macOS Terminal keyboard shortcuts

Terminal is the command-line app that ships with every Mac, wrapping your shell in native tabs, split panes, and search. Its shortcuts combine macOS window management with the emacs-style line editing built into zsh and bash. Knowing both layers makes the command line dramatically faster. This cheat sheet covers 49 default shortcuts.

Windows & Tabs

New window	`Cmd`+`N`
New tab	`Cmd`+`T`
Close tab	`Cmd`+`W`
Close window	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`W`
Next tab	`Ctrl`+`Tab`
Previous tab	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Tab`
Show next tab	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`]`
Show previous tab	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`[`
Switch to tab 1-9	`Cmd`+`1-9`
Minimize window	`Cmd`+`M`
Enter full screen	`Ctrl`+`Cmd`+`F`
Quit Terminal	`Cmd`+`Q`

Split Panes

Split window into two panes	`Cmd`+`D`
Close split pane	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`D`

Text, Search & Display

Copy	`Cmd`+`C`
Paste	`Cmd`+`V`
Select all	`Cmd`+`A`
Find	`Cmd`+`F`
Find next	`Cmd`+`G`
Find previous	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`G`
Use selection for find	`Cmd`+`E`
Clear scrollback	`Cmd`+`K`
Make text bigger	`Cmd`+`Plus`
Make text smaller	`Cmd`+`Minus`
Restore default font size	`Cmd`+`0`
Show inspector	`Cmd`+`I`
Open Terminal settings	`Cmd`+`,`

Shell Line Editing (zsh/bash)

Move to beginning of line	`Ctrl`+`A`
Move to end of line	`Ctrl`+`E`
Move forward one character	`Ctrl`+`F`
Move backward one character	`Ctrl`+`B`
Delete from cursor to end of line	`Ctrl`+`K`
Delete from cursor to start of line	`Ctrl`+`U`
Delete word before cursor	`Ctrl`+`W`
Paste (yank) last deleted text	`Ctrl`+`Y`
Transpose last two characters	`Ctrl`+`T`
Delete character under cursor	`Ctrl`+`D`
Autocomplete file or command name	`Tab`
Move cursor to clicked position in command line	`Option`+`Click`

Process & History Control

Interrupt (kill) current process	`Ctrl`+`C`
Send EOF / exit shell	`Ctrl`+`D`
Suspend current process	`Ctrl`+`Z`
Clear screen	`Ctrl`+`L`
Search command history (reverse)	`Ctrl`+`R`
Cancel history search	`Ctrl`+`G`
Previous command in history	`Ctrl`+`P`
Next command in history	`Ctrl`+`N`
Pause terminal output	`Ctrl`+`S`
Resume terminal output	`Ctrl`+`Q`

Put your top macOS Terminal shortcuts on real keys

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

Ctrl+R Search command history Recalling past commands is the single biggest speed-up on the command line.

Ctrl+C Interrupt current process The emergency stop; instant access matters when a command runs away.

Cmd+K Clear scrollback A clean slate before every new task or demo, one tap away.

Cmd+T New tab Power users open tabs constantly for parallel shells.

Ctrl+A Move to beginning of line Editing long commands starts with jumping to the front to fix the command name or add sudo.

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See the macropads

macOS Terminal shortcut FAQs

How do I clear the Terminal screen on Mac?

Press Ctrl+L (or run the clear command) to clear the visible screen, or Cmd+K to also wipe the scrollback buffer so nothing remains above.

Why does Ctrl+C not copy in macOS Terminal?

In the terminal, Ctrl+C sends an interrupt signal that stops the running process. Copy and paste use the Cmd key instead: Cmd+C and Cmd+V.

How do I jump to the start or end of a command line?

Use the shell's emacs-style bindings: Ctrl+A moves to the beginning of the line and Ctrl+E to the end. Option+Click also moves the cursor to where you click.

How do I search my command history in Terminal?

Press Ctrl+R and start typing; the shell shows the most recent matching command. Press Ctrl+R again for older matches, Enter to run, or Ctrl+G to cancel.

My Terminal froze and nothing types. What happened?

You probably pressed Ctrl+S, which pauses terminal output (XOFF flow control). Press Ctrl+Q to resume.