Reference
Mac keyboard shortcuts: the complete reference
Every essential macOS keyboard shortcut, grouped so you can scan it: system basics, window management, text editing, screenshots, Finder, and browser tabs. It ends with the Hyper Key layer — the conflict-free shortcut layer at the heart of the Automacy setup.
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Essential system shortcuts
The shortcuts you use hundreds of times a day, in every app.
| Action | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open Spotlight (or Raycast) | Cmd + Space | Automacy replaces Spotlight with Raycast on the same key |
| Switch between apps | Cmd + Tab | Hold Cmd, tap Tab to cycle; add Shift to go backwards |
| Quit the current app | Cmd + Q | Fully quits, unlike closing the window |
| Close window or tab | Cmd + W | Add Option to close all windows of the app |
| Open app settings | Cmd + , | Works in almost every macOS app |
| Copy / Cut / Paste | Cmd + C / X / V | Add Shift + Option to paste without formatting in many apps |
| Undo / Redo | Cmd + Z / Shift + Cmd + Z | |
| Save | Cmd + S | |
| Cmd + P | Also the route to “Save as PDF” | |
| Hide current app | Cmd + H | Add Option to hide every other app instead |
| Minimize window | Cmd + M | Sends the window to the Dock |
| Force quit dialog | Option + Cmd + Esc | For unresponsive apps |
| Lock screen | Ctrl + Cmd + Q | |
| New window / tab | Cmd + N / Cmd + T |
Window management
macOS ships Mission Control and Spaces shortcuts by default; the Automacy setup adds Raycast window snapping on the Hyper Key so a window is always one keystroke from where you want it.
| Action | Shortcut | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mission Control (all windows) | Ctrl + ↑ | macOS |
| App windows (App Exposé) | Ctrl + ↓ | macOS |
| Previous / next desktop | Ctrl + ← / Ctrl + → | macOS |
| Jump to Desktop 1 / 2 | Ctrl + 1 / Ctrl + 2 | macOS |
| Show Desktop | F11 | macOS |
| Enter full screen | Ctrl + Cmd + F | macOS |
| Cycle windows of the current app | Cmd + ` | macOS |
| Snap window to left half | Hyper + ← | Automacy (Raycast) |
| Snap window to right half | Hyper + → | Automacy (Raycast) |
| Hide all apps | Cmd + ↑ | Automacy (Raycast) |
| Unhide all apps | Cmd + ↓ | Automacy (Raycast) |
Automacy also pairs snapping with window focus indicators (JankyBorders), so the active window is always obvious.
Text editing & navigation
These work in nearly every text field on macOS — mail, docs, code, and browsers alike.
| Action | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Select all | Cmd + A | |
| Find / find next | Cmd + F / Cmd + G | |
| Jump word left / right | Option + ← / Option + → | Hold Shift to select as you move |
| Start / end of line | Cmd + ← / Cmd + → | Hold Shift to select to line edge |
| Start / end of document | Cmd + ↑ / Cmd + ↓ | |
| Delete previous word | Option + Delete | |
| Delete to start of line | Cmd + Delete | |
| Delete to end of line | Ctrl + K | Classic emacs-style binding, works in Cocoa text fields |
| Move to line start / end | Ctrl + A / Ctrl + E | Emacs-style alternative to Cmd + arrows |
| Bold / Italic / Underline | Cmd + B / I / U | In rich-text apps |
| Emoji & symbols picker | Fn (Globe) + E or Ctrl + Cmd + Space |
Screenshots & screen capture
Out of the box, macOS uses these:
| Action | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Capture entire screen | Shift + Cmd + 3 | Hold Ctrl as well to copy to clipboard instead of saving |
| Capture selected area | Shift + Cmd + 4 | Press Space after to capture a window |
| Screenshot & recording toolbar | Shift + Cmd + 5 | Screenshots, screen recording, timers, save location |
The Automacy setup goes further: disable the macOS defaults in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots, then rebind the same keys in a dedicated capture app (CleanShot X, Cap, or similar) so one keyboard family handles every kind of capture — including OCR and scrolling capture, which macOS can’t do natively. These are the remaps the Automacy guide ships:
| Action | Shortcut | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Capture text (OCR) | Shift + Cmd + 3 | Automacy remap |
| Capture area | Shift + Cmd + 4 | Automacy remap |
| Repeat previous area | Shift + Cmd + 1 | Automacy remap |
| Screen video recording | Shift + Cmd + 2 | Automacy remap |
| Scrolling capture | Shift + Cmd + 5 | Automacy remap |
| Self-timer (5 seconds) | Shift + Cmd + 6 | Automacy remap |
Finder & file management
| Action | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New Finder window | Cmd + N | |
| New folder | Shift + Cmd + N | |
| Open selected item | Cmd + O | Return renames instead of opening |
| Rename selected item | Return | |
| Quick Look preview | Space | Preview without opening |
| Get Info | Cmd + I | |
| Duplicate | Cmd + D | |
| Move to Trash | Cmd + Delete | |
| Empty Trash | Shift + Cmd + Delete | |
| Go to folder… | Shift + Cmd + G | Type any path directly |
| Go to Home folder | Shift + Cmd + H | |
| Show / hide hidden files | Shift + Cmd + . | |
| Icon / list / column / gallery view | Cmd + 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 | |
| Eject disk | Cmd + E |
Automacy adds instant folder access via Raycast script commands — for example Sandbox on Hyper + S, Screenshots on Hyper + Shift + S, and Downloads on Hyper + D. See Folder Shortcuts in the guide.
