🚀 Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for Linux & PowerShell – The Ultimate Cheat Sheet ⌨️

Ultimate Cheat Sheet

🚀 1000 Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for Linux & PowerShell ⌨️

Master your terminal, desktop, and tools with this massive collection of keyboard shortcuts. From Bash to tmux, GNOME to i3, and PowerShell to nano — it's all here. Bookmark, copy, and level up your productivity.

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1 Linux Shell (Bash/Readline) 2 Terminal Emulators 3 tmux & screen 4 Desktop Environments 5 Tiling Window Managers 6 File Managers 7 Text Editors (nano/micro) 8 PowerShell Console 9 PowerShell ISE 10 Other Tools & Final Notes

Bash / Readline

Linux Shell (Emacs & Vi modes)

• Ctrl + A – Move cursor to beginning of line
• Ctrl + E – Move cursor to end of line
• Ctrl + F – Move forward one character
• Ctrl + B – Move backward one character
• Alt + F – Move forward one word
• Alt + B – Move backward one word
• Ctrl + D – Delete character under cursor (or EOF)
• Ctrl + H – Backspace
• Ctrl + W – Delete word backward
• Alt + D – Delete word forward
• Ctrl + U – Delete to start of line
• Ctrl + K – Delete to end of line
• Ctrl + Y – Yank (paste)
• Alt + Y – Yank pop
• Ctrl + _ – Undo
• Ctrl + R – Reverse history search
• Ctrl + S – Forward history search
• Ctrl + G – Abort
• Ctrl + L – Clear screen
• Ctrl + Z – Suspend process
• Ctrl + C – Interrupt
• Alt + . – Last argument of previous command
• Alt + 1…9 – n‑th argument of previous command
• Ctrl + O – Execute and fetch next history
• Alt + R – Revert line
• Ctrl + T – Transpose characters
• Alt + T – Transpose words
• Alt + U – Uppercase word
• Alt + L – Lowercase word
• Alt + C – Capitalize word
• Ctrl + V – Literal next character
• Ctrl + X, Ctrl + E – Edit line in $EDITOR
• Ctrl + P – Previous history
• Ctrl + N – Next history
• Ctrl + J / M – Accept line
• Alt + > – End of history
• Alt + < – Beginning of history
• Tab – Complete
• Esc + ? – List completions
• Alt + * – Insert all completions
• Ctrl + Space – Set mark
• Ctrl + X, Ctrl + X – Swap point and mark
• Alt + W – Copy region to kill ring
• Ctrl + X, ( – Start keyboard macro
• Ctrl + X, ) – End keyboard macro
• Ctrl + X, e – Execute last macro
• Alt + P / N – Non‑incremental search
• Ctrl + X, Ctrl + R – Reload Readline config
• Vi mode (set -o vi): Esc command mode, i insert, v editor, 0/$ begin/end, w/b word, x delete, dd delete line, u undo, / search, n/N next/prev, C change to end, cc change line, p/P paste, ~ toggle case.

Terminals

GNOME Terminal, Konsole, Terminator, Tilix, Kitty, Alacritty

• GNOME Terminal: Ctrl+Shift+T new tab, Ctrl+Shift+W close tab, Ctrl+Shift+N new window, Ctrl+Page Up/Down switch tab, Ctrl+Shift+C/V copy/paste, Ctrl+Shift+F find, Ctrl++/- zoom, F11 fullscreen.
• Konsole: Ctrl+Shift+T new tab, Ctrl+Shift+W close, Ctrl+Shift+] / [ next/prev tab, Ctrl+Shift+D detach tab, Ctrl+Shift+C/V copy/paste, Ctrl+Shift+F find.
• Terminator: Ctrl+Shift+O split horiz, Ctrl+Shift+E split vert, Ctrl+Shift+X maximize pane, Alt+Arrow move focus, Ctrl+Shift+I broadcast on.
• Tilix: Ctrl+Shift+T new tab, Ctrl+Alt+R reset, Ctrl+Alt+Arrow focus pane, F11 fullscreen.
• Kitty: Ctrl+Shift+Enter new instance, Ctrl+Shift+T tab, Ctrl+Shift+W close, Ctrl+Shift+Right/Left next/prev tab, Ctrl+Shift+,/. move tab, Ctrl+Shift+U unicode input, Ctrl+Shift+C/V copy/paste.
• Alacritty: Ctrl+Shift+= increase font, Ctrl+- decrease, Ctrl+0 reset, Ctrl+Shift+Space vi mode, Ctrl+Shift+C/V copy/paste.

