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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.

  • ⌘ / Alt Space: 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.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl Esc: Pop to Root.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl W: Close the Raycast window.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ,: Open Raycast Settings.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ /: 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.
  • Ctrl N / Ctrl P: Move down / up (Emacs-style, enabled by default).

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

Root Search

These shortcuts work in Raycast's main search.

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

Action Panel

These shortcuts work inside the Action Panel.

  • ⌘ / Ctrl K: Open or close the Action Panel.
  • ↵: Execute the selected action.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ↵: Execute the secondary action.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ ↵: Execute the tertiary action.
  • Esc: Close the Action Panel or go back from a sub-menu.
  • Type to search: New 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.

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

Copy & Paste

  • ⌘ / Ctrl C: Copy.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ C: Copy (secondary, e.g. copy deeplink).
  • ⌘ / Ctrl V: Paste.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ V: Paste (secondary).

Delete

  • Ctrl X: Delete selected item.
  • Ctrl ⇧ X: Delete all.

AI Chat

New AI Chat has a full set of dedicated keyboard shortcuts.

Chat Navigation

  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ S or ⌘ / Ctrl B: Toggle chat history sidebar.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ F: Search chats.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl J: Send selected item to AI Chat (from other views).

Composer & Messages

  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ A: Add attachment to composer.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ B: Branch chat from a message.

Model & Settings

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

Chat Management

  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⌥ / Alt A: Archive chat.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⌃ / Alt N: Create folder.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⌃ / Alt M: Move to folder.

Feedback

  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ =: Upvote / Good response.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ -: 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.

  • ⌘ / Ctrl A: Select all.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl C: Copy.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl X: Cut.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl V: Paste.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl Z: Undo.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ Z: 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)

  • Ctrl N: Move down.
  • Ctrl P: Move up.
  • Ctrl F: Move right.
  • Ctrl B: Move left.

Vim Bindings (optional)

  • Ctrl J: Move down.
  • Ctrl K: Move up.
  • Ctrl L: Move right.
  • Ctrl H: Move left.

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

Extensions Support & Feedback

These shortcuts open extension support and feedback options.

  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⇧ B: Report a bug.
  • ⌘ / Ctrl ⌥ / Alt F: Request a feature.