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Chromebook Keyboard Shortcuts — ChromeOS Cheat Sheet
Chromebook keyboard shortcuts for browser controls, screenshots, windows, the launcher, and ChromeOS system features.
121 shortcuts across 10 categories
Chromebook keyboard shortcuts for browser controls, screenshots, windows, the launcher, and ChromeOS system features.
Editing
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cut | Ctrl + X | Cut the selected item to the clipboard |
| Copy | Ctrl + C | Copy the selected item to the clipboard |
| Paste | Ctrl + V | Paste the clipboard contents at the cursor |
| Paste as Plain Text | Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste without any formatting |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | Undo the last action |
| Redo | Ctrl + Shift + Z | Redo the previously undone action |
| Select All | Ctrl + A | Select all items or text |
| Delete (Forward) | Alt + Backspace | Delete the character to the right of the cursor (ChromeOS has no dedicated Delete key) |
| Bold | Ctrl + B | Toggle bold formatting |
| Italic | Ctrl + I | Toggle italic formatting |
| Underline | Ctrl + U | Toggle underline formatting |
File Management
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Save | Ctrl + S | Save the current document or webpage |
| Open File | Ctrl + O | Open an existing file |
| New Tab | Ctrl + T | Open a new browser tab |
| New Window | Ctrl + N | Open a new browser window |
| Close Tab | Ctrl + W | Close the current browser tab |
| Reopen Closed Tab | Ctrl + Shift + T | Reopen the most recently closed tab |
| Ctrl + P | Print the current page or document | |
| Open Files App | Shift + Alt + M | Open the ChromeOS Files app |
| Open Downloads | Ctrl + J | Open the Downloads manager in Chrome |
| Delete File | Alt + Backspace | Delete the selected file in the Files app |
Navigation
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Find on Page | Ctrl + F | Open the Find bar to search within the current page |
| Open Launcher | Search | Open the Launcher (equivalent to Start menu / Spotlight) |
| Switch Apps | Alt + Tab | Cycle through open application windows |
| Switch Windows | Alt + ~ | Cycle through windows of the same app |
| Switch Tabs (next) | Ctrl + Tab | Switch to the next tab in Chrome |
| Switch Tabs (previous) | Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Switch to the previous tab in Chrome |
| Go Back | Alt + Left | Navigate back in the browser |
| Go Forward | Alt + Right | Navigate forward in the browser |
| Address Bar | Ctrl + L | Focus the browser address bar |
| Switch to Desk 1-4 | Search + 1-4 | Switch to virtual desk 1, 2, 3, or 4 |
| Create New Desk | Shift + Search + + | Create a new virtual desk |
| Close Current Desk | Shift + Search + - | Close the current virtual desk |
| Move Window to Next Desk | Shift + Search + ] | Move the active window to the next desk |
System & Display
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Screenshot (Full Screen) | Ctrl + Show Windows | Take a full-screen screenshot saved to Downloads |
| Screenshot (Partial) | Ctrl + Shift + Show Windows | Drag to select a region for a screenshot |
| Screen Record | Ctrl + Shift + Show Windows | In the screenshot toolbar, choose the record option |
| Lock Screen | Search + L | Lock the screen immediately |
| Sign Out | Ctrl + Shift + Q | Sign out of the current ChromeOS account (press twice) |
| Open Task Manager | Search + Esc | Open the ChromeOS Task Manager to end processes |
| Settings | Alt + Shift + S | Open the quick settings panel (clock area) |
| Toggle Caps Lock | Search + Alt | Enable Caps Lock (ChromeOS has no dedicated Caps Lock key) |
| Brightness Up | Brightness Up | Increase screen brightness |
| Brightness Down | Brightness Down | Decrease screen brightness |
| Volume Up | Volume Up | Increase the speaker volume |
| Volume Down | Volume Down | Decrease the speaker volume |
| Mute | Volume Mute | Mute or unmute the speaker |
| Clipboard History | Search + V | Open the clipboard history panel |
