48 essential Slack keyboard shortcuts to help you communicate quickly with your team
- Slack has a keyboard shortcut for virtually every command or task you can perform on the messaging platform.
- Slack's keyboard shortcuts allow you to use the mouse less often while navigating multiple workplaces and channels or managing messages and files.
- Here are the 48 most useful and productive keyboard shortcuts for Slack on Mac and PC.
Slack has become a go-to platform for communication between groups and teams. If you spend most of your day with Slack open in the corner of your screen, whether for work or play, you should know a few of the most common keyboard shortcuts to the communication platform.
These will help you get around the popular tool quickly and easily on your Mac and PC without switching between the keyboard and mouse frequently. Here's a guide to the most useful Slack shortcuts.
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Slack keyboard shortcuts summary
Below is a quick reference list of the 48 top keyboard shortcuts in Slack. If you need a more detailed explanation of a shortcut, scroll down to the section below.
Note: If you're using a Mac instead of a PC, wherever you see "Ctrl," press the "Command" key instead. The shortcuts are identical with that exception.
Navigating workplaces
- Switch to a specific workplace: Ctrl + [number]
- Switch to next workplace: Ctrl + Tab
- Switch to previous workplace: Ctrl + Shift + Tab
Navigating Slack
- Open preferences: Ctrl + comma (,)
- Change focus: F6 or Shift F6
- Browse direct messages: Ctrl + Shift + K
- Browse channels: Ctrl + Shift + L
- Jump to a conversation: Ctrl + K
- Compose a new message: Ctrl + N
- Open Thread View: Ctrl + Shift + T
- Next unread channel or direct message: Alt + Shift + Up Arrow/Down Arrow
- Open channel info pane: Ctrl + Shift + I
- See mentions and reactions: Ctrl + Shift + M
- List of all people: Ctrl + Shift + E
- Saved items: Ctrl + Shift + S
- Set status: Ctrl + Shift + Y
- Search the current channel or conversation: Ctrl + F
- Open previous search: Ctrl + G
Navigating unread messages
- Move between messages: Up Arrow or Down Arrow
- Open All Unread View: Ctrl + Shift + A
- Mark as unread: Alt n + [mouse click]
Working with messages
Note: Before using the following single-letter commands, click or press the F6 key to bring a particular message into focus, then navigate through the messages using the up and down arrows on your keyboard.
- Edit a message: E
- Add an emoji: R
- Open a reply: T
- Pin or unpin a message: P
- Share a message: S
- Save a message: A
- Make a reminder: M
- Mark all messages as read: Shift + Esc
- Mark all messages in a channel as read: Esc
Formatting messages
- Edit last message: Ctrl + Up Arrow
- Make a new line: Shift + Enter
- Select text back to start of line: Shift + Up Arrow
- Select text to end of line: Shift + Down Arrow
- Add an emoji: Ctrl + Shift + \
- Bold: Ctrl + B
- Italics: Ctrl + I
- Strikethrough: Ctrl + Shift + X
- Quote: Ctrl + Shift + 9
- Code: Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C
- Numbered list: Ctrl + Shift + 7
- Bulleted list: Ctrl + Shift + 8
Making calls
- Turn video on and off: V
- Turn mute on and off: M
- See invite list: A
- Send an emoji: E
Working with files
- Upload a file: Ctrl + U
- View downloaded files: Ctrl + Shift + J
Slack keyboard shortcuts explained
If you find that what a keyboard shortcut does isn't entirely clear, refer to it here in this expanded list for more information about how to use it.
Navigating workplaces
Switch to a specific workplace: To switch to a particular workspace, press Ctrl and the number of the workspace, where the first one in the navigation pane is 1, the second one is 2, and so on.
Switch to next workplace: Cycle through each workspace in sequence by pressing Ctrl + Tab.
Switch to the previous workplace: Cycle through each workspace in reverse by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Tab.
