Slack Keyboard Shortcuts: The Complete Guide for Mac
Move through Slack faster on Mac with the essential keyboard shortcuts for conversations, unread messages, workspaces, formatting, canvases, and huddles.
Slack is where many Mac teams keep conversations, decisions, files, huddles, and quick status updates. The app is also much faster when you stop clicking through the sidebar and start using its built-in shortcuts.
Slack notes that some shortcuts can vary by keyboard language, and several shortcuts only work in the Slack desktop app. If a shortcut below does not behave as expected, press ⌘ + / inside Slack to open the current shortcut list for your workspace and keyboard layout.
Slack basics
Start with these before moving into heavier navigation and message handling.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Show keyboard shortcuts | ⌘ + / |
| Compose a new message | ⌘ + N |
| Browse DMs | ⇧ + ⌘ + K |
| Set your status | ⇧ + ⌘ + Y |
| Open preferences | ⌘ + , |
| Hide the right sidebar | ⌘ + . |
| Create a new canvas | ⇧ + ⌘ + N |
| Upload a file | ⌘ + O |
| View all downloaded files | ⇧ + ⌘ + J |
| Create a new snippet | ⇧ + ⌘ + Return |
| Start a search | ⌘ + G |
| Search in the current conversation | ⌘ + F |
| Open Help | F1 |
| Toggle full screen | ⌃ + ⌘ + F |
| Close window | ⌘ + W |
| Reopen last closed window | ⇧ + ⌘ + W |
| Quit Slack | ⌘ + Q |
Conversation navigation
These shortcuts are the fastest way to move through channels, DMs, threads, and recent history.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Jump to a conversation | ⌘ + K |
| Jump to a conversation in the desktop app | ⌘ + T |
| Jump to the most recent unread message | ⌘ + J |
| Previous unread channel or DM | ⌥ + ⇧ + ↑ |
| Next unread channel or DM | ⌥ + ⇧ + ↓ |
| Previous channel or DM in the sidebar | ⌥ + ↑ |
| Next channel or DM in the sidebar | ⌥ + ↓ |
| Go back in history | ⌘ + [ |
| Go forward in history | ⌘ + ] |
| Open the Home view | ⌃ + 1 |
| Open the Activity view | ⇧ + ⌘ + M |
| Open the More view | ⌃ + 0 |
| Open the Threads view | ⇧ + ⌘ + T |
| Browse channels | ⇧ + ⌘ + L |
| Open conversation details | ⇧ + ⌘ + I |
Pro tip: make ⌘ + K your default entry point. Type a channel, DM, file, or app name, then press Return to jump without scanning the sidebar.
Keyboard focus and reading
Slack’s keyboard navigation is especially useful when you are catching up on long conversations or working with accessibility-focused navigation.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move focus to the next section | F6 |
| Move focus to the previous section | ⇧ + F6 |
| Move focus within the current section | Tab / ⇧ + Tab |
| Move between messages or list items | ↑ / ↓ |
| Move to the oldest message | Home |
| Move to the most recent message | End |
| Scroll through messages | Space |
| Enter a thread from a focused message | → |
| Return from a thread to the main conversation | ← |
| Select or deselect a checkbox | Space |
When the message field is empty, pressing ↑ can move back to the last message you sent for editing. Slack lets you adjust that behavior so ↑ moves focus to the last visible message instead.
Read and unread shortcuts
Use these when your sidebar starts filling up with unread channels.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Mark all messages in current conversation as read | Escape |
| Mark all messages as read | ⇧ + Escape |
| Mark a message as unread | ⌥ + Click |
| Open All unreads | ⇧ + ⌘ + A |
| Move between messages in All unreads | ↑ / ↓ |
| Mark a group of unread messages as read | Escape |
| Expand or collapse a group in All unreads | ← / → |
If you rely on All unreads, combine ⇧ + ⌘ + A with ↑, ↓, and Escape. That gives you a quick review loop for triage without opening every channel manually.
