Slack Keyboard Shortcuts: Move Between Channels Without Touching the Mouse
Slack keyboard shortcuts for Mac and Windows: the quick switcher, unread navigation, message formatting, slash commands and the search modifiers that find a message from six months ago.
The two minutes a day you get back
Slack is a navigation problem. Most of the time spent in it is not typing — it is finding the channel, the thread, the message someone mentioned. That is exactly the part the keyboard is good at.
This guide covers navigation first, then writing, then the search syntax that turns Slack from a chat app into an archive you can actually query.
On Windows and Linux, read Cmd as Ctrl and Opt as Alt.
The five to learn first
- Cmd + K — quick switcher: jump to any channel or DM by name
- Opt + Shift + Down — go to the next unread channel
- Cmd + Shift + A — open all unreads
- Up — edit the message you just sent
- Cmd + / — show every shortcut, in the app
Cmd + K replaces the sidebar entirely. Start typing a channel or person's name, press Enter, you are there.
Basics: moving around
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Quick switcher | Cmd + K | Ctrl + K |
| Open all unreads | Cmd + Shift + A | Ctrl + Shift + A |
| Open threads | Cmd + Shift + T | Ctrl + Shift + T |
| Open direct messages | Cmd + Shift + K | Ctrl + Shift + 2 |
| Open activity (mentions and reactions) | Cmd + Shift + M | Ctrl + Shift + M |
| Previous channel in the sidebar | Opt + Up | Alt + Up |
| Next channel in the sidebar | Opt + Down | Alt + Down |
| Previous unread channel | Opt + Shift + Up | Alt + Shift + Up |
| Next unread channel | Opt + Shift + Down | Alt + Shift + Down |
| Back | Cmd + [ | Alt + Left |
| Forward | Cmd + ] | Alt + Right |
The unread pair — Opt + Shift + Up / Down — is how you clear a morning's backlog. It skips everything already read, so you never scroll the sidebar looking for bold text.
Basics: writing a message
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| New line inside a message | Shift + Enter | Shift + Enter |
| Edit your last message | Up | Up |
| Bold | Cmd + B | Ctrl + B |
| Italic | Cmd + I | Ctrl + I |
| Strikethrough | Cmd + Shift + X | Ctrl + Shift + X |
| Underline | Cmd + U | — |
| Insert a link | Cmd + Shift + U | Ctrl + Shift + U |
| Quote | Cmd + Shift + 9 | Ctrl + Shift + 9 |
| Bulleted list | Cmd + Shift + 8 | Ctrl + Shift + 8 |
| Numbered list | Cmd + Shift + 7 | Ctrl + Shift + 7 |
| Code block | Cmd + Opt + Shift + C | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C |
| Create a code snippet | Cmd + Shift + Enter | Ctrl + Shift + Enter |
| Add an emoji reaction | Cmd + Shift + Backslash | Ctrl + Shift + Backslash |
Typing +:emoji: as a message also adds that reaction to the message above it — useful when your hands are already on the keys.
Intermediate: slash commands
Typed into the message box, these do things no shortcut covers.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| /remind | Set a reminder for yourself or a channel |
| /mute | Mute the current channel |
| /invite | Invite someone to the channel |
| /topic | Set the channel topic |
| /status | Set your status |
| /dnd | Turn on do not disturb |
| /people | Browse the member directory |
| /collapse | Collapse expanded images and files |
| /expand | Expand them again |
/remind me to ... at 9am tomorrow is the one worth building a habit around. It turns Slack into a to-do list that nags you in the right place.
Intermediate: the window itself
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Open search | Cmd + G | Ctrl + G |
| Search the current channel | Cmd + F | Ctrl + F |
| Toggle the sidebar | Cmd + Shift + D | Ctrl + Shift + D |
| Close the right pane | Cmd + Period | Ctrl + Period |
| Browse channels | Cmd + Shift + L | Ctrl + Shift + L |
| Member directory | Cmd + Shift + E | Ctrl + Shift + E |
| Switch workspace | Cmd + 1-9 | Ctrl + 1-9 |
| Preferences | Cmd + Comma | Ctrl + Comma |
| Zoom in / out | Cmd + Plus / Minus | Ctrl + Plus / Minus |
Advanced: search modifiers
This is the part that separates people who find things from people who ask again. Combine them freely.
| Modifier | Finds |
|---|---|
| from:@user | Messages from one person |
| in:#channel | Messages in one channel |
| is:thread | Messages inside threads |
| has:link | Messages containing a link |
| has:pin | Pinned messages |
| before:2026-09-01 | Messages before a date |
| after:2026-09-01 | Messages after a date |
| during:september | Messages in a given month |
A real example: from:@alex in:#design has:link after:2026-08-01 gets you the file someone shared in a design discussion in about four seconds.
Advanced: the rest
| Action | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Upload a file | Cmd + O | Ctrl + O |
| Jump to the most recent unread | Cmd + J | Ctrl + J |
| Mark everything read | Shift + Esc | Shift + Esc |
| Start, join or leave a huddle | Cmd + Shift + H | Ctrl + Shift + H |
| Mute or unmute in a huddle | Cmd + Shift + Space | Ctrl + Shift + Space |
| Open conversation details | Cmd + Shift + I | Ctrl + Shift + I |
| Reopen the last closed window | Cmd + Shift + W | Ctrl + Shift + W |
| Show all shortcuts | Cmd + / | Ctrl + / |
Shift + Esc marks everything read. Use it when the backlog is past saving — it is faster than pretending you will scroll back.
A small set beats a long list
Slack publishes dozens of shortcuts. In practice, three carry most of the benefit:
- Cmd + K to go anywhere
- Opt + Shift + Down to work through unreads
- Up to fix the typo in the message you just sent
Learn those until they are automatic, then pick up the search modifiers — those pay off the first time you need something from three months ago.