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Sublime Text Keyboard Shortcuts (4) — Complete Cheat Sheet
Sublime Text keyboard shortcuts — including multi-cursor editing, Command Palette, fuzzy file search, code folding, and split pane editing.
37 shortcuts across 4 categories · Windows · macOS · Linux
Sublime Text is known for being one of the fastest code editors available, and its keyboard shortcuts — especially multiple cursors (Ctrl+D) and the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) — pioneered features that VS Code and other editors later adopted. Developers who learn Sublime Text's shortcuts unlock one of the most efficient text editing workflows available on any platform.
Navigation & Command Palette
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Command Palette | Ctrl + Shift + P | Open the Command Palette to access any Sublime command |
| Go to File (Fuzzy) | Ctrl + P | Open any file in the project with fuzzy name matching |
| Go to Symbol | Ctrl + R | Jump to a function, class, or symbol in the current file |
| Go to Symbol in Project | Ctrl + Shift + R | Search for a symbol across all project files |
| Go to Line | Ctrl + G | Jump to a specific line number |
| Go to Definition | F12 | Jump to the definition of the symbol under the cursor |
| Jump Back | Alt + - | Go back to the previous cursor position |
| Jump Forward | Alt + Shift + - | Go forward to the next cursor position |
| Open Console | Ctrl + ` | Open Sublime's built-in Python console |
| Switch Project | Ctrl + Alt + P | Switch between open projects |
Multi-Cursor Editing
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Select Next Occurrence | Ctrl + D | Add cursor at the next occurrence of the selected text |
| Skip Next Occurrence | Ctrl + K + Ctrl + D | Skip the next occurrence and select the one after |
| Select All Occurrences | Alt + F3 | Select every occurrence of the current word or selection |
| Add Cursor Above | Ctrl + Alt + ↑ | Add a cursor on the line above |
| Add Cursor Below | Ctrl + Alt + ↓ | Add a cursor on the line below |
| Split into Lines | Ctrl + Shift + L | Add a cursor at the end of each line in the selection |
| Column Select | Ctrl + Alt + Drag | Click and drag to create a rectangular column selection |
| Return to Single Cursor | Escape | Collapse all cursors back to a single one |
Text Editing
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate Line | Ctrl + Shift + D | Duplicate the current line below it |
| Delete Line | Ctrl + Shift + K | Delete the current line entirely |
| Move Line Up | Ctrl + Shift + ↑ | Move the current line up |
| Move Line Down | Ctrl + Shift + ↓ | Move the current line down |
| Join Line Below | Ctrl + J | Join the current line with the next line |
| Toggle Line Comment | Ctrl + / | Comment or uncomment the current line(s) |
| Toggle Block Comment | Ctrl + Shift + / | Wrap or unwrap a block comment around the selection |
| Indent Line | Ctrl + ] | Indent the current line |
| Unindent Line | Ctrl + [ | Remove one level of indentation |
| Reformat / Auto-indent | Ctrl + Shift + P + → Indentation | Reformat indentation via the Command Palette |
Search & Code Folding
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Find | Ctrl + F | Open inline find bar |
| Find & Replace | Ctrl + H | Open find and replace bar |
| Find in Files | Ctrl + Shift + F | Search across all files in the project |
| Find Next | F3 | Jump to the next search match |
| Find Previous | Shift + F3 | Jump to the previous search match |
| Fold Code Block | Ctrl + Shift + [ | Collapse the current code block |
| Unfold Code Block | Ctrl + Shift + ] | Expand the current collapsed code block |
| Fold All | Ctrl + K + Ctrl + 1 | Collapse all code blocks at the top level |
| Unfold All | Ctrl + K + Ctrl + J | Expand all folded code blocks |
Sublime Text Tips & Tricks
- Ctrl+D to select multiple occurrences one at a time: With a word highlighted, each Ctrl+D press selects the next identical occurrence and adds a cursor. This lets you rename a variable across a file incrementally — press Ctrl+D until all instances are selected, then type the new name.
- Ctrl+P fuzzy search opens files instantly: Ctrl+P opens a file switcher with fuzzy matching — type 'ucss' to find 'utilities.css'. Add @ after the filename to search for a symbol within it (e.g., 'app.js@fetchUser'), or : for a line number ('app.js:42').
- Ctrl+Shift+P is the power user gateway: The Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) exposes every Sublime command including package-specific features. Type 'ssjs' to set the syntax to JavaScript, or 'sort' to sort selected lines — no mouse needed.
Frequently Asked Questions — Sublime Text
- How do I open the Command Palette in Sublime Text?
- Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) to open the Command Palette, where you can run any Sublime Text command by typing part of its name. This is how you change syntax highlighting, install packages via Package Control, and access settings you cannot easily find in menus.
- How do I use multiple cursors in Sublime Text?
- Hold Ctrl and click to place additional cursors anywhere in the file. Press Ctrl+D (Cmd+D on Mac) to select the next occurrence of the current word and add a cursor there — repeat to select more occurrences. Press Ctrl+U (Cmd+U) to undo the last cursor addition.
- How do I go to a specific line in Sublime Text?
- Press Ctrl+G (Cmd+L on Mac) and type a line number to jump directly to that line and press Enter. You can also use Ctrl+P (Cmd+P) to open the file switcher and type a colon followed by a line number (e.g., :42) to jump to that line within the current file.
- How do I split the editor in Sublime Text?
- Go to View → Layout and choose a split: two columns (Alt+Shift+2), three columns (Alt+Shift+3), or two rows (Alt+Shift+8). You can then drag file tabs between panes to view and edit multiple files simultaneously. Press Alt+Shift+1 to return to a single-pane layout.
How to Learn Sublime Text Keyboard Shortcuts
Sublime Text is known for being one of the fastest code editors ever created, with startup times and rendering performance that remain impressive even compared to modern alternatives. Its keyboard shortcut system pioneered several features that VS Code and other editors later adopted — most notably Ctrl+D to select the next occurrence of the selected text (the genesis of modern multi-cursor workflows), Ctrl+Shift+P for the Command Palette, and Ctrl+P for the quick file opener with fuzzy matching. For developers who've used VS Code extensively, many of these Sublime Text shortcuts feel familiar because VS Code consciously adopted them, meaning the learning transfer is high in both directions.
Sublime Text's most distinctive shortcut capability is its multi-cursor editing system. Ctrl+D selects the next instance of the selected text and adds a new cursor there — pressing it repeatedly selects and places cursors at every occurrence in the file. Ctrl+Shift+L splits a selection into per-line cursors. Alt+F3 selects all occurrences of the selected text simultaneously. Combined, these shortcuts allow making identical edits to many positions in a file simultaneously in ways that would require regular expressions and multiple find-replace operations otherwise. For code navigation, Ctrl+R opens a symbol list for the current file (functions, classes, headings depending on file type), Ctrl+Shift+R searches symbols across the project, and F12 jumps to the definition of the word under the cursor. These navigation shortcuts make Sublime Text competitive with full IDEs for projects where a lightweight editor is preferred.