Workspace and tab switching
These shortcuts help when you belong to multiple Slack workspaces or use Slack’s navigation tabs heavily.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Expand or collapse the workspace switcher | ⇧ + ⌘ + S |
| Switch to previous workspace | ⌃ + ⇧ + Tab |
| Switch to next workspace | ⌃ + Tab |
| Switch to a specific workspace | ⌘ + [number] |
| Switch to previous tab | ⌃ + Page Up |
| Switch to next tab | ⌃ + Page Down |
| Switch to a specific tab | ⌃ + [number] |
For specific workspaces and tabs, Slack shows assigned numbers in the UI when the relevant switcher or navigation area is active.
Message actions
When a message is focused, Slack supports one-key shortcuts for common actions.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Edit a message you sent | E |
| Delete a message you sent | Delete |
| Open or reply to a thread | T or → |
| Forward a message | F |
| Pin or unpin a message | P |
| Save a message or remove it from Later | A |
| Mark all messages above as unread | U |
| Create a reminder about a message | M |
| Add an emoji reaction | R |
These are easiest to use after moving focus onto a message with the keyboard. If you are still typing in the compose field, the same letters will enter text instead of triggering actions.
Message formatting
Make sure your cursor is in the message field before using these formatting shortcuts.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Select text to beginning of current line | ⇧ + ↑ |
| Select text to end of current line | ⇧ + ↓ |
| Create a new line | ⇧ + Return |
| Bold selected text | ⌘ + B |
| Italicize selected text | ⌘ + I |
| Underline selected text | ⌘ + U |
| Strikethrough selected text | ⇧ + ⌘ + X |
| Hyperlink selected text | ⇧ + ⌘ + U |
| Quote selected text | ⇧ + ⌘ + 9 |
| Code selected text | ⇧ + ⌘ + C |
| Code block selected text | ⌥ + ⇧ + ⌘ + C |
| Bulleted list | ⇧ + ⌘ + 8 |
| Numbered list | ⇧ + ⌘ + 7 |
| Apply markdown formatting | ⇧ + ⌘ + F |
| Undo formatting | ⌘ + Z |
Pro tip: if you copy a URL first, select text in your Slack draft and press ⌘ + V to turn that selected text into a link.
Huddles and calls
Slack huddles have their own high-value shortcuts, which are worth learning if your team uses audio and screen sharing throughout the day.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Start, join, leave, or end a huddle | ⇧ + ⌘ + H |
| Toggle mute in a huddle | ⇧ + ⌘ + Space |
Keep these two close to muscle memory. They are faster than finding the huddle controls during a live conversation.
Canvas shortcuts
Slack canvases use many of the same writing shortcuts as messages, plus a few canvas-specific commands.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Paragraph style | ⌥ + ⌘ + 0 |
| Big heading | ⌥ + ⌘ + 1 |
| Medium heading | ⌥ + ⌘ + 2 |
| Small heading | ⌥ + ⌘ + 3 |
| Checklist | ⇧ + ⌘ + 0 |
| View comment thread | ⌥ + ⌘ + T |
| Show reader or edit view | ⌥ + ⌘ + R |
| Open context menu | ⇧ + ⌘ + / |
| Find text in the canvas | ⌘ + F |
| Find next | ⌘ + G |
| Find previous | ⇧ + ⌘ + G |
| Find and replace | ⇧ + ⌘ + H |
| Copy anchor link to section | ⌃ + ⌥ + Q |
| Move list item up | ⌥ + ⌘ + ↑ |
| Move list item down | ⌥ + ⌘ + ↓ |
Discovering Slack shortcuts
Slack does not currently support custom keyboard shortcuts. The best workflow is to use the built-in shortcut overlay and then adjust your habits around the commands Slack exposes.
Press ⌘ + / in Slack to see the current shortcut list for your app version, workspace, and keyboard layout. Slack also marks shortcuts that only work in the desktop app, which matters if you switch between the Mac app and Slack in a browser.
Show Slack shortcuts on screen
Recording a Slack onboarding video, support walkthrough, or team training session? KeyScreen displays your keystrokes beautifully on screen so viewers can follow every ⌘ + K, thread reply, formatting command, and huddle 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.
