Krita keyboard shortcuts

Krita is a free, open-source digital painting application built for illustrators, concept artists and comic creators. Because painting is a high-repetition activity, keeping your pen on the canvas while your other hand drives shortcuts is the single biggest speed upgrade in Krita. These are the default bindings; everything is remappable under Settings, Configure Krita, Keyboard Shortcuts. This cheat sheet covers 67 default shortcuts for Windows and Mac.

General

New file	`Ctrl`+`NCmd`+`N`
Open file	`Ctrl`+`OCmd`+`O`
Save	`Ctrl`+`SCmd`+`S`
Save as	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`SCmd`+`Shift`+`S`
Close document	`Ctrl`+`WCmd`+`W`
Quit Krita	`Ctrl`+`QCmd`+`Q`
Undo	`Ctrl`+`ZCmd`+`Z`
Redo	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`ZCmd`+`Shift`+`Z`
Cut	`Ctrl`+`XCmd`+`X`
Copy	`Ctrl`+`CCmd`+`C`
Copy merged (all visible layers)	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`CCmd`+`Shift`+`C`
Paste	`Ctrl`+`VCmd`+`V`

Canvas Navigation

Pan canvas (hold and drag)	`SpaceSpace`
Zoom in
Zoom out	`--`
Zoom to 100%	`11`
Fit page in view	`22`
Fit page width	`33`
Rotate canvas left	`44`
Reset canvas rotation	`55`
Rotate canvas right	`66`
Mirror view (flip preview, not the image)	`MM`
Canvas-only mode (hide all dockers)	`TabTab`
Full screen	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`FCmd`+`Shift`+`F`

Tools

Freehand brush tool	`BB`
Line tool (hold for a straight stroke)	`VV`
Move tool	`TT`
Transform tool	`Ctrl`+`TCmd`+`T`
Crop tool	`CC`
Fill tool	`FF`
Gradient tool	`GG`
Color sampler tool	`PP`
Rectangular selection tool	`Ctrl`+`RCmd`+`R`

Painting

Toggle eraser mode on current brush	`EE`
Decrease brush size	`[[`
Increase brush size	`]]`
Resize brush on canvas (hold and drag)	`ShiftShift`
Increase brush opacity	`II`
Decrease brush opacity	`OO`
Sample color from canvas (hold and click)	`Ctrl`+`ClickCmd`+`Click`
Switch between the last two brush presets	`//`
Pick darker color	`KK`
Pick lighter color	`LL`

Color

Swap foreground and background colors	`XX`
Reset to default black and white colors	`DD`
Fill with foreground color	`Shift`+`BackspaceShift`+`Backspace`
Fill with background color	`BackspaceBackspace`

Selection

Select all	`Ctrl`+`ACmd`+`A`
Deselect	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`ACmd`+`Shift`+`A`
Reselect last selection	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`DCmd`+`Shift`+`D`
Invert selection	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`ICmd`+`Shift`+`I`
Show or hide selection outline	`Ctrl`+`HCmd`+`H`

Layers

New paint layer	`Insert`no default
Duplicate layer or selection to new layer	`Ctrl`+`JCmd`+`J`
Merge layer down	`Ctrl`+`ECmd`+`E`
Flatten image	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`ECmd`+`Shift`+`E`
Group layers	`Ctrl`+`GCmd`+`G`
Activate next layer above	`Page UpPage Up`
Activate next layer below	`Page DownPage Down`
Rename current layer	`F2F2`
Layer properties	`F3F3`

Image & Filters

Scale image to new size	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`ICmd`+`Option`+`I`
Resize canvas	`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`CCmd`+`Option`+`C`
Apply the last filter again	`Ctrl`+`FCmd`+`F`

View Aids

Show or hide rulers	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`RCmd`+`Shift`+`R`
Show or hide grid	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`'Cmd`+`Shift`+`'`
Toggle snap to grid	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`;Cmd`+`Shift`+`;`

Put your top Krita shortcuts on real keys

The five Krita actions most worth binding to a physical macropad key:

EE Toggle eraser mode The single most-pressed key in any painting session; a physical key keeps the pen hand on the tablet.

Ctrl+ZCmd+Z Undo Artists undo hundreds of times per session; one dedicated key beats a two-key chord every time.

TabTab Canvas-only mode Instantly clears the UI for distraction-free painting and brings it back just as fast.

55 Reset canvas rotation After freely rotating the canvas while drawing, one tap squares everything back up.

// Switch between last two brush presets Flipping between a paint brush and a blender is the core rhythm of digital painting.

I hand-build small-batch programmable macropads (QMK/VIA) in Barcelona. One press, any shortcut, any app.

See the macropads

Krita shortcut FAQs

How do I change keyboard shortcuts in Krita?

Go to Settings, Configure Krita, then Keyboard Shortcuts. Search for any action, click it and assign a custom key. Canvas input like zoom and pan is configured separately under Canvas Input Settings.

Why did my Krita interface disappear?

You most likely pressed Tab, which toggles canvas-only mode and hides all dockers and toolbars. Press Tab again to bring the interface back.

How do I make the brush bigger or smaller in Krita?

Press [ to shrink and ] to grow the brush, or hold Shift and drag left or right on the canvas for a fast visual resize.

How do I pick a color from the canvas in Krita?

Hold Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) and click anywhere on the canvas while a brush is active. This temporarily switches to the color sampler without changing tools.

Is there an eraser tool in Krita?

Krita has no separate eraser tool. Press E to toggle eraser mode on whatever brush is active, which keeps the brush tip and size you were already using.