Finder keyboard shortcuts most people never learn

27 October 2026 · 7 min read

The Finder shortcuts most people never learn are the ones that replace a trip through a menu: Shift-Command-G (⇧⌘G) to type a path and go straight to a folder, Shift-Command-Period to show hidden files, Space to preview a file with Quick Look, Option-Command-V to move a file you copied instead of copying it, Command-Delete to send a file to the Trash, and Command-1 to Command-4 to switch between icon, list, column and gallery view. All of them are built into the Finder on macOS 14 Sonoma and later, and most are listed in its menus once you know where to look.

Below, grouped by what you are trying to do, with a table at the end to keep beside you.

Go straight to a folder

Most people reach a folder by clicking through the sidebar, then the folder, then the folder inside it. The Go menu has a faster way for nearly every place you visit often.

Shift-Command-G: Go to Folder. A field opens; type a path such as ~/Library/Application Support and press Return. The Finder suggests matching folders as you type. The same shortcut works in Open and Save dialogs, which is where it saves the most time.
Option-Command-L: Downloads. Worth learning first if most of the files you open arrive as downloads.
Shift-Command-H: Home. Shift-Command-D: Desktop. Shift-Command-O: Documents. Shift-Command-A: Applications. Shift-Command-U: Utilities. Mostly the first letter of the place, with Shift and Command; Documents takes O because Desktop already has D.
Command-Up Arrow: the enclosing folder. One level up, in the same window. Control-Command-Up Arrow opens it in a new window instead.
Command-Down Arrow: open the selected item. Works for folders and files alike, and pairs with Command-Up Arrow to walk a folder tree from the keyboard.
Command-[ and Command-]: back and forward, like a browser.

Two more that are hidden in plain sight. Hold Option while the Go menu is open and a Library item appears, which takes you to the Library folder in your home folder that the Finder normally keeps out of view. And Command-click the folder name at the top of a window to see every folder that contains it; choose one to jump there.

Look at a file without opening it

Space: Quick Look. Select a file and press Space to see a preview without opening an app. Press the arrow keys to move to the next file and the preview follows. Space again closes it. Command-Y does the same from the File menu.
Option-Command-Y: Quick Look slideshow of the selected files, full screen.
Command-I: Get Info. One window per file.
Option-Command-I: Show Inspector. A single Info window that updates as you select different files, which is much tidier when you are checking sizes or dates on several.

Quick Look is the one that changes how you work. Picking the right PDF, photo or screenshot out of a folder of similar names stops being a matter of opening each in turn.

Move, copy, rename and delete without dragging

Dragging is fine with two windows side by side. With one window, the keyboard is quicker.

Command-C, then Option-Command-V: move a file. There is no Cut for files in the Finder. Copy the file, go to the new folder, and press Option-Command-V; the file moves rather than being copied. If you open the Edit menu and hold Option, you can watch Paste change into the move command.
Return: rename. Select a file and press Return to edit its name. Return again saves it. (Command-O or Command-Down Arrow opens it.)
Command-D: duplicate the selected file in the same folder.
Shift-Command-N: new folder. Control-Command-N makes a new folder and puts the selected items inside it, in one step.
Option-Command-C: copy the path. Copies the full path of the selected item as text, ready to paste into Terminal, a chat or a support ticket. In the Edit menu it appears as Copy as Pathname while you hold Option.
Command-Delete: Move to Trash. Shift-Command-Delete empties the Trash and asks first. Option-Command-Delete deletes the selected item immediately, skipping the Trash, after a confirmation.

When you do drag, two modifiers matter. Hold Option while you drag to make a copy instead of moving. Hold Command while you drag to another disk to move the item instead of copying it, which is what the Finder would otherwise do between disks.

Change what the window shows

Command-1, 2, 3 and 4: icons, list, columns and gallery. Column view (Command-3) is the best one for walking a deep folder tree with the arrow keys.
Shift-Command-Period: show or hide hidden files. Files whose names start with a dot, and other items the Finder normally hides, appear dimmed. Press it again to hide them. This one works in Open and Save dialogs too.
Option-Command-P: path bar. Shows the full path of the current folder along the bottom of the window. Command-Slash shows the status bar, with the item count and the free space on the disk.
Shift-Command-P: preview pane on the right of the window.
Command-J: View Options for the current folder, where icon size, sorting and the columns in list view live.
Command-T: new tab. Finder windows have tabs like Safari’s. Shift-Command-Backslash (⇧⌘) shows all of them as thumbnails.

In list view, the arrow keys do extra work. Right Arrow opens the selected folder in place and Left Arrow closes it. Option-click a folder’s disclosure triangle to open every folder inside it at once. And in any view, typing the first few letters of a name selects that item, which is often quicker than any shortcut.

A table to keep beside you

Shortcut	What it does
⇧⌘G	Go to Folder
⌥⌘L	Downloads
⌘↑ / ⌘↓	Enclosing folder / open selection
Space	Quick Look
⌥⌘I	Inspector that follows the selection
⌘C, then ⌥⌘V	Move a file
Return	Rename
⌥⌘C	Copy as Pathname
⌃⌘N	New folder with the selected items
⌘⌫	Move to Trash
⇧⌘.	Show or hide hidden files
⌘1 to ⌘4	Icons, list, columns, gallery
⌥⌘P	Path bar

If the symbols are unfamiliar, Mac keyboard symbols explained goes through each one.

Making them stick

Reading a list once does not make anyone faster. What works is meeting the shortcut at the moment you need it, several days in a row, until your hand goes there first. How to learn Mac keyboard shortcuts and actually remember them covers the habit in more detail; the short version is to pick three from this page, not thirteen.

The Finder’s menus are the first reference: every item with a shortcut shows it on the right. A few, though, are not in any menu, such as Space for Quick Look and Shift-Command-Period for hidden files, and some only appear while you hold Option.

Typebar puts them in one place. Hold Command in the Finder for a moment and the keys on its on-screen keyboard relabel with what each one does there, read from the Finder’s own menus, with a hand-made Finder pack adding the shortcuts the menus leave out. Let go and the labels go back. Its Cheatsheet List is searchable too: type “folder”, pick Go to Folder, and its keys light up on the board.

If you record Finder tutorials, the same app helps your viewers. Typebar names each shortcut as you press it, for example ⇧⌘G with the Finder’s own name for it, so a viewer who missed the keys can see what you pressed. See every keyboard shortcut for the app you are using covers the cheatsheet side more fully.

Typebar is $9 once, with a 24-hour free trial, on macOS 14 or later.

Questions

How do I show hidden files in the Finder?

Press Shift-Command-Period in a Finder window. Hidden files appear dimmed; press it again to hide them. It works in Open and Save dialogs as well.

How do I cut and paste a file on a Mac?

Select it and press Command-C, open the folder you want it in, and press Option-Command-V. The file moves instead of being copied.

Can I change a Finder shortcut or add one?

Yes. In System Settings, choose Keyboard, click Keyboard Shortcuts, then App Shortcuts, and add one for the Finder using the exact name of the menu item. Add or change a keyboard shortcut for any menu item walks through it.