GitHub Keyboard Shortcuts

GitHub's web interface has a real keyboard layer that most people never discover: single letters on repository pages, two-key sequences starting with G for navigation, and the standard Ctrl combinations inside comment boxes. They work when focus is outside a text field. The table follows GitHub's own reference; pressing ? on any page shows the ones that apply there.

Navigation 7

S

Focus Search

Jump to search bar

G+N

Notifications

Go to notifications page

G+C

Code

Go to Code tab

G+I

Issues

Go to Issues tab

G+P

Pull Requests

Go to Pull Requests tab

G+B

Projects

Go to Projects tab

G+W

Wiki

Go to Wiki tab

Code 6

T

Find File

Open file finder

L

Go to Line

Jump to specific line

W

Switch Branch

Switch branch or tag

Y

Permalink

Create permanent link to file

I

Open Issue

Open issue or PR

B

View Blame

View Git Blame information

Issue & PR 4

C

Create Issue

Create new issue

Ctrl+Enter

Submit Comment

Submit comment

Ctrl+Shift+P

Toggle Preview

Toggle markdown preview

Ctrl+K

Insert Link

Insert hyperlink

📜 Source: GitHub Docs — Keyboard shortcuts. Bindings from GitHub Docs for github.com; ? on any page shows the context-specific set. Checked 2026-09-05. How we verify ›

📄 View Printable Cheat Sheet — Download as PDF or print

Finding things

S focuses the search box from any page. On a repository, T opens the file finder, which fuzzy-matches paths as you type — the fastest way into a large repo — and W opens the branch switcher. Inside a file, L jumps to a line number, B shows blame, and Y rewrites the URL into a permalink pinned to the current commit, which is what you should paste into an issue so the link still points at the right lines after later commits.

Go-to sequences

Press G and then a letter to move around a repository: G + C code, G + I issues, G + P pull requests, G + B projects, G + W wiki, and G + N notifications from anywhere on GitHub. In the notifications inbox the mail-style keys apply — J and K move, E marks done. I on a file opens a new issue and C creates an issue from the issues list.

Writing comments

In any Markdown field, Ctrl + Enter submits the comment, Ctrl + Shift + P toggles the preview, and Ctrl + K inserts a link around the selection; Ctrl + B and Ctrl + I apply bold and italic. Typing # or @ opens a picker for issues and people, and dragging an image into the field uploads it. On macOS the Ctrl combinations become Cmd.

No shortcuts found

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I combine GitHub shortcuts with other tools?

Yes — use My Stack to combine GitHub shortcuts with any other platform on this site into one printable reference, which is useful if your daily workflow spans several tools.

Do GitHub shortcuts differ between Windows and Mac?

Most do not — the underlying key is the same, but GitHub (like most software) maps Ctrl on Windows/Linux to Cmd on Mac for standard operations. Where a shortcut is platform-specific, this page notes the Mac variant next to the Windows one.