"Linux shortcuts" really means desktop-environment shortcuts, and this table follows GNOME because it is the default on Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian and RHEL workstations. KDE Plasma, XFCE and Cinnamon overlap on the terminal and file-manager rows but assign their own keys to workspaces and window tiling, so check the section below before assuming a binding carries over.
System 7
Desktop 6
File Manager 7
Terminal 7
Screenshot 5
System 3
The terminal rows are universal; the desktop rows are not
Ctrl + C, Ctrl + Z, Ctrl + D, Ctrl + L and Ctrl + R come from the shell, not the desktop, so they behave the same in GNOME Terminal, Konsole, an SSH session and a Docker container. Of these, Ctrl + R is the one worth drilling: it opens reverse history search in bash and zsh, and typing a fragment of a command you ran last week recalls it. By contrast Super + D, Super + Left/Right and the workspace keys are GNOME Shell bindings and a KDE machine will do something different or nothing.
Workspaces are the feature Linux users miss elsewhere
Ctrl + Alt + Up/Down switches virtual workspaces and Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Up/Down carries the active window along with you, which is how most people separate a browser workspace from a terminal workspace. Super alone opens the Activities overview, where typing launches an application or searches files; it doubles as the fastest launcher on the system. Alt + ` switches between windows of the same application without cycling through everything else, a distinction Alt + Tab does not make.
Files and screenshots
In the Files app (Nautilus), Ctrl + H toggles hidden dotfiles, Ctrl + L turns the breadcrumb bar into an editable path so you can type or paste a location, and Alt + Up goes to the parent folder. The screenshot keys are GNOME's built-in tool: PrtScn for the whole screen, Alt + PrtScn for the active window and Shift + PrtScn to drag out an area; recent GNOME versions open an interactive overlay on the first press rather than saving immediately.
Frequently asked questions
Do these shortcuts work on KDE Plasma or XFCE?
The terminal and most Files-app rows do. Workspace switching, window tiling and screenshot keys are set by the desktop environment, and KDE and XFCE use different defaults for those.
What is the Super key?
The key with the Windows logo (or Command on a Mac keyboard). On GNOME, pressing it alone opens the Activities overview.
Why does Ctrl + Alt + Delete not open a task manager?
On GNOME it opens the log-out dialog. Use the System Monitor app, or top and htop in a terminal, for process management.
How do I open a terminal quickly?
Ctrl + Alt + T on Ubuntu and most GNOME-based distributions. It is not bound by default on stock Fedora GNOME, where you open it from Activities instead.