| Emoji Picker | Search + Shift + Space | Open the emoji picker |
| Full Screen | Full Screen | Toggle full screen mode for the current window |
Text Cursor & Selection
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Move Word Left | Ctrl + Left | Move the cursor one word to the left |
| Move Word Right | Ctrl + Right | Move the cursor one word to the right |
| Move to Line Start | Search + Left | Move cursor to the beginning of the line (ChromeOS has no Home key) |
| Move to Line End | Search + Right | Move cursor to the end of the line (ChromeOS has no End key) |
| Move to Document Start | Ctrl + Search + Left | Move cursor to the very beginning of the document |
| Move to Document End | Ctrl + Search + Right | Move cursor to the very end of the document |
| Select Word Left | Ctrl + Shift + Left | Extend selection one word to the left |
| Select Word Right | Ctrl + Shift + Right | Extend selection one word to the right |
| Select to Line Start | Search + Shift + Left | Extend selection to the beginning of the line |
| Select to Line End | Search + Shift + Right | Extend selection to the end of the line |
| Select to Document Start | Ctrl + Search + Shift + Left | Extend selection to the top of the document |
| Select to Document End | Ctrl + Search + Shift + Right | Extend selection to the bottom of the document |
Chrome Browser
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| New Tab | Ctrl + T | Open a new browser tab |
| New Window | Ctrl + N | Open a new browser window |
| New Incognito Window | Ctrl + Shift + N | Open a new incognito (private) window |
| Reopen Closed Tab | Ctrl + Shift + T | Reopen the most recently closed tab |
| Go to Tab (1-8) | Ctrl + 1-8 | Jump directly to the tab at that position |
| Go to Last Tab | Ctrl + 9 | Jump to the last open tab |
| Duplicate Tab | Ctrl + Shift + K | Duplicate the current tab |
| Bookmark Page | Ctrl + D | Bookmark the current page |
| Bookmark All Tabs | Ctrl + Shift + D | Save all open tabs as bookmarks in a new folder |
| Open Bookmark Manager | Ctrl + Shift + O | Open the Chrome Bookmark Manager |
| Open History | Ctrl + H | View your browsing history |
| Focus Address Bar | Ctrl + L | Focus the address bar and select its text |
| Hard Reload | Ctrl + Shift + R | Reload the page bypassing the cache |
| Developer Tools | Ctrl + Shift + I | Open Chrome Developer Tools |
| View Page Source | Ctrl + U | View the source code of the current page |
| Zoom In | Ctrl + + | Zoom into the current page |
| Zoom Out | Ctrl + - | Zoom out of the current page |
| Reset Zoom | Ctrl + 0 | Reset page zoom to default (100%) |
Accessibility
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle ChromeVox | Ctrl + Alt + Z | Toggle ChromeVox, the built-in screen reader for ChromeOS |
| ChromeVox Modifier Key | Search | ChromeVox uses the Search key as its modifier by default |
| Zoom In (Display) | Ctrl + Shift + + | Increase the display zoom level |
| Zoom Out (Display) | Ctrl + Shift + - | Decrease the display zoom level |
| Toggle Full Screen Magnifier | Ctrl + Search + M | Toggle the full-screen magnifier |
| Magnifier Zoom In | Ctrl + Alt + Brightness Up | Zoom in with the ChromeOS magnifier |
| Magnifier Zoom Out | Ctrl + Alt + Brightness Down | Zoom out with the ChromeOS magnifier |
| Toggle High Contrast | Search + Ctrl + H | Enable or disable high contrast mode |
| Toggle Select to Speak | Search + S | Enable Select to Speak, then click or select text to have it read aloud |
| Show Accessibility Menu | Ctrl + Alt + Z | Open the ChromeOS accessibility features panel |
Linux Terminal (Crostini)
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Open Linux Terminal | Search + then type 'Terminal' | Launch the Linux Development Environment terminal from the Launcher |
| New Tab | Ctrl + Shift + T | Open a new tab in the Linux Terminal app |
| New Window | Ctrl + Shift + N | Open a new Linux Terminal window |
| Close Tab | Ctrl + Shift + W | Close the current terminal tab |
