Terminal keyboard shortcuts for Mac
60 shortcuts · Updated
These are the default Terminal keyboard shortcuts on macOS, curated from Apple's official Terminal User Guide. They cover the window and tab management Terminal adds on top of your shell, the readline-style keys for editing the command line, and Terminal's own marks and bookmarks system for jumping back through output.
Nothing matches - try fewer letters, or an action word like "close" or "split".
Or stop looking them up. Super Shortcuts puts the Terminal commands you actually use one hyper key away: hold it, see every command for the app you're in, release a key to run it. No memorizing - the cheat sheet is the shortcut.
Get Super ShortcutsWindows & tabs15
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Command N⌘N | New window |
| Command T⌘T | New tab |
| Command D⌘D | Split the window into two panes |
| Shift Command D⇧⌘D | Close the split pane |
| Command W⌘W | Close the tab |
| Shift Command W⇧⌘W | Close the window |
| Option Command W⌥⌘W | Close all other tabs |
| Option Shift Command W⌥⇧⌘W | Close all windows |
| Command `⌘` | Next window |
| Command ~⌘~ | Previous window |
| Control Tab⌃⇥ | Next tab |
| Control Shift Tab⌃⇧⇥ | Previous tab |
| Control Command F⌃⌘F | Enter or exit full screen |
| Command Plus⌘+ | Make the font bigger |
| Command -⌘- | Make the font smaller |
Edit the command line14
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Control A⌃A | Move the insertion point to the beginning of the line |
| Control E⌃E | Move the insertion point to the end of the line |
| Option Left Arrow⌥← | Move back one word |
| Option Right Arrow⌥→ | Move forward one word |
| Control U⌃U | Delete the whole line |
| Control K⌃K | Delete from the insertion point to the end of the line |
| Control W⌃W | Delete back to the beginning of the word |
| Option D⌥D | Delete forward to the end of the word |
| Forward Delete⌦ | Forward-delete one character |
| Control T⌃T | Transpose the two characters around the insertion point |
| Control R⌃R | Reverse-search your command history |
| Tab⇥ | Complete the directory or file name |
| Tab, then Tab⇥⇥ | List all possible directory or file name completions |
| Command .⌘. | Cancel the running command (same as Ctrl-C) |
Marks & bookmarks13
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Command U⌘U | Mark the current line |
| Shift Command U⇧⌘U | Unmark |
| Option Command U⌥⌘U | Mark as a bookmark |
| Command Return⌘↩ | Mark the line and send return |
| Shift Command Return⇧⌘↩ | Send return without marking |
| Shift Command M⇧⌘M | Insert a bookmark |
| Option Shift Command M⌥⇧⌘M | Insert a bookmark with a name |
| Command Up Arrow⌘↑ | Jump to the previous mark |
| Command Down Arrow⌘↓ | Jump to the next mark |
| Option Command Up Arrow⌥⌘↑ | Jump to the previous bookmark |
| Option Command Down Arrow⌥⌘↓ | Jump to the next bookmark |
| Command L⌘L | Clear output back to the previous mark |
| Command K⌘K | Clear output to the start |
Scrolling6
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Command Home⌘↖ | Scroll to the top |
| Command End⌘↘ | Scroll to the bottom |
| Command Page Up⌘⇞ | Scroll up one page |
| Command Page Down⌘⇟ | Scroll down one page |
| Option Command Page Up⌥⌘⇞ | Scroll up one line |
| Option Command Page Down⌥⌘⇟ | Scroll down one line |
Select & find text8
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Command F⌘F | Find |
| Command G⌘G | Find next |
| Shift Command G⇧⌘G | Find previous |
| Command E⌘E | Find using the selected text |
| Command J⌘J | Jump to the selected text |
| Command A⌘A | Select all |
| Option Drag⌥Drag | Select a rectangular block of text |
| Shift Command V⇧⌘V | Paste the current selection |
Other4
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Command ,⌘, | Open Terminal settings |
| Option Command R⌥⌘R | Soft-reset the terminal emulator state |
| Control Option Command R⌃⌥⌘R | Hard-reset the terminal emulator state |
| Control Shift Command ?⌃⇧⌘? | Open the man page for the selected text |
Curated from the official Apple Terminal User Guide - keyboard shortcuts. Defaults only - shortcuts you've remapped will differ.
Frequently asked questions
Can you customize keyboard shortcuts in Terminal on Mac?
Terminal has no shortcuts editor of its own, but any menu-item shortcut can be remapped system-wide in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → App Shortcuts. The command-line editing keys (⌃A, ⌃E, ⌃R and friends) come from your shell, so they are configured there - for example in your zsh or bash config.
Which Terminal shortcuts should I learn first?
Start with the command-line editing trio: ⌃A (start of line), ⌃E (end of line), and ⌃U (delete the line), plus ⌃R to search your command history. Add ⌘K to clear the screen and ⌘T for a new tab and you cover most daily use.
What are marks in Terminal?
Terminal automatically marks each prompt line, so ⌘↑ and ⌘↓ jump between previous commands in the scrollback instead of scrolling line by line. Bookmarks (⌥⌘U) are named marks you set deliberately, and ⌘L clears output back to the last mark.