Check out these insanely useful Chrome keyboard shortcuts – use them to save time, browse faster, and unlock more of Chrome’s native features and abilities…
Google’s Chrome browser is the most popular web browser in the world – both for desktop users and mobile users. As of right now, Chrome is used by around 2 billion people, and Google is constantly updating Chrome to make it faster – it is now quicker than Safari on Mac, for instance – and more useful.
If you use Chrome every day, it is definitely worth learning some Chrome keyboard shortcuts. Learning even a few Chrome keyboard shortcuts can do wonders for your workflow. With shortcuts, once they’re in your muscle memory, you can work significantly faster inside Google’s Chrome browser, do things without having to use your mouse, and switch between tabs in a flash. They’re super handy, basically.
I use them all time, almost without thinking about them anymore, to perform all kinds of tasks in Chrome like opening an Incognito Window, clearing my browser’s cache, and jumping to a specific tab.
And it doesn’t matter whether you’re a casual user or a more professional user, like a developer or a web designer, these handy Chrome keyboard shortcuts will help save you time and, in some cases, unlock features you didn’t even know Chrome had.
Chrome Window & Tab Keyboard Shortcuts
Action | Shortcut |
Open New Window | Ctrl + n |
Open New Incognito window | Ctrl + Shift + n |
Open New Tab & Go Straight To It | Ctrl + t |
Reopen Previously Closed Tabs In Order They Were Originally Open | Ctrl + Shift + t |
Jump To Next Tab | Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + PgDn |
Go To Previous Open Tab | Ctrl + Shift + Tab or Ctrl + PgUp |
Jump To A Specific Tab | Ctrl + 1 to Ctrl + 8 |
Jump To The Tab On Farthest Right | Ctrl + 9 |
Open Home Page In Current Tab | Alt + Home |
Open Previous Page From Your Browsing History In Tab | Alt + Left arrow |
Open Next Page From Browsing history in Current Tab | Alt + Right arrow |
Close Current tab | Ctrl + w or Ctrl + F4 |
Close Current Window | Ctrl + Shift + w or Alt + F4 |
Minimize Current Window | Alt + Space then n |
Maximize Current Window | Alt + Space then x |
Quit Google Chrome | Alt + f then x |
Chrome Settings & Features Keyboard Shortcuts
Action | Shortcut |
Open the Chrome Menu | Alt + f or Alt + e |
Show / Hide Bookmarks Bar | Ctrl + Shift + b |
Open Bookmarks Manager | Ctrl + Shift + o |
Open the History Page (New Tab) | Ctrl + h |
Open the Downloads (New Tab) | Ctrl + j |
Open Chrome Task Manager | Shift + Esc |
Switch Focus to The Unfocused Dialog (if Showing) and All Toolbars | F6 |
Open the Find Bar to Search The Current Page | Ctrl + f and/or F3 |
Jump to the Next Match to Your Find Bar Search | Ctrl + g |
Jump to the Previous Match to Your Find Bar Search | Ctrl + Shift + g |
Open Developer Tools | Ctrl + Shift + j or F12 |
Open the Clear Browsing Data Options | Ctrl + Shift + Delete |
Open the Chrome Help Center in a New Tab | F1 |
Log in a Different User or Browse as a Guest | Ctrl + Shift + m |
Open a Feedback Form | Alt + Shift + i |
Turn on Caret Browsing | F7 |
Skip to Web Contents | Ctrl + F6 |
Focus on Inactive Dialogs | Alt + Shift + a |
Useful Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts For Mac Users
All of the Chrome keyboard shortcuts above are for Windows users but don’t worry if you’re using a Mac – we got you covered. I actually use a Mac in my day-to-day, so these Chrome keyboard shortcuts are the ones that I find most useful to my line of work: writing content, editing content, and researching content.
But if you do something different, it doesn’t matter. These Chrome keyboard shortcuts for Mac are all incredibly useful, whether you’re using them for work or just browsing the web in general. In total, there are hundreds of possible Chrome keyboard shortcuts for Mac, but I’ve kept this list nice and focused on only the most useful ones.
Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts For Mac
Action | Shortcut |
Open a new window | ⌘ + n |
Open a new window in Incognito mode | ⌘ + Shift + n |
Open a new tab, and jump to it | ⌘ + t |
Reopen previously closed tabs in the order they were closed | ⌘ + Shift + t |
Jump to the next open tab | ⌘ + Option + Right arrow |
Jump to the previous open tab | ⌘ + Option + Left arrow |
Jump to a specific tab | ⌘ + 1 through ⌘ + 8 |
Jump to the last tab | ⌘ + 9 |
Open the previous page in your browsing history for the current tab | ⌘ + [ or ⌘ + Left arrow |
Open the next page in your browsing history for the current tab | ⌘ + ] or ⌘ + Right arrow |
Close the current tab or pop-up | ⌘ + w |
Close the current window | ⌘ + Shift + w |
Minimize the window | ⌘ + m |
Hide Google Chrome | ⌘ + h |
Quit Google Chrome | ⌘ + q |
Move tabs right or left with keyboard focus | ⌘ + Right arrow or ⌘ + Left arrow |
Other Cool Chrome Stuff
If you’re using Chrome as your mail browser, there are loads of additional things it can do that you might not know about. One of the coolest things inside Chrome is chrome:flags – with these you can install and run beta features and new abilities, things that aren’t included inside the official version.
We also have a complete guide about what about:blank is – this is something that trips up a lot of people. Beyond this, if you’re using a Chromebook to run Chrome, you should also check out our 16 point guide on how to get the absolute most from your Chromebook.
And if you’re interested in learning more about how to use Google Drive, we have a load of content and resources about Google Docs and all the other applications inside Drive inside our Google Drive Resource Center.