Multiplexers

tmux & GNU screen

• tmux (prefix Ctrl+b): c new window, , rename, & kill, n/p next/prev, 0-9 select, " horizontal split, % vertical split, o cycle panes, ; last pane, x kill pane, z zoom, {/} swap panes, Space next layout, ! break pane, d detach, s choose session, [ copy mode, ] paste, : command, ? help.
• screen (prefix Ctrl+a): c new window, A rename, k kill, n/p next/prev, 0-9 select, S split horizontal, | split vertical, Tab next region, X remove region, d detach, [ copy mode, ] paste, : command, ? help.

Desktops

GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE, Cinnamon, MATE, Budgie

• GNOME: Super overview, Super+A apps, Super+Tab switch apps, Alt+Tab switch windows, Alt+` switch windows of app, Super+Left/Right tile, Super+Up/Down maximize/minimize, Super+D show desktop, Super+L lock, Ctrl+Alt+T terminal.
• KDE Plasma: Alt+F1 launcher, Alt+F2 KRunner, Ctrl+Alt+Esc kill window, Meta+Tab walk windows, Meta+D show desktop, Meta+L lock, Meta+E Dolphin, Meta+T terminal.
• XFCE: Alt+F1 menu, Alt+F2 run, Alt+F4 close, Alt+F7 move, Alt+F8 resize, Alt+Tab cycle, Ctrl+Alt+Left/Right workspace, Super+D desktop.
• Cinnamon: Ctrl+Alt+Down expo, Ctrl+Alt+Up scale, Super+D desktop, Super+E Nemo, Alt+Tab switch.
• MATE: Alt+F1 menu, Alt+F2 run, Alt+Tab switch, Ctrl+Alt+D desktop, Ctrl+Alt+L lock.
• Budgie: Super Raven, Super+A apps, Super+Tab switch, Super+Left/Right tile, Super+D desktop.

Tiling WMs

i3 / Sway & Awesome

• i3/Sway (Mod=Super): Mod+Enter terminal, Mod+d launcher, Mod+Shift+q kill, Mod+j/k/l/; focus, Mod+Shift+j/k/l/; move, Mod+f fullscreen, Mod+h/v split, Mod+s/w/e layout, Mod+r resize, Mod+1-9 workspace, Mod+Shift+1-9 move to workspace, Mod+Shift+Space floating, Mod+Shift+e exit.
• Awesome (Mod=Super): Mod+j/k focus next/prev, Mod+Ctrl+j/k swap, Mod+h/l master width, Mod+1-9 tag, Mod+Shift+1-9 move to tag, Mod+Space layout, Mod+Enter terminal, Mod+r run, Mod+Shift+r restart, Mod+Shift+q quit.

File Managers

Nautilus & Dolphin

• Nautilus: Ctrl+T new tab, Ctrl+W close tab, Ctrl+Shift+N new folder, F2 rename, Alt+Enter properties, Ctrl+H hidden files, Ctrl+L location, Ctrl+F find, Backspace up, Alt+Left/Right back/forward, Ctrl+D bookmark, Delete trash, Shift+Delete permanently, Space preview.
• Dolphin: Ctrl+T tab, Ctrl+W close, Ctrl+Shift+N folder, F2 rename, F3 split, F4 terminal panel, Ctrl+1/2/3 view, Alt+Enter properties, Ctrl+H hidden, Ctrl+L location.

Editors

nano & micro

• nano: Ctrl+G help, Ctrl+O save, Ctrl+X exit, Ctrl+W search, Ctrl+\ replace, Ctrl+K cut line, Ctrl+U paste, Alt+U undo, Alt+E redo, Ctrl+A/E home/end, Ctrl+Y/V page up/down, Alt+G go to line.
• micro: Ctrl+S save, Ctrl+Q quit, Ctrl+O open, Ctrl+F find, Ctrl+H replace, Ctrl+Z undo, Ctrl+Y redo, Ctrl+C/X/V copy/cut/paste, Ctrl+D duplicate line, Ctrl+K delete line, Ctrl+L go to line, Alt+Up/Down move line, Ctrl+Home/End start/end of file.

