Claude Desktop Keyboard Shortcuts
A comprehensive reference for keyboard shortcuts in Claude Desktop for Mac.
Global Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌥Space | Open Claude with system shortcut (default, customizable in settings) |
| ⌘, | Open settings |
| ⌘Q | Quit Claude |
| ⌘H | Hide Claude |
| ⌘M | Minimize window |
Conversation Management
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘N | Create new conversation |
| ⌘F | Search conversations |
| ⌘Delete | Delete current conversation |
| Double-click title | Rename conversation |
| ⌘L | Clear conversation history |
Message Editing
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘Return | Submit message |
| Shift+Return | New line in input without submitting |
| Escape | Stop generation (while Claude is typing) |
| ⌘C | Copy selected response text |
| ⌘↑ | Retry last message with same input |
Artifacts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Click artifact | View artifact in side panel |
| ⌘C on artifact code | Copy artifact code to clipboard |
| ⌘B | Toggle artifact panel visibility |
| ⌘W | Close artifact panel |
File & Image Handling
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘U | Attach file |
| ⌘V | Paste image from clipboard |
| Drag & drop | Drag files/images into chat to attach |
| Click attachment | Preview attached files |
Message Formatting
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
` (triple backtick) |
Insert code block with language specification |
| text | Bold text |
| text | Italic text |
| link | Markdown link |
| > quote | Block quote |
Cowork Mode
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘⇧C | Open Cowork mode (share control) |
| ⌘⇧Q | Quit Cowork session |
| Allow desktop access | Grant Claude control of your screen/input |
| ⌘⇧R | Request permission from coworker |
Claude Code CLI
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘⇧T | Open terminal from Claude Code |
| ⌘⇧E | Edit file in Claude Code |
| ⌘⇧R | Run command in Claude Code |
| /edit | Slash command to edit files |
| /run | Slash command to execute code |