Chrome keyboard shortcuts can save a surprising amount of time once a few of them become muscle memory. The most useful shortcuts are not the obscure ones. They are the commands you repeat all day: open a tab, close it, reopen it, move between tabs, search the page, jump to the address bar, and find a tab when you have too many open.
This cheat sheet covers the Chrome shortcuts worth remembering in 2026 for Windows, Linux, and macOS, with the less useful commands left out.
TL;DR
Start with five shortcuts: Ctrl/⌘ + T for a new tab, Ctrl/⌘ + W to close a tab, Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + T to reopen one, Ctrl/⌘ + L to jump to the address bar, and Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + A to search your open tabs. Learn those first, then add navigation, bookmarks, history, downloads, and developer shortcuts as you need them.
The Chrome shortcuts worth learning first
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Open a new tab | Ctrl + T | ⌘ + T |
| Close current tab | Ctrl + W | ⌘ + W |
| Reopen a closed tab | Ctrl + Shift + T | ⌘ + Shift + T |
| Next tab | Ctrl + Tab | Control + Tab |
| Previous tab | Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Control + Shift + Tab |
| Search open tabs | Ctrl + Shift + A | ⌘ + Shift + A |
| Jump to address bar | Ctrl + L | ⌘ + L |
| Find on current page | Ctrl + F | ⌘ + F |
If you only memorize this first table, you will already remove a lot of mouse movement from normal browsing.
Tab and window shortcuts
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| New window | Ctrl + N | ⌘ + N |
| New Incognito window | Ctrl + Shift + N | ⌘ + Shift + N |
| Jump to tab 1–8 | Ctrl + 1 through 8 | ⌘ + 1 through 8 |
| Jump to last tab | Ctrl + 9 | ⌘ + 9 |
| Close current window | Ctrl + Shift + W | ⌘ + Shift + W |
| Open Tab Search | Ctrl + Shift + A | ⌘ + Shift + A |
| Open Split View | Shift + Alt + N | ⌘ + Option + N |
Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + T deserves special attention. Press it once to reopen the most recently closed tab. Press it repeatedly to work backward through recently closed tabs and windows.
Navigation and address bar shortcuts
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Focus address bar | Ctrl + L, Alt + D, or F6 | ⌘ + L |
| Back one page | Alt + Left Arrow | ⌘ + Left Arrow |
| Forward one page | Alt + Right Arrow | ⌘ + Right Arrow |
| Reload page | Ctrl + R or F5 | ⌘ + R |
| Hard reload | Ctrl + Shift + R | ⌘ + Shift + R |
| Stop loading | Esc | Esc |
Bookmarks, history, and downloads
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Bookmark current page | Ctrl + D | ⌘ + D |
| Bookmark all open tabs | Ctrl + Shift + D | ⌘ + Shift + D |
| Open History | Ctrl + H | ⌘ + Y |
| Open Downloads | Ctrl + J | ⌘ + Shift + J |
| Show / hide bookmarks bar | Ctrl + Shift + B | ⌘ + Shift + B |
Page, zoom, and utility shortcuts
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Find on page | Ctrl + F | ⌘ + F |
| Ctrl + P | ⌘ + P | |
| Save page | Ctrl + S | ⌘ + S |
| Zoom in | Ctrl + + | ⌘ + + |
| Zoom out | Ctrl + – | ⌘ + – |
| Developer Tools | F12 or Ctrl + Shift + J | ⌘ + Option + I |
| Clear browsing data | Ctrl + Shift + Delete | ⌘ + Shift + Delete |
A better shortcut for people with too many tabs
When the tab strip is crowded, cycling through tabs one by one stops being efficient. Use Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + A to open Chrome Tab Search, then type part of the page title or domain. Chrome also supports typing @tabs in the address bar to search open tabs.
Keyboard shortcuts make active browsing faster, but they do not create a long-term organization system. If you regularly keep project research, client pages, reference links, or notes open for days, a tab manager can reduce how much you need to recover or search in the first place. Keeply lets you move useful tabs into collections and workspaces, then find them later without leaving everything open.
How to actually learn these shortcuts
Do not try to memorize the whole table. Pick the shortcuts that replace actions you perform repeatedly. For most people, that means new tab, close tab, reopen tab, next tab, address bar, and find on page.
- Use one new shortcut for several days before adding another.
- Start with tab navigation because those commands are used constantly.
- Use Tab Search instead of clicking through a crowded strip.
- Keep this page bookmarked until the useful combinations become automatic.
Frequently asked questions
What is the shortcut to reopen a closed Chrome tab?
Press Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows or Linux, or Command + Shift + T on Mac. Press it repeatedly to restore older recently closed tabs and windows in reverse order.
What is the shortcut to switch Chrome tabs?
Use Ctrl + Tab to move to the next tab and Ctrl + Shift + Tab to move to the previous tab on Windows and Linux. Similar Control-based tab navigation works on Mac.
How do I search all open tabs with the keyboard?
Use Ctrl + Shift + A on Windows or Linux, or Command + Shift + A on Mac, to open Chrome Tab Search.
What is the fastest way to jump to Chrome’s address bar?
Use Ctrl + L on Windows or Linux and Command + L on Mac. It selects the current address so you can immediately type a URL or search.
Does Chrome have a keyboard shortcut for Split View?
Yes. Chrome’s current shortcut list includes Shift + Alt + N on Windows and Linux, and Command + Option + N on Mac, for opening Split View in the active tab.
Source: Shortcut combinations in this guide were checked against Google’s current Chrome keyboard shortcuts and tab management documentation.
