Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts in Chrome for Linux and Windows
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+T | Open new tab |
| Ctrl+N | Open new window |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | Open new Incognito window |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Reopen last closed tab (Chrome remembers up to 10 closed tabs) |
| Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+8 | Jump to tab at specified position |
| Ctrl+9 | Jump to last tab |
| Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+PgDn | Switch to next tab |
| Ctrl+Shift+Tab or Ctrl+PgUp | Switch to previous tab |
| Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 | Close current tab |
| Alt+F4 | Close window |
Middle-click shortcuts:
- Ctrl+click a link — opens link in background tab
- Ctrl+Shift+click a link — opens link in foreground tab and switches to it
- Middle-click a link — opens link in background tab
- Middle-click a tab — closes the tab
Navigation & Search
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+L or Alt+D | Jump to address bar |
| Ctrl+K or Ctrl+E | Search using default search engine (adds ? in address bar) |
| Ctrl+F | Open find bar |
| Ctrl+G or Enter | Find next match |
| Ctrl+Shift+G or Shift+Enter | Find previous match |
| Backspace or Alt+Left | Go back to previous page |
| Shift+Backspace or Alt+Right | Go forward to next page |
| Home | Jump to top of page |
| End | Jump to bottom of page |
| Space or PgDn | Scroll down one page |
| Shift+Space or PgUp | Scroll up one page |
Browser Features
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+H | Open History |
| Ctrl+J | Open Downloads |
| Ctrl+Shift+B | Toggle bookmarks bar visibility |
| Ctrl+D | Save current page as bookmark |
| Ctrl+Shift+O | Open Bookmark Manager |
| Ctrl+, | Open Settings |
| Ctrl+Shift+Delete | Open Clear Browsing Data |
| Shift+Esc | Open Task Manager |
Developer Tools & Page Functions
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+J | Open Developer Tools (Console tab) |
| F12 | Open Developer Tools |
| Ctrl+Shift+I | Open Developer Tools (Elements tab) |
| Ctrl+Shift+C | Open Developer Tools with element picker active |
| Ctrl+U | View page source |
| Ctrl+Shift+M | Switch Chrome user |
Zoom & Display
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl++ | Zoom in (enlarge page) |
| Ctrl+- | Zoom out (reduce page) |
| Ctrl+0 | Reset to default zoom |
| Ctrl+Scroll wheel up | Zoom in |
| Ctrl+Scroll wheel down | Zoom out |
| F11 | Toggle full-screen mode |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Toggle full-screen to window mode |
| Ctrl+Y | Open Recently closed section |
Linux-Specific Notes
On Linux, Alt+F for the menu varies by desktop environment. GNOME and KDE handle keyboard navigation differently — if Alt+F doesn’t work in your window manager, try right-clicking the title bar or use the three-dot menu button instead.
For keyboard navigation without a mouse, use Tab to cycle through page elements and Enter to activate links or buttons. In many Linux environments, you can also use Alt+number to jump directly to a tab.
Windows-Specific Notes
Windows users should note that some system shortcuts (like Alt+Tab for window switching) take precedence over Chrome shortcuts. If you need different behavior, you can remap shortcuts through Chrome extensions or your system settings.
Ctrl+Alt+T typically opens a terminal in GNOME-based Linux distributions, which is useful for launching Chrome from the command line if needed.
Bookmark & Link Management
- Drag link to bookmarks bar — save link as bookmark
- Shift+Ctrl+B — toggle bookmarks bar on/off
- Middle-click a bookmark — open in new background tab
- Shift+middle-click a bookmark — open in new foreground tab
Command-Line Chrome Launch
From terminal, you can start Chrome with specific options:
google-chrome --new-window https://example.com
google-chrome --incognito
google-chrome --profile-directory="Profile 2"This is useful for scripting or quick access to specific profiles or URLs.
For the complete official reference, visit the Chrome Help Center: