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Basics

Keyboard Shortcuts

Raycast is built to be driven entirely from the keyboard. This page lists all the keyboard shortcuts available across the app. Learning even a few of these will significantly speed up your workflow.

On macOS, Raycast uses ⌘ (Cmd) as the primary modifier. You can also enable Emacs-style or Vim-style navigation bindings in Settings.

Global Shortcuts

These shortcuts work from anywhere on your system, even when Raycast isn't in focus.

  • ⌘Space / AltSpace: Open or close Raycast (default, can be customized).

You can also assign custom global hotkeys to any command. See the Command Aliases & Hotkeys page for details.

General Navigation

These shortcuts work across most views in Raycast.

  • Esc: Go back to the previous view. From Root Search, closes the Raycast window.
  • ⌘Esc (Mac) / ⇧Esc (Windows): Pop to Root.
  • ⌘W / CtrlW: Close the Raycast window.
  • ⌘, / Ctrl,: Open Settings.
  • ⇧⌘/ / CtrlShift/: Open the User Guide.

List Navigation

These work in any list view: Root Search, extension results, Action Panel, etc.

  • ↑↓: Move up and down in the list.
  • ⌥↑ / Alt↑ / ⌥↓ / Alt↓: Jump to the previous or next page of results.
  • ⌘↑ / Ctrl↑ / ⌘↓ / Ctrl↓: Jump to the previous or next section.
  • ⌃N / CtrlN / ⌃P / CtrlP: Move down / up (Emacs-style, enabled by default).

Pagination keys can be changed in Settings → Keyboard → Page Navigation Keys.

Root Search

These shortcuts work in Raycast's main search.

  • ↵: Run the primary action.
  • ⌘K / CtrlK: Open the Action Panel.
  • ⇧Tab: Navigate to parent directory.
  • ↑ / ↓ (at top/bottom of list): Cycle through search history.
  • ⌘F / CtrlF: Add the selected item to Favorites.
  • ⇧⌘↑ / CtrlShift↑ / ⇧⌘↓ / CtrlShift↓: Move a favorite item up or down.
  • ⌘, / Ctrl,: Configure Command.
  • ⇧⌘, / CtrlShift,: Configure Extension.
  • ⇧⌘D / CtrlShiftD: Disable Command.

Action Panel

These shortcuts work inside the Action Panel.

  • ⌘K / CtrlK: Open or close the Action Panel.
  • ↵: Execute the selected action.
  • ⌘↵ / Ctrl↵: Execute the secondary action.
  • ⌥↵ / CtrlShift↵: Execute the tertiary action.
  • Esc: Close the Action Panel or go back from a sub-menu.
  • Type to search: Filter actions by name when the panel is open.

Common Item Actions

These shortcuts work on selected items across most views. Not all actions are available for every item type.

  • ⌘O / CtrlO: Open item.
  • ⇧⌘O / CtrlShiftO: Reveal in Finder / File Explorer.
  • ⌥⌘O / CtrlAltO: Open With…
  • ⌘Y / CtrlY: Toggle Quick Look preview.
  • ⌘E / CtrlE: Edit item.
  • ⌘I / CtrlI: Show info / details.
  • ⌘D / CtrlD: Duplicate item.
  • ⌘. / Ctrl.: Pin or unpin item.
  • ⇧⌘. / CtrlShift.: Show hidden items.

Copy & Paste

  • ⌘C / CtrlC: Copy.
  • ⇧⌘C / CtrlShiftC: Copy (secondary, e.g. copy deeplink).
  • ⌘V / CtrlV: Paste.
  • ⇧⌘V / CtrlShiftV: Paste (secondary).

Delete

  • ⌃X / CtrlX: Delete selected item.
  • CtrlShiftX: Delete all.

AI Chat

AI Chat has a full set of dedicated keyboard shortcuts.

Chat Navigation

  • ⇧⌘S / CtrlShiftS or ⌘B / CtrlB: Toggle chat history sidebar.
  • ⇧⌘F / CtrlShiftF: Search chats.
  • ⌘1 / Ctrl1 to ⌘9 / Ctrl9, ⌘0 / Ctrl0: Jump to one of the first ten chats in the sidebar. Hold ⌘ / Ctrl to see the numbers.
  • ⌘J / CtrlJ: Send selected item to AI Chat (from other views).

Find in Chat

  • ⌘F / CtrlF: Open Find in Chat.
  • ↵ or ⌘G / CtrlG: Next match.
  • ⇧↵ or ⇧⌘G / CtrlShiftG: Previous match.
  • Esc: Close the find bar.

Composer & Messages

  • ⇧⌘A / CtrlShiftA: Add attachment to composer.
  • ⇧⌘B / CtrlShiftB: Branch chat from a message.
  • ↑ (empty composer): Edit your last message. Keep pressing ↑ or ↓ to step through earlier and later messages.
  • ⌃M / CtrlM: Start dictating, or accept the dictation in progress.
  • Esc: Cancel the dictation in progress.

Model & Settings

  • ⇧⌘M / CtrlShiftM: Change AI model.
  • ⇧⌘Y / CtrlShiftY: Change creativity level.
  • ⇧⌘U / CtrlShiftU: Change reasoning effort.

Chat Management

  • ⌥⌘A / CtrlAltA: Archive chat.
  • ⌃⇧X / CtrlAltD: Delete all unpinned chats (they move to Recently Deleted).
  • ⌃⌘N / AltShiftN: Create project.
  • ⌃⌘M / AltShiftM: Move to project.

Feedback

  • ⇧⌘= / CtrlShift=: Upvote / Good response.
  • ⇧⌘- / CtrlShift-: Downvote / Bad response.

Forms

These shortcuts work inside Raycast forms.

  • ⌘↵ / Ctrl↵: Submit the form.
  • Tab: Move to the next field.
  • ⇧Tab: Move to the previous field.
  • Esc: Cancel and go back.

Text Editing

Standard text editing shortcuts work in all text fields.

  • ⌘A / CtrlA: Select all.
  • ⌘C / CtrlC: Copy.
  • ⌘X / CtrlX: Cut.
  • ⌘V / CtrlV: Paste.
  • ⌘Z / CtrlZ: Undo.
  • ⇧⌘Z / CtrlShiftZ: Redo.

Alternative Navigation Bindings

Raycast supports alternative navigation styles that you can enable in Settings. These provide familiar keybindings for users coming from terminal editors.

Emacs Bindings (enabled by default)

  • ⌃N / CtrlN: Move down.
  • ⌃P / CtrlP: Move up.
  • ⌃F / CtrlF: Move right.
  • ⌃B / CtrlB: Move left.

Vim Bindings (optional)

  • ⌃J / CtrlJ: Move down.
  • ⌃K / CtrlK: Move up.
  • ⌃L / CtrlL: Move right.
  • ⌃H / CtrlH: Move left.

You can switch navigation bindings in Settings → Keyboard → Navigation Bindings.

Extensions Support & Feedback

These shortcuts open extension support and feedback options.

  • ⇧⌘B / CtrlShiftB: Report a bug.
  • ⌥⌘F / CtrlAltF: Request a feature.
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