Keyboard Shortcuts

I. General Desktop Environment Shortcuts

These shortcuts often use the Super key (usually the Windows key on most keyboards) or a combination of Ctrl + Alt.

Window Management

  • Alt + Tab: Switch between open applications/windows (hold Alt and repeatedly press Tab to cycle; release Alt to select). Use Alt + Shift + Tab for reverse order.
  • Super + Tab: (GNOME) Similar to Alt + Tab, often integrated with Activities overview.
  • Super + D or Ctrl + Alt + D: Show/Hide Desktop (minimize/restore all windows).
  • Alt + F4: Close the current application window.
  • Ctrl + Alt + Esc: Force quit an unresponsive application (changes cursor to a "kill" icon).
  • Super + Left Arrow: Snap window to left half of the screen (tiling).
  • Super + Right Arrow: Snap window to right half of the screen (tiling).
  • Super + Up Arrow: Maximize window.
  • Super + Down Arrow: Restore/Minimize window.

Workspace Management (Virtual Desktops)

  • Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow: Switch to the left workspace.
  • Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow: Switch to the right workspace.
  • Shift + Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow: Move the current window to the left workspace.
  • Shift + Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow: Move the current window to the right workspace.
  • Super + Page Down: (GNOME) Switch to the next workspace.
  • Super + Page Up: (GNOME) Switch to the previous workspace.
  • Shift + Super + Page Down: (GNOME) Move current window to the next workspace.
  • Shift + Super + Page Up: (GNOME) Move current window to the previous workspace.

System Actions

  • Ctrl + Alt + T: Open a new terminal window.
  • Alt + F2: Open a "Run Command" dialog (e.g., KRunner in KDE).
  • Ctrl + Alt + L or Super + L: Lock the screen.
  • Print Screen (PrtSc): Take a screenshot of the entire screen.
  • Alt + Print Screen: Take a screenshot of the active window.
  • Shift + Print Screen: Take a screenshot of a selected area.
  • Ctrl + Alt + Delete: Bring up shutdown/logout options.
  • Super key (just press it): Opens the Activities overview, application launcher, or main menu, depending on your DE (e.g., GNOME Activities, KDE Plasma's Application Launcher).

Universal Text Editing (GUI Applications)

  • Ctrl + C: Copy selected text.
  • Ctrl + X: Cut selected text.
  • Ctrl + V: Paste text.
  • Ctrl + Z: Undo the last action.
  • Ctrl + Y or Ctrl + Shift + Z: Redo the last undone action.
  • Ctrl + A: Select all.
  • Ctrl + S: Save.
  • Ctrl + N: New document/file/window.
  • Ctrl + O: Open file.
  • Ctrl + P: Print.
  • Ctrl + F: Find (in current document/application).
  • F1: Open help.

II. Terminal (Bash/Zsh/Shell) Shortcuts

These shortcuts are primarily for navigating and editing text within the command line itself.

Cursor Movement

  • Ctrl + A (or Home): Move cursor to the beginning of the line.
  • Ctrl + E (or End): Move cursor to the end of the line.
  • Ctrl + B (or Left Arrow): Move cursor backward one character.
  • Ctrl + F (or Right Arrow): Move cursor forward one character.
  • Alt + B (or Ctrl + Left Arrow): Move cursor backward one word.
  • Alt + F (or Ctrl + Right Arrow): Move cursor forward one word.
  • Ctrl + X (tap twice quickly): Toggle between the start of the line and the current cursor position.

Text Editing/Deletion

  • Ctrl + H (or Backspace): Delete character before cursor.
  • Ctrl + D (or Delete): Delete character under cursor.
  • Alt + Backspace or Ctrl + W: Delete the word before the cursor.
  • Alt + D: Delete the word from the cursor to the end of the word.
  • Ctrl + U: Delete (cut) everything from the cursor to the beginning of the line.
  • Ctrl + K: Delete (cut) everything from the cursor to the end of the line.
  • Ctrl + Y: Paste the last deleted/cut text.
  • Ctrl + T: Transpose (swap) the last two characters before the cursor.
  • Alt + T: Transpose (swap) the last two words before the cursor.
  • Alt + U: Uppercase from cursor to end of word.
  • Alt + L: Lowercase from cursor to end of word.
  • Alt + C: Capitalize the first character of the word.

History Navigation & Search

  • Up Arrow / Down Arrow: Scroll through previous/next commands in history.
  • Ctrl + R: Reverse incremental search through command history (type to search, Ctrl + R again for next match, Enter to execute, Esc to exit).
  • Ctrl + G: Exit history search mode.
  • !!: Execute the last command.
  • !string: Execute the last command starting with "string".
  • !$: Use the last argument of the previous command.

Terminal Control

  • Tab: Autocomplete commands, filenames, or directory names (press twice for options if ambiguous).
  • Ctrl + C: Interrupt/terminate the currently running foreground process.
  • Ctrl + D: Send an End-of-File (EOF) marker (can log you out or exit a program).
  • Ctrl + Z: Suspend the current foreground process.
  • Ctrl + L: Clear the terminal screen.
  • Ctrl + S: Pause terminal output.
  • Ctrl + Q: Resume terminal output.
  • Ctrl + Shift + C: Copy selected text from the terminal.
  • Ctrl + Shift + V: Paste text into the terminal.
  • Shift + Insert: Alternative paste (often uses the primary selection buffer).

III. System/Boot Level Shortcuts

These shortcuts are less common for daily use but are useful for troubleshooting or direct system interaction.

  • Ctrl + Alt + F1 to F6: Switch to a virtual console (text-based login screen). Use F7 or F8 to return to the graphical desktop.
  • Ctrl + Alt + Backspace: Kills the X server, returning to the login screen (often disabled by default).
  • Magic SysRq Key: A powerful kernel-level debugging tool for emergencies (requires SysRq key, often shared with Print Screen). Use with extreme caution!
    • Alt + SysRq + R: Raw (take keyboard control).
    • Alt + SysRq + E: Terminate (send SIGTERM to processes).
    • Alt + SysRq + I: Kill (send SIGKILL to processes).
    • Alt + SysRq + S: Sync (sync disk).
    • Alt + SysRq + U: Unmount (remount all filesystems read-only).
    • Alt + SysRq + B: Reboot (immediate reboot).
    • Common mnemonic for a safe reboot: R E I S U B (Raising Elephants Is So Utterly Boring)