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Blender Keyboard Shortcuts (4.x) — Complete Cheat Sheet
Blender keyboard shortcuts for 3D viewport, object mode, edit mode, rendering, and animation. Navigate and model faster in Blender 4.
48 shortcuts across 4 categories · Windows · macOS · Linux
Blender's keyboard-centric design means shortcuts are not an add-on — they are the primary way to interact with the software. From Tab to toggle Edit Mode to G, R, S for grab, rotate, and scale transformations, Blender users need to internalize these shortcuts to work productively in 3D.
3D Viewport Navigation
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit View | Middle Mouse | Click and drag with the middle mouse button to orbit |
| Pan View | Shift + Middle Mouse | Shift + middle mouse drag to pan the viewport |
| Zoom View | Scroll | Scroll the mouse wheel to zoom in and out |
| Front View | Numpad 1 | Switch to front orthographic view |
| Side View (Right) | Numpad 3 | Switch to right-side orthographic view |
| Top View | Numpad 7 | Switch to top orthographic view |
| Camera View | Numpad 0 | Switch to the camera's perspective view |
| Toggle Ortho / Perspective | Numpad 5 | Toggle between orthographic and perspective projection |
| Frame Selected | Numpad . | Zoom and center the view on selected objects |
| Frame All | Home | Zoom to show all objects in the scene |
| Toggle Viewport Shading | Z | Open the shading pie menu (Wireframe, Solid, Material, Rendered) |
Object Mode
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Select Object | Left Click | Click to select an object |
| Select All / Deselect All | A | Toggle between selecting all and deselecting all |
| Box Select | B | Draw a box to select multiple objects |
| Circle Select | C | Paint a circle to select objects |
| Grab / Move | G | Enter grab mode to move selected objects |
| Rotate | R | Enter rotation mode for selected objects |
| Scale | S | Enter scale mode for selected objects |
| Constrain to X Axis | G + X | After G/R/S, press X to lock movement to X axis |
| Constrain to Y Axis | G + Y | After G/R/S, press Y to lock movement to Y axis |
| Constrain to Z Axis | G + Z | After G/R/S, press Z to lock movement to Z axis |
| Duplicate | Shift + D | Duplicate selected objects and immediately enter grab mode |
| Delete | X or Delete | Delete selected objects (confirms with a menu) |
| Enter Edit Mode | Tab | Toggle between Object Mode and Edit Mode |
| Join Objects | Ctrl + J | Join multiple selected meshes into one object |
| Apply Transforms | Ctrl + A | Open Apply menu to bake transforms into the mesh |
Edit Mode
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Vertex / Edge / Face Mode | 1 or 2 or 3 | Switch between Vertex (1), Edge (2), and Face (3) select modes |
| Extrude | E | Extrude selected vertices/edges/faces |
| Inset Faces | I | Inset selected faces inward |
| Loop Cut | Ctrl + R | Add a loop cut — scroll to add more cuts, click to confirm |
| Merge / Collapse | M | Open Merge menu to merge vertices |
| Subdivide | Right Click + Subdivide | Subdivide selected faces (right-click → Subdivide) |
| Fill Face | F | Create a face from selected edges or vertices |
| Separate | P | Separate selected geometry into a new object |
| Bevel | Ctrl + B | Bevel selected edges; scroll to increase segments |
| Knife Tool | K | Activate knife to cut new edges freehand |
General
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | Undo the last action |
| Redo | Ctrl + Shift + Z | Redo the last undone action |
| Save File | Ctrl + S | Save the current Blender file |
| Save As | Ctrl + Shift + S | Save the file with a new name or location |
| Render Image | F12 | Render the current frame to the Render Result window |
| Render Animation | Ctrl + F12 | Render the full animation to disk |
| Open Render Result | F11 | Open the last rendered image in the Image Editor |
| Search Menu | F3 | Open the search menu to find any Blender command |
| Context Menu | Right Click | Open a context-sensitive right-click menu |
| Add Object Menu | Shift + A | Open the Add menu to insert mesh, curve, light, camera, etc. |
| Properties Panel | N | Toggle the N-Panel (item, tool, view properties) in the viewport |
| Toolbar | T | Toggle the left-side toolbar in the 3D viewport |
Blender Tips & Tricks
- G, R, S + axis letter locks to that axis: After pressing G (grab), R (rotate), or S (scale), type X, Y, or Z to constrain the transformation to that world axis. Type a number to enter an exact value — e.g. G Z 2 moves the object exactly 2 units up.
- Numpad numbers set orthographic views instantly: Numpad 1 = Front, 3 = Right, 7 = Top. Add Ctrl to get the opposite view (Ctrl+1 = Back). If your keyboard has no numpad, enable Numpad Emulation in Preferences → Input.
- Shift+D duplicates and moves in one motion: Shift+D creates a copy of the selected objects and immediately puts them into Grab mode. Right-click to place them exactly on top of the original — useful for creating offset copies.
Frequently Asked Questions — Blender
- How do I exit Blender's Edit Mode?
- Press Tab to toggle between Object Mode and Edit Mode. You can also press Ctrl+Tab to open a mode pie menu that shows all available modes (Object, Edit, Sculpt, Vertex Paint, etc.).
- How do I rotate the viewport in Blender without a numpad?
- Enable Numpad Emulation in Edit → Preferences → Input → Emulate Numpad. This maps the number row keys (1–9) to viewport navigation. Alternatively, hold the Middle Mouse Button and drag to orbit freely.
- How do I add a new object in Blender?
- Press Shift+A in the 3D viewport to open the Add menu. From there you can insert Mesh (cube, sphere, cylinder, etc.), Curve, Light, Camera, or Empty objects. The object is added at the 3D cursor position.
How to Learn Blender Keyboard Shortcuts
Blender is unique among the applications on this site because its keyboard shortcuts are not merely efficient alternatives to menu navigation — they are the fundamental way Blender is designed to be used. The tool was built by developers for themselves, with the assumption that serious 3D work requires keeping hands on the keyboard at all times. The three core transform shortcuts — G for Grab (move), R for Rotate, and S for Scale — are used in virtually every working session, and their composability with axis constraints (G then X to move only on the X axis, R then Z then 45 to rotate 45 degrees around the Z axis) gives them a precision and expressiveness that panel-based workflows cannot match. Numpad keys control the viewport perspective in ways that feel strange initially but become completely intuitive.
The workflow of Blender's modal shortcuts takes some adjustment for users coming from other 3D software or from graphical tools like Photoshop. The Tab key toggles between Object Mode and Edit Mode — two fundamentally different contexts where different operations are available. In Edit Mode, the 1, 2, and 3 keys switch between Vertex, Edge, and Face select modes, which changes what your selections act on. Shift+A opens the Add menu to create new geometry, and X or Delete removes what's selected. The learning curve for Blender shortcuts is real and steeper than most applications on this list, but the community has documented it extensively, and tools like Blender's built-in Interactive Mode Tutorial (Help → Interactive Blender Tutorial) provide structured paths through the core shortcut vocabulary.