Complete Linux Shortcut Keys Cheatsheet

Boost your productivity with these essential keyboard shortcuts

Quick Reference

These shortcuts work in most Linux distributions and terminal emulators. Some may vary by desktop environment.

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Table of Contents
Terminal Shortcuts 15 System Shortcuts 10 File Management 8 Text Editing 12 Window Management 6 Browser Shortcuts 5

1 Terminal Shortcuts

Ctrl + A
Move cursor to the beginning of the line
Ctrl + E
Move cursor to the end of the line
Ctrl + U
Cut text from cursor to beginning of line
Ctrl + K
Cut text from cursor to end of line
Ctrl + W
Cut word before cursor
Ctrl + Y
Paste the last cut text
Ctrl + R
Search command history
Ctrl + C
Terminate the current command
Ctrl + Z
Suspend the current command (resume with 'fg')
Ctrl + D
Exit the shell (when on empty line) or signal EOF
Ctrl + L
Clear the terminal screen
Tab
Auto-complete file or command names
Alt + .
Insert last argument of previous command
Ctrl + XX
Toggle between current and start of command line
Ctrl + T
Swap the last two characters before the cursor

2 System Shortcuts

Alt + F2
Open run command dialog (GNOME/KDE)
Alt + Tab
Switch between open applications
Super (Windows key)
Open application menu (GNOME/KDE)
Ctrl + Alt + T
Open terminal (common default)
Ctrl + Alt + L
Lock screen (GNOME)
Ctrl + Alt + Del
Open logout/shutdown dialog
Alt + F4
Close current window
Print Screen
Take screenshot of entire screen
Alt + Print Screen
Take screenshot of current window
Ctrl + Alt + Arrow Keys
Switch between workspaces

3 File Management Shortcuts

F2
Rename selected file (in file managers)
Ctrl + N
Create new window (file manager)
Ctrl + H
Toggle hidden files (file manager)
Ctrl + Shift + N
Create new folder (file manager)
Ctrl + O
Open file (in applications)
Ctrl + S
Save file (in applications)
Delete
Move to trash (file manager)
Shift + Delete
Delete permanently (file manager)

4 Text Editing Shortcuts (Universal)

Ctrl + A
Select all text
Ctrl + C
Copy selected text
Ctrl + X
Cut selected text
Ctrl + V
Paste text
Ctrl + Z
Undo last action
Ctrl + Y
Redo last undone action
Ctrl + F
Find text
Ctrl + H
Find and replace text
Ctrl + S
Save current file
Ctrl + Home
Go to beginning of document
Ctrl + End
Go to end of document
Ctrl + Backspace
Delete previous word

5 Window Management Shortcuts

Alt + F10
Toggle window maximize/restore
Alt + F5
Restore window to original size
Alt + F7
Move window (then use arrow keys)
Alt + F8
Resize window (then use arrow keys)
Alt + Tab
Switch between open windows
Alt + Space
Open window menu (for move, resize, etc.)

6 Browser Shortcuts (Common)

Ctrl + T
Open new tab
Ctrl + W
Close current tab
Ctrl + Shift + T
Reopen last closed tab
Ctrl + L
Focus address bar
F5 / Ctrl + R
Refresh page