it does

Moves the cursor to the end of the current command line.

Caution

Terminal shortcuts depend on the shell, line editor, terminal app, and keymap configuration.