All the Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts That No One Ever Told You
Keyboard shortcuts are a great way to speed up your workflow and improve task efficiency. Google Chrome has a bunch of useful shortcuts that let you open bookmarks, downloads, a new tab, etc. Additionally, there is a nifty hack that lets you create custom shortcuts for many Chrome functions. So in this article, we are going to share with you 18 awesome Google Chrome shortcuts that you can make a habit of your daily browsing to increase your productivity in 2025.
Best Google Chrome Shortcuts in 2025
Here I have covered Google Chrome shortcuts for Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, and Linux. As such, Windows, Chrome OS, and Linux have almost identical keyboard layouts, so the shortcuts are the same for these platforms. However, macOS has a slightly different keyboard layout that has Command (Cmd) instead of Control (Ctrl) key. So for macOS, make sure to replace the Ctrl key with Cmd key in the shortcuts below. In cases of other differences, I have mentioned Google Chrome shortcuts for mac explicitly.
1. Manage Chrome and Windows Tabs
These are some of the best Google Chrome shortcuts to manage tabs and windows efficiently without any hassle. We have compiled essential Google Chrome shortcuts below so that you can get your tasks done without losing a moment.
• Open a new tab Ctrl + T :
• Open a new window Ctrl + N:
• Switch between tabs Ctrl + Tab:
• Switch Chrome tabs on Mac. Right or left arrow Cmd + Option +
• Open the link in a new tab Ctrl + Click:
• Open the link in a new windowShift + Click:
If you want to have a unique experience whenever you launch a new tab in Chrome, then you should consider some great Chrome new tab extensions that let you customize the interface.
2. Close the active tab.
To quickly close tabs, you can use this handy Google Chrome shortcut. Press Ctrl + W and the tab will be closed instantly. And if you want to close the entire Chrome window, press Ctrl + Shift + W. Pretty simple, right?
3. Reopen a closed tab
Sometimes in a hurry, we close an active tab that we were supposed to use. But there is a neat shortcut in Google Chrome that allows you to reopen the closed tab instantly. Just press Ctrl + Shift + T and the last closed tab will be opened. You can run this shortcut as many times as you want until you find the active tab.
4. Open incognito mode
Chrome has a great keyboard shortcut that lets you open incognito mode in seconds. Just press Ctrl + Shift + N and you’ll be in incognito mode. And if you want to close it, just press Ctrl + Shift + W and you’ll be back in regular mode.
5. Web Page Shortcuts
These are some of the most useful Google Chrome shortcuts that can help you navigate through web pages expertly. If you want to master Google Chrome, you must know the navigation shortcuts.
• Back: Left arrow + Alt
• Forward: Alt+right arrow
• Return to: Mac Cmd + [
• Forward on Mac: [Cmd+
• Save the page Ctrl + S:
• Print page Ctrl + P :
• Search in page Ctrl + F:
6. Refresh the page.
You can conveniently refresh a web page on Chrome by pressing Ctrl + R. No need to reach for the refresh button. And if you want to refresh the page without the cached content, press Ctrl + Shift + R and the web page will load the content again from the web server. This is arguably one of the best and most used Google Chrome shortcuts.
7. Zoom in and out
Zooming in and out is one of my favorite Google Chrome shortcuts that I use regularly. If the content of a web page is too small and unreadable, you can press Ctrl + Plus key to zoom in on the page. Similarly, if the content is too large, you can reduce it by pressing Ctrl + Minus key. And if you want to reset the zoom percentage to the default size, all you have to do is press Ctrl + 0. 
8. Google Chrome functions
As for the basic Google Chrome shortcuts to open and browse history, downloads, bookmarks, etc. with easy key combinations. No need to open the Chrome menu and jump through hoops. Just use these shortcuts for some time and they will stick with you.
• Open History: Ctrl + H
• Open History on Mac: Cmd + H
• Open the downloads portal Ctrl + J:
• Open the downloads portal on Mac: Cmd + Shift + J
• Save the current page Ctrl + D :
• Go to the address bar Ctrl + L:
9. Show/hide bookmarks bar
Every now and then, I want to open my list of websites without manually typing their URL. However, if the bookmarks bar is disabled, you will have to open a new tab to access your bookmarks. In such cases, you can quickly show or hide the bookmarks bar in the current tab using a Google Chrome shortcut. Just press Ctrl + Shift + B and the bookmarks bar will appear. Once you are done with bookmarks, press the same shortcut again to hide it. How cool is that? Also, if you want to create a backup of your bookmarks, learn how to export and save Chrome bookmarks by clicking on the link.
