Notion Keyboard Shortcuts: The Complete Guide for Mac
Move through Notion faster on Mac with essential shortcuts for search, pages, blocks, formatting, databases, tabs, and slash commands.
Notion can be a notes app, team wiki, project tracker, lightweight database, and writing workspace at the same time. That flexibility is useful, but it also means the fastest Notion users rely heavily on keyboard shortcuts instead of clicking through block menus.
Notion’s official shortcut guide uses cmd/ctrl for cross-platform commands. In this Mac guide, cmd/ctrl is written as ⌘, and Notion notes that its shortcut reference is for English/QWERTY keyboards.
Essential Notion shortcuts
Start with these shortcuts if you want Notion to feel faster immediately.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Search inside the current page | ⌘ + F |
| Open search or jump to a recent page | ⌘ + P or ⌘ + K |
| Copy the current page URL | ⌘ + L |
| Go back | ⌘ + [ |
| Go forward | ⌘ + ] |
| Toggle light or dark mode | ⇧ + ⌘ + L |
| Refresh Notion | ⌘ + R |
| Zoom in | ⌘ + + |
| Zoom out | ⌘ + - |
| Go up one page level | ⇧ + ⌘ + U |
Pro tip: make ⌘ + P or ⌘ + K your home base. It is usually faster to search for a page, database, or recently viewed item than to scan the sidebar.
Desktop app and tab shortcuts
These are most useful in the Notion desktop app for Mac.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Create a new page | ⌘ + N |
| Open a new Notion window | ⇧ + ⌘ + N |
| Create a new Notion tab | ⌘ + T |
| Open a link as a new Notion tab | ⌘ + Click |
| Open a page as a new window | ⌥ + ⇧ + Click |
| Open the Mac emoji picker | ⌃ + ⌘ + Space |
Notion’s desktop app also lets you set new tabs to open search automatically, which pairs well with ⌘ + T when you treat Notion like a workspace browser.
Writing and formatting
Use these while editing text on a page.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Insert a new line of text | Return |
| Create a line break inside the current block | ⇧ + Return |
| Create a comment | ⇧ + ⌘ + M |
| Bold selected text | ⌘ + B |
| Italicize selected text | ⌘ + I |
| Underline selected text | ⌘ + U |
| Strikethrough selected text | ⇧ + ⌘ + S |
| Add a link to selected text | ⌘ + K |
| Inline code for selected text | ⌘ + E |
| Paste a copied URL over selected text as a link | ⌘ + V |
You can also type Markdown-style triggers while writing. For example, type # followed by Space for an H1, ## for an H2, [] followed by Space for a to-do checkbox, or three dashes to create a divider.
Block creation shortcuts
For these content shortcuts, Notion uses ⌘ + ⌥ on Mac.
| Block type | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Text | ⌘ + ⌥ + 0 |
| H1 heading | ⌘ + ⌥ + 1 |
| H2 heading | ⌘ + ⌥ + 2 |
| H3 heading | ⌘ + ⌥ + 3 |
| To-do checkbox | ⌘ + ⌥ + 4 |
| Bulleted list | ⌘ + ⌥ + 5 |
| Numbered list | ⌘ + ⌥ + 6 |
| Toggle list | ⌘ + ⌥ + 7 |
| Code block | ⌘ + ⌥ + 8 |
| New page block | ⌘ + ⌥ + 9 |
These are especially handy when you are turning rough notes into a cleaner meeting doc or project brief. Instead of opening the block menu repeatedly, create the structure directly from the keyboard.
Edit and move blocks
Everything in Notion is a block, so these shortcuts pay off quickly.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Select the current block or clear selected blocks | Escape |
| Select the block your cursor is in | ⌘ + A once |
| Open a selected image full screen | Space |
| Select a different block | Arrow keys |
| Expand selection up or down | ⇧ + ↑ / ⇧ + ↓ |
| Select or deselect an entire block | ⌘ + ⇧ + Click |
| Select a range of blocks | ⇧ + Click |
| Delete selected blocks | Delete |
| Duplicate selected blocks | ⌘ + D |
| Edit text inside a selected block | Return |
| Change selected block type, color, or actions | ⌘ + / |
| Move selected blocks | ⇧ + ⌘ + Arrow keys |
| Expand or close all toggles in a toggle list | ⌘ + ⌥ + T |
| Apply the last text or highlight color | ⇧ + ⌘ + H |
| Modify the current block | ⌘ + Return |
⌘ + Return is context-aware: it can open a page, check or uncheck a to-do item, open or close a toggle, or make embeds and images full screen.
Database shortcuts
Notion databases are pages too, but a few shortcuts are especially useful when you are reviewing records or editing multiple rows.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Previous database page in peek view | ⌃ + ⇧ + K |
| Next database page in peek view | ⌃ + ⇧ + J |
| Edit multiple selected rows or cards | ⌘ + / |
| Fill selected table cells to the right | ⌘ + R |
| Fill selected table cells down | ⌘ + D |
| Duplicate content while dragging | ⌥ + Drag |
When you are cleaning up a database, select multiple rows or cards and press ⌘ + /. Notion opens the action menu so you can apply edits across the selection instead of changing entries one at a time.
Slash commands and page links
Not every Notion shortcut is a modifier key. Some of the fastest commands are typed directly into a page.
| Action | Shortcut or trigger |
|---|---|
| Open the block menu | / |
| Create a text block | /text or /plain |
| Create a page | /page |
| Create a bulleted list | /bullet |
| Create a numbered list | /num |
| Create a to-do list | /todo |
| Create a toggle list | /toggle |
| Create a divider | /div |
| Create a quote block | /quote |
| Create a code block | /code |
| Create a table of contents | /toc |
| Move the current block | /moveto |
| Duplicate the current block | /duplicate |
| Delete the current block | /delete |
| Dismiss the slash menu | Escape |
For page linking, type @ to mention a person, page, date, or reminder. Type [[ when you mostly want to link an existing page, and type + when you mostly want to create a new sub-page or page elsewhere.
Discovering Notion shortcuts
Notion does not expose a full custom keyboard shortcut editor like some pro apps. The practical workflow is to learn the built-in shortcut set, use slash commands for blocks, and keep an eye on the official shortcut reference when the app changes.
If a shortcut does not behave as expected, check the focused block, current database view, keyboard layout, and whether you are using Notion in the desktop app or browser. Some desktop tab and window shortcuts are only relevant in the Mac desktop app.
Show Notion shortcuts on screen
Recording a Notion workspace tour, knowledge-base walkthrough, class, or team training video? KeyScreen displays your keystrokes beautifully on screen so viewers can follow every ⌘ + K, slash command, block move, and database shortcut without guessing what you pressed.
You can also get KeyScreen on the Mac App Store if you want a clean keystroke overlay for tutorials, demos, livestreams, and remote training.
