Slack has a keyboard shortcut for a lot of what you click every day. Here are 40 that work on Windows, grouped by what you’re trying to do.
We checked every one against Slack Help Center: Slack keyboard shortcuts on October 21, 2026.
Basics
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | Compose a new message |
| Ctrl + Z | Unsend a message you just sent |
| Ctrl + Shift + Y | Set your status |
| Ctrl + O | Upload a file |
| Ctrl + , | Open your preferences |
| F11 | Turn full screen view on or off |
Search and Jump
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + K | Jump to a conversation |
| Ctrl + G | Start a search |
| Ctrl + F | Search in the current conversation |
| Ctrl + J | Jump to the most recent unread message in a conversation |
| Alt + Up Arrow | Go to the previous channel or DM in the sidebar |
| Alt + Down Arrow | Go to the next channel or DM in the sidebar |
| Alt + Shift + Up Arrow | Go to the previous unread channel or DM |
| Alt + Shift + Down Arrow | Go to the next unread channel or DM |
| Alt + Left Arrow | Go back in history |
| Alt + Right Arrow | Go forward in history |
Views
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + 1 | Open the Home view |
| Ctrl + Shift + 2 | Browse your direct messages |
| Ctrl + Shift + M | Open the Activity view (mentions and reactions) |
| Ctrl + Shift + T | Open the Threads view |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Open the All unreads view |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Browse channels |
| Ctrl + Shift + I | Open conversation details |
Read and Unread
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Esc | Mark all messages in the current conversation as read |
| Shift + Esc | Mark all messages as read |
| Alt + Click | Mark a message as unread |
Messages and Formatting
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Shift + Enter | Start a new line in your message |
| E | Edit a selected message you sent |
| Ctrl + B | Bold selected text |
| Ctrl + I | Italicize selected text |
| Ctrl + Shift + X | Strike through selected text |
| Ctrl + Shift + U | Turn selected text into a link |
| Ctrl + Shift + C | Format selected text as code |
| Ctrl + Shift + 9 | Format selected text as a quote |
| Ctrl + Shift + 8 | Format selected text as a bulleted list |
| Ctrl + Shift + 7 | Format selected text as a numbered list |
Huddles and Workspaces
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + H | Start, join, leave, or end a huddle |
| Ctrl + Shift + Space | Mute or unmute yourself in a huddle |
| Ctrl + Tab | Switch to the next workspace |
| Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Switch to the previous workspace |
Good to know: Ctrl + O, Ctrl + J, Ctrl + Shift + M, Ctrl + Shift + T and Ctrl + Shift + L work in the Slack desktop app, not in the browser.
Get the Excel and PDF Version
Everything above is free. Bookmark this page and use it anytime.
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 40 shortcuts, for $0.99.
Want One Key to Do More?
Built-in shortcuts only work while Slack is the active window, and you can’t add new ones. These tools let you pick your own hotkeys:
- Prompt Assistant: paste a standup update like “Yesterday: X. Today: Y. Blockers: none” into Slack with a hotkey you pick
- Remote Work Tools for Zoom and Teams: more of our picks for people who work in chat and video calls all day