Navigating Slack
Open preferences: Press Ctrl + comma (,) to open the Preferences window.
Change focus: Press F6 to cycle through each section of Slack, or press Shift F6 to change the focus among sections in reverse.
Browse direct messages: Press Ctrl + Shift + K to open your complete list of direct messages.
Browse channels: Press Ctrl + Shift + L to open the complete list of channels you are a member of.
Jump to a conversation: Press Ctrl + K to open the Jump To dialog box to select a channel, person, or some other part of Slack.
Compose a new message: Press Ctrl + N to start writing a new message.
Open Thread View: Press Ctrl + Shift + T to see a complete list of all threads you're participating in.
Next unread channel or direct message: Press Alt + Shift + Down Arrow to go to the next unread message. Use the same shortcut with the Down Arrow to navigate in the other direction.
Open channel info pane: Press Ctrl + Shift + I to open a pane with information about the current channel or person.
See mentions and reactions: Press Ctrl + Shift + M to see a list of all the activity you mentioned or someone has reacted to you.
List of all people: Press Ctrl + Shift + E for the list of all people in your workspace.
Saved items: Press Ctrl + Shift + S to open the Saved Items pane.
Set status: To set or change your Slack status, press Ctrl + Shift + Y.
Search the current channel or conversation: Press Ctrl + F to open the search dialog box.
Open your previous search: Press Ctrl + G to see a list of previous searches you have conducted.
Navigating unread messages
Move between messages: Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow to navigate through messages.
Open All Unreads View: Press Ctrl + Shift + A to see all your unread messages.
Mark as unread: To mark a message as unread, press Alt, and then click the message with the mouse.
Working with messages
Edit a message: Make sure the message has focus (F6) and then press E to edit it.
Add an emoji: Make sure the message has focus (F6) and then press R to add an emoji.
Open a reply: Make sure the message has focus (F6) and then press T to write a reply.
Pin or unpin a message: Make sure the message has focus (F6) and then press P to pin the message. P will also unpin it.
Share a message: Make sure the message has focus (F6) and then press S to share it with someone on Slack.
Save a message: Make sure the message has focus (F6) and then press A to save it.
Make a reminder: Make sure the message has focus (F6) and then press M to create a reminder based on the message.
Mark all messages as read: Press Shift + Esc to mark all messages in your workspace as read.
Mark all messages in the channel as read: Press Esc to mark all messages in the current channel as read.
Formatting messages
Edit last message: Press Ctrl + Up Arrow to start editing the last message you posted on the current channel.
Make a new line: Press Shift + Enter to add a new line to a message you are writing.
Select text back to the start of the line: Press Shift + Up Arrow to select all the text from the insertion point back to the start of the line.
Select text to end of the line: Press Shift + Down Arrow to select all the text from the insertion point to the end of the line.
Add an emoji: Press Ctrl + Shift + \ to open the emoji dialog box for editing the message.
Bold: Press Ctrl + B to bold the selected text.
Italics: Press Ctrl + I to italics the selected text.
Strikethrough: Press Ctrl + Shift + X to strikethrough the selected text.
Quote: Press Ctrl + Shift + 9 to format the selected text as a quote.
Code: Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C to format the selected text as code.
Numbered list: Press Ctrl + Shift + 7 to format the selected text as a numbered list (also called an ordered list)
Bulleted list: Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 to format the selected text as a bulleted list (also called an unordered list)
Making calls
Turn video on and off: Press V to toggle video when in a Slack call.
Turn mute on and off: Press M to toggle audio when in a Slack call.
See invite list: Press A to see who has been invited to the Slack call.
Send an emoji: To send an emoji in a call, press E and then choose the emoji by pressing a number from 1 to 9.
Working with files
Upload a file: Press Ctrl + U and choose where to upload the file from.
View downloaded files: Press Ctrl + Shift + J to see a list of all the files you have downloaded from Slack.
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