Browser & tabs
These work in Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and most Chromium browsers.
| Action | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New tab | Cmd + T | |
| Close tab | Cmd + W | |
| Reopen last closed tab | Shift + Cmd + T | |
| Focus the address bar | Cmd + L | |
| Next / previous tab | Ctrl + Tab / Ctrl + Shift + Tab | |
| Jump to tab 1–8 | Cmd + 1 … Cmd + 8 | Cmd + 9 jumps to the last tab |
| Reload page | Cmd + R | Shift + Cmd + R for a hard reload in Chrome |
| New private / incognito window | Shift + Cmd + N | Chrome; Safari also uses Shift + Cmd + N |
| Bookmark page | Cmd + D | |
| Zoom in / out / reset | Cmd + + / − / 0 |
On top of these, Automacy binds Raycast’s Chrome extensions: Hyper + B searches active tabs, Shift + Hyper + B searches everything including history, and Hyper + P switches Chrome profiles. Setup steps are in the Web Browsing section of the guide.
Hyper Key shortcuts
This is the Automacy layer: Caps Lock becomes the Hyper Key, and every daily destination gets a single, conflict-free keystroke. The full setup takes a few minutes with Raycast.
| Action | Shortcut | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Hyper + E | Applications | |
| Apple Messages | Hyper + G | Applications |
| Password manager | Hyper + / | Applications |
| ChatGPT | Hyper + A | Applications |
| Claude | Shift + Hyper + A | Applications |
| Finder | Hyper + F | Applications |
| Cheat Sheet Builder | Hyper + C | Applications |
| Music | Hyper + M | Applications |
| Microsoft Word | Hyper + Shift + W | Office |
| Microsoft Excel | Hyper + Shift + E | Office |
| Positron (RStudio) | Hyper + Shift + R | Office |
| Primary terminal | Hyper + Return | System |
| Activity Monitor | Hyper + T | System |
| lazydocker (OrbStack) | Hyper + L | System |
| Open btop process monitor | Hyper + B | System |
| Snap window left / right | Hyper + ← / Hyper + → | Windows |
| Toggle Do Not Disturb | Hyper + , | Toggles |
| Toggle caffeinate (keep Mac awake) | Hyper + I | Toggles |
| Sandbox folder | Hyper + S | Folders |
| Screenshots folder | Hyper + Shift + S | Folders |
| Downloads folder | Hyper + D | Folders |
| Dropbox folder | Hyper + Shift + D | Folders |
Go further: the Hyper Key
The Hyper Key is Caps Lock remapped to Shift + Control + Option + Command — four modifiers at once, a combination nothing on macOS uses by default. That gives you a clean, empty layer for your own shortcuts: one key plus one letter for any app, folder, or action, with zero conflicts and nothing new to memorise beyond the letter itself.
The Automacy guide walks through the whole setup — Raycast install, the Caps Lock remap, window snapping, screen capture, dictation, and focus borders — in fifteen short sections. Start with Configure Launch Hotkey, then set up your first Automacy shortcut.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print these shortcuts?
The fastest way is the free Mac shortcuts cheat sheet page: open the Cheat Sheet Builder, keep or edit the default shortcut set, then print the generated page with Cmd + P and choose "Save as PDF" for a printable one-page reference. No signup, nothing to install.
What is the Hyper Key?
The Hyper Key is Caps Lock remapped to act as Shift + Control + Option + Command pressed together. Because almost no macOS shortcut uses all four modifiers at once, it gives you an entire conflict-free layer of custom shortcuts. Automacy sets it up with Raycast: enable Hyper Key in Raycast's advanced settings and map it to Caps Lock, without including Shift.
Can I customise Mac keyboard shortcuts?
Yes. macOS lets you change many system shortcuts in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts, and add per-app menu shortcuts under App Shortcuts. For app launching and window snapping, the Automacy setup uses Raycast hotkeys on the Hyper Key layer, so your custom shortcuts never collide with system defaults.
Where's the PDF?
Build it yourself in under a minute: the Cheat Sheet Builder generates a clean, print-ready page from your actual shortcuts, which you can save as a PDF with Cmd + P. The cheat sheet page shows an example of the output.
Make it yours
A reference is most useful when it matches your machine. The free Cheat Sheet Builder starts from the Automacy defaults above and lets you edit, add, and reorder sections, then print the result or save it as a PDF. Or start with the example cheat sheet to see what you get.
Open the Cheat Sheet Builder →
Want the full keyboard-first setup these shortcuts come from? Read the Automacy guide.