| Copy | Ctrl + Shift + C | Copy selected text from the Linux terminal |
| Paste | Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste text into the Linux terminal |
| Clear Screen | Ctrl + L | Clear the terminal display (same as running 'clear') |
| Interrupt / Cancel | Ctrl + C | Stop the currently running command |
| End of File / Exit Shell | Ctrl + D | Send EOF signal — exits the current shell or closes a REPL |
| Autocomplete | Tab | Autocomplete commands, file paths, and arguments |
| Previous Command | Up | Recall the previous command from shell history |
| Reverse History Search | Ctrl + R | Interactively search through command history — type to filter |
| Move to Start of Line | Ctrl + A | Move cursor to the beginning of the current command |
| Move to End of Line | Ctrl + E | Move cursor to the end of the current command |
| Delete to Start of Line | Ctrl + U | Delete all text from the cursor to the start of the line |
| Delete to End of Line | Ctrl + K | Delete all text from the cursor to the end of the line |
| Delete Word Left | Ctrl + W | Delete the word to the left of the cursor |
| Zoom In (Terminal) | Ctrl + + | Increase terminal font size |
| Zoom Out (Terminal) | Ctrl + - | Decrease terminal font size |
Touchpad Gestures
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scroll | Two-Finger Swipe | Slide two fingers on the touchpad to scroll up, down, left, or right |
| Go Back | Two-Finger Swipe Left | Swipe two fingers left to navigate back in the browser |
| Go Forward | Two-Finger Swipe Right | Swipe two fingers right to navigate forward in the browser |
| Open Overview / All Windows | Three-Finger Swipe Up | Show all open windows in the Overview (equivalent to pressing the Overview key) |
| Show All Desks | Four-Finger Swipe Up | Display the virtual desks bar at the top of the screen |
| Switch Between Desks | Four-Finger Swipe Left/Right | Swipe horizontally with four fingers to move between virtual desks |
| Switch Between Recent Apps | Three-Finger Swipe Left/Right | Swipe horizontally with three fingers to switch between recent app windows |
| Right-Click | Two-Finger Tap | Tap the touchpad with two fingers simultaneously to open the right-click context menu |
| Click and Drag | Press and Slide (one finger) | Click and hold with one finger while sliding to drag items |
| Zoom In / Out | Two-Finger Pinch | Pinch in or out with two fingers to zoom on web pages and images |
Printing
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + P | Open the print dialog in Chrome or other apps | |
| Save Page as PDF | Ctrl + P | In the print dialog, select 'Save as PDF' as the destination |
ChromeOS Tips & Tricks
- The Search Key is Your Swiss Army Knife: The Search key (where Caps Lock usually is) is the most powerful key on a Chromebook. Combine it with other keys for shortcuts, or press it alone to open the Launcher and search everything.
- Virtual Desks: ChromeOS supports up to 8 virtual desks. Press Search + Shift + + to create a new one. Move windows between desks with Shift + Search + ] or [.
- Clipboard History: Press Search + V to open your clipboard history and paste any of the last 5 copied items. Handy when you need to paste multiple things in a row.
- Linux Development Environment: ChromeOS can run a full Debian Linux environment (Terminal app). Enable it in Settings > Advanced > Developers > Linux development environment. You get access to apt, VS Code, and thousands of Linux apps.
- Android Apps: Most Chromebooks support Android apps from the Google Play Store. This greatly expands the software available, including productivity tools, media players, and creative apps.
- Offline Mode: Key Google apps like Docs, Sheets, Gmail, and Drive work offline. Enable offline access in Google Drive settings before going offline — changes sync automatically when you reconnect.
- No Caps Lock by Default: ChromeOS repurposed the Caps Lock key as the Search key. You can still toggle Caps Lock with Search + Alt. To permanently remap, go to Settings > Device > Keyboard > Customize keyboard keys.