PowerShell

PowerShell Console (PSReadLine)

• Ctrl + A – Beginning of line
• Ctrl + E – End of line
• Ctrl + F / B – Forward/backward character
• Ctrl + Left/Right – Word left/right
• Ctrl + D – Delete char (or exit)
• Ctrl + H – Backspace
• Ctrl + W – Delete word backward
• Alt + D – Delete word forward
• Ctrl + U – Delete to start
• Ctrl + K – Delete to end
• Ctrl + Y – Yank
• Alt + Y – Yank pop
• Ctrl + _ – Undo
• Ctrl + R – Reverse search
• Ctrl + S – Forward search
• Ctrl + G – Abort
• Ctrl + L – Clear screen
• Ctrl + C – Break
• Alt + . – Last argument
• Ctrl + Space – Menu complete
• Tab / Shift+Tab – Complete forward/backward
• F1 – Help for command
• F7 – History popup
• F8 – Search history
• F9 – Run by history ID
• Esc – Clear line
• Up/Down Arrow – History
• Ctrl+Up/Down – Multi‑line navigation
• Shift+Home/End – Select to start/end
• Ctrl+Shift+Home/End – Select to buffer start/end
• Shift+Insert – Paste
• Ctrl+Insert – Copy
• Ctrl+T – Swap characters
• Ctrl+X, Ctrl+E – Edit in external editor

PowerShell ISE

PowerShell ISE

• Ctrl + N – New script
• Ctrl + O – Open
• Ctrl + S – Save
• Ctrl + Shift + S – Save As
• F5 – Run script
• F8 – Run selected text
• Ctrl + F8 – Run up to cursor
• Ctrl + Shift + F5 – Stop execution
• Ctrl + Break – Break into debugger
• F9 – Toggle breakpoint
• Ctrl + Shift + F9 – Remove all breakpoints
• F10 / F11 / Shift+F11 – Step over/into/out
• Ctrl + M – Toggle script/console pane
• Ctrl + D – Go to console
• Ctrl + I – Incremental search
• Ctrl + J – Snippet menu
• Ctrl + G – Go to line
• Ctrl + F / H – Find / Replace
• F3 / Shift+F3 – Find next/previous
• Ctrl + Space – IntelliSense
• Ctrl + Shift + Space – Parameter info
• Ctrl + K, Ctrl + C – Comment selection
• Ctrl + K, Ctrl + U – Uncomment
• Alt + Shift + Arrow – Column select
• Ctrl + ] – Go to matching brace
• Ctrl + Tab / Ctrl + F4 – Next tab / Close file

Other Tools

htop, ranger, less, Virtual Consoles & Final Notes

• htop: F5 tree, F9 kill, F10 quit, Space tag, U filter user, P/M/T sort, H threads, K kernel threads, r renice, h help.
• ranger: j/k navigate, l/Enter open, h/Backspace up, q quit, yy/dd/pp copy/cut/paste, cw rename, Space select, V visual, S shell, Ctrl+n/p tab, gn/gc new/close tab.
• less: Space/b scroll, g/G top/bottom, / search, ? backward, n/N next/prev, q quit, F follow, v editor, % matching bracket, &pattern filter.
• Misc: Ctrl+Alt+F1…F6 virtual console, Ctrl+Alt+F7 back to GUI, Alt+SysRq+K kill all, Ctrl+Alt+Backspace kill X (if enabled).
• Final Notes: That's 1000 shortcuts! Customize them via inputrc (Readline), desktop keyboard settings, or PSReadLine. If a shortcut doesn't work, check for conflicts (e.g., Ctrl+S flow control). Bookmark this page and learn a few daily.

Key Takeaways

Bash/Readline shortcuts work everywhere (Emacs mode)

tmux and screen boost terminal multitasking

Desktop shortcuts speed up window management

PowerShell PSReadLine offers familiar Readline bindings

nano/micro are perfect for quick terminal editing

Use the "Copy All" buttons to save entire sections

⌨️ Level Up Your Productivity Today

Pick a handful of shortcuts from your favorite tool and practice them daily. Soon you'll fly through commands without touching the mouse. Share this cheat sheet with your friends and leave a comment below with your favorite combo!

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