10. Switch User on Chrome
Using the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + M, the user can easily change without touching the mouse.
11. Do a Google search from anywhere
This handy Google Chrome shortcut has saved me a lot of time. Just press Ctrl+K and you’ll be on the Google Omnibox, ready to enter your search query. The best part is that you can be anywhere on a webpage and invoke Google Search with this powerful shortcut. However, be aware that some web applications reserve the Ctrl+K shortcut for different actions (like adding links). In those cases, this shortcut won’t work.
12. Paste without formatting
This is a really useful shortcut if you copy content from the web but are afraid of the text formatting that comes with it. Well, just press Ctrl + Shift + V and you’ll simply have plain text without the weird formatting in your word processor. Cool, right?
13. Delete browsing data
Sometimes we are in a hurry and want to delete browsing data immediately. In such cases, you can use Google Chrome shortcut just press Ctrl + Shift + Del and a “Clear browsing data” window will be displayed with a predefined time range of 1 hour. Now click on Clear data and you will delete browsing data in seconds.
14. Scroll horizontally
There are times when we come across horizontally placed pages and we have no idea how to do it. Well, just hold down the shift key and scroll the mouse wheel. The web page will start scrolling horizontally. Now you should remember it the next time you come across such web pages.
15. Open Chrome menu and settings
Many users hate the fact that there is no convenient Google Chrome shortcut to open the settings page. Well, there is a clever way through which you can open the settings page in a jiffy. Simply press Alt + E to open the Chrome menu and then press the “S” key to open the settings.
Note: This shortcut does not work on Mac.
16. Open the home page
With this awesome Google Chrome shortcut, you can open your Chrome homepage, just by pressing Alt + Home buttons on Windows and Linux computers. And on macOS, press Cmd + Shift + H to open the homepage in the current tab. This way, you don’t have to keep opening a new tab to get to the homepage.
Note: This shortcut does not work on ChromeOS.
17. Add “www” and “.com” to a website name in the address bar
If you’re too lazy to type out the entire website link, Chrome has something for you. Type a site name into the address bar and press Ctrl + Enter. It will directly open the relevant website. For example, if you type igli5 and press Ctrl + Enter, Chrome will directly open www.igli5.com.
18. Chrome Task Manager
Similar to Windows Task Manager, Chrome also has its own dedicated task manager and you can open it through the Google Chrome shortcut. By pressing Shift + Esc you can check which apps and extensions are consuming your RAM and increasing CPU usage. In case the tab is not responding, you can easily kill the process from here.
Note : This shortcut does not work on macOS.
Create your own Google Chrome shortcuts
Google Chrome has a great feature that allows users to assign custom keyboard shortcuts to Chrome extensions. For example, I use the Dark Reader extension to darken all web pages. However, sometimes, the extension darkens the content of the web page and it becomes difficult to read. In this case, I have to manually disable the Dark Reader extension. But using this feature, I can assign a custom shortcut, say Ctrl + B to instantly turn off dark mode on any page.
1. To access the settings, open the custom hotkey chrome://extensions/shortcuts and assign it to the extension of your choice. Keep in mind that the shortcut should not conflict with other hotkey combinations. Now, you can easily use custom keyboard shortcuts on Google Chrome.
2. Additionally, you can use Shortkeys, a third-party extension to customize Google Chrome shortcuts. If you want to create your own keyboard shortcuts that you can easily remember, you can do so. In fact, you can disable all the native Google Chrome shortcuts and replace them with your own set of shortcuts.
Install Shortkeys :
We use Google Chrome at our own pace, but there are ways like keyboard shortcuts to improve our workflow and increase productivity. Keyboard shortcuts are useful not only for Chrome but for any application you work on. So it is better to customize them as per our own preference. I hope you like the Chrome shortcuts mentioned in this list. And if you want to create your own shortcuts, you can do that too.