GIMP Keyboard Shortcuts Cheatsheet

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an open-source photo editor which is available on Windows, Mac or Linux, that boasts a huge number of features and functions that rival Photoshop. Unlike Adobe’s offering, however, GIMP is totally free to install and use, which certainly helps boost its appeal. Like you’d expect, GIMP has a large number of default keyboard shortcuts that can speed up your workflow considerably. We’ve aggregated them into a single post, so you can quickly view them at a glance.

Selection Tools

Selection tools are designed to help you select certain regions from the active layer, so you can work on then without affecting the unselected areas.

Windows & Linux	Mac	Function
R	R	Rectangle select
E	E	Ellipse select
F	F	Free select
U	U	Fuzzy select
Shift + O	Shift + O	Select by color
I	I	Scissors
Shift + V	Shift + V	Select from Path
O	O	Color Picker

Selections

The table below includes shortcuts to help you interact with selection more easily.

Windows & Linux	Mac	Function
Ctrl + T	Command + T	Toggle selections
Ctrl + A	Command + A	Select all
Shift + Ctrl + A	Shift + Command + A	Select none
Ctrl + I	Command + I	Invert selection
Shift + Ctrl + L	Shift + Command + L	Float selection
Shift + V	Shift + V	Select from path

Editing

GIMP’s Toolbox allows you to quickly perform several actions by clicking on them. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcuts below to make life easier.

Windows & Linux	Mac	Function
M	M	Move
Shift + C	Shift + C	Crop and resize
Shift + R	Shift + R	Rotate
Shift + T	Shift + T	Scale
Shift + S	Shift + S	Shear
Shift + P	Shift + P	Perspective
Shift + F	Shift + F	Flip
T	T	Text
Shift + B	Shift + B	Bucket fill
L	L	Blend
N	N	Pencil
P	P	Paintbrush
Shift + E	Shift + E	Eraser
A	A	Airbrush
K	K	Ink
C	C	Clone
S	S	Smudge
Shift + D	Shift + D	Dodge / Burn
X	X	Swap colors
D	D	Default colors

File

Access and interact with new files and images with these keyboard shortcuts.

Windows & Linux	Mac	Function
Ctrl + N	Command + N	Open new file
Ctrl + O	Command + O	Open image
Ctrl + Alt + O	Command + Option + O	Open image as new layer
Ctrl + 1 Ctrl + 2 Ctrl + 3 and so on	Command + 1 Command + 2 Command + 3 and soon	Open recent image 01 Open recent image 02 Open recent image 03
Shift + Ctrl + V	Shift + Command + V	Create a new image from Clipboard
Shift + Ctrl + S	Shift + Command + S	Save under a new name
Shift + Ctrl + W	Shift + Command + W	Close All
Ctrl + Q	Command + Q	Quit

View

The shortcuts in this table will make interacting with the various elements in GIMP a lot easier.

Windows & Linux	Mac	Function
F10	F10	Main menu
Shift + F10	Shift + F10	Drop-down menu
F11	F10	Switch to full screen
Shift + Q	Shift + Q	Toggle quickmask
Ctrl + W	Command + W	Close document window
Ctrl + E	Command + E	Shrink wrap
Shift + Ctrl + E	Shift + Command + E	Fit image in window
Shift + Ctrl + R	Shift + Command + R	Toggle rulers
Shift + Ctrl + T	Shift + Command + T	Toggle guides
Ctrl + Z	Command + Z	Undo
Ctrl + Y	Command + Y	Redo
Ctrl + C	Command + C	Copy selection
Ctrl + X	Command + X	Cut selection
Ctrl + Shift + C	Command + Shift + C	Copy visible
Ctrl + Shift + V	Command + Shift + V	Paste as new image
Ctrl + V	Command + V	Paste clipboard
Ctrl + K	Command + K	Clear selection
Shift + Ctrl + C	Shift + Command + C	Named copy selection
Shift + Ctrl + X	Shift + Command + X	Named cut selection
Shift + Ctrl + V	Shift + Command + V	Named paste clipboard
Ctrl + ,	Command +,	Fill with FG color
Ctrl + .	Command +.	Fill with BG color
Ctrl + :	Command +:	Fill with pattern

Dialogs

In GIMP, dialogs are moving windows which contain options for a tool for or is dedicated to a specific task. With these shortcuts you’ll be able to manipulate them more easily.

Windows & Linux	Mac	Function
Ctrl + L	Command + L	Layers
Shift + Ctrl + B	Shift + Command + B	Brushes
Shift + Ctrl + P	Shift + Command + P	Patterns
Shift + Ctrl + T	Shift + Command + T	Tool options
Ctrl + P	Command + P	Palettes
Shift + Ctrl + I	Shift + Command + I	Info window
Shift + Ctrl + N	Shift + Command + N	Navigation window
Alt + F4	Option + F4	Close the window
Tab	Tab	Go to the next widget
Shift + Tab	Shift + Tab	Jump to the previous widget
Enter	Option	Set new value
Space	Space	Activate current button on the list
Ctrl + Alt + Page Up	Command + Option + Page Up	Switch tabs, when in a multi-tab dialog
Shift + L	Shift + L	Open location
Alt + ↓	Option + ↓	Down folder
Alt + ↑	Option + ↑	Up folder
Alt + Home	Option + Home	Home folder
Esc	Esc	Close dialog

Layers

Manipulate layers with ease with these shortcuts.

Windows & Linux	Mac	Function
Shift + Ctrl + N	Shift + Command + N	New layer
Shift + Ctrl + D	Shift + Command + D	Duplicate layer
Ctrl + H	Command + H	Anchor layer
Page Up	Page Up	Select the above layer
Page Down	Page Down	Select the layer below
Home	Home	Select the first layer
End	End	Select the last layer
Ctrl + M	Command + M	Merge visible layers
Ctrl + H	Command + H	Anchor layer

Plug-ins

Windows & Linux	Mac	Function
Ctrl + F	Command + F	Repeat last plug-in
Shift + Ctrl + F	Shift + Command + F	Reshow last plug-in