GIMP has a keyboard shortcut for a lot of what you click every day. Here are 54 that work on Windows, grouped by what you’re trying to do.
We checked every one against GIMP 3.0 Documentation: Keys and Mouse Reference on October 21, 2026.
File
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | Create a new image |
| Ctrl + O | Open an image |
| Ctrl + Alt + O | Open an image as layers |
| Ctrl + S | Save the image as an XCF file |
| Ctrl + Shift + S | Save the image with a different name |
| Ctrl + E | Export the image again with the same settings |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Export the image as JPG, PNG or another format |
| Ctrl + W | Close the image window |
| Ctrl + Q | Quit GIMP |
Edit and Select
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Z | Undo |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo |
| Ctrl + C | Copy the selection |
| Ctrl + X | Cut the selection |
| Ctrl + V | Paste as a new floating layer |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste the clipboard as a new image |
| Delete | Erase the selected area |
| Ctrl + , | Fill the selection with the foreground color |
| Ctrl + . | Fill the selection with the background color |
| Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Select none |
| Ctrl + I | Invert the selection |
View
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Hold Space + move mouse | Pan around the image |
| Ctrl + Mouse Wheel | Zoom in or out |
| + | Zoom in |
| – | Zoom out |
| 1 | Zoom to 100% (1:1) |
| Ctrl + Shift + J | Fit the image in the window |
| F11 | Turn full screen on or off |
| Tab | Show or hide the toolbox and docks |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | Show or hide the rulers |
Tools
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| R | Rectangle Select tool |
| E | Ellipse Select tool |
| F | Free Select (lasso) tool |
| U | Fuzzy Select (magic wand) tool |
| M | Move tool |
| Shift + C | Crop tool |
| Shift + S | Scale tool |
| Shift + F | Flip tool |
| P | Paintbrush tool |
| Shift + E | Eraser tool |
| Shift + B | Bucket Fill tool |
| G | Gradient tool |
| C | Clone tool |
| T | Text tool |
| O | Color Picker tool |
Colors
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| D | Reset to default colors (black and white) |
| X | Swap the foreground and background colors |
Layers and Filters
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Add a new layer |
| Ctrl + Shift + D | Duplicate the selected layers |
| Ctrl + M | Merge visible layers |
| Ctrl + H | Anchor the floating layer |
| Ctrl + L | Open the Layers dialog |
| Ctrl + F | Repeat the last filter |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Reopen the last filter with its settings |
Good to know: Shortcuts are the GIMP 3.0 defaults. You can change any of them in Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.
Get the Excel and PDF Version
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If you’d rather have it on your desk, the download below is a sortable Excel file plus a printable one-page PDF of all 54 shortcuts, for $0.99.
Want One Key to Do More?
Built-in shortcuts only work while GIMP is the active window, and you can’t add new ones. These tools let you pick your own hotkeys:
- Prompt Assistant: paste your copyright line or watermark text into the GIMP Text tool with a hotkey you pick
- Image Converter: batch convert finished images to WEBP, AVIF, ICO and more by dragging and dropping them
- Second Keyboard Manager: turn a number keypad into a pad of your own GIMP hotkeys, one key per action
