Useful Slack Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac

Updated 2023/10/13: Some shortcut keys have been adjusted due to UI updates.

Navigation & Switching

Moving Up and Down Channels

• Option + ↑↓

You can simply move up and down through your channels.
This is especially useful when you have a large number of muted channels, such as "Times" (working out loud/personal logs).

Moving Up and Down "Channels with Unread Messages"

• Option + Shift + ↑↓

People who use the "Unreads" view might not use this much.
However, since navigating from the Unreads view to a channel requires a click, there might be situations where moving directly to the channel is more convenient (it also preserves your history).

Moving to "Unreads"

• Command + Shift + A

As you join more channels, moving up and down individually becomes time-consuming.
Being able to jump straight back to the top is very convenient.

Related shortcuts are as follows:

• Move to "Threads": Command + Shift + T
• Move to "Later": Control + 4
• Move to "Direct Messages": Command + Shift + K or Control + 2
• Move to "Activity": Command + Shift + M or Control + 3
• Move to "Mentions & Reactions": Command + Shift + M

*Note: Control + 3 is the shortcut key for "Display Emojis".

Going Back and Forward in History

• Go back in history: Command + [ or ←
• Go forward in history: Command + ] or →

Useful when you lose track of which channel you were just in. It seems like a history entry is recorded every time you click on a channel.

Switching Workspaces

• Switch to previous workspace: Command + Shift + [
• Switch to next workspace: Command + Shift + ]
• Switch to specific workspace: Command + 1~9

Handy when you have multiple workspaces registered, such as for your company, clients, or various communities you participate in.

You can toggle the display of the workspace list itself with the following shortcut:

• Open/close workspace switcher: Command + Shift + S

Search

• Search channels and DMs: Command + K
• Search within the current channel or DM: Command + F
• Search across the entire workspace: Command + G

Command + K is convenient when you want to find a specific channel or DM. For keyword searches, use Command + F if the channel is already determined, or Command + G to search the entire workspace.

Operations

Switching Between Read and Unread

• Mark as read: Esc
• Mark as unread: Option + Click message

The Esc key is also frequently used to close modals and menus.

Editing Your Most Recent Message

• Command + ↑

This is useful when you have just posted a message but want to make a correction. It also works within threads. While mouse operation requires clicking "More" and then "Edit message," pressing Command + ↑ while in the new message input state allows you to jump directly to the editing screen for the previous message.

New message input state

Closing the Right Sidebar

• Command + .

After checking a thread or profile in the right sidebar, you can close it to make more space on your screen.

Sending Emojis Consecutively

• Shift + Click in the reaction screen

When you select an emoji from the "Find another reaction" list, the list usually disappears after each click. By using this shortcut key, you can continuously select and send multiple emojis.

Others

You can check the keyboard shortcut list using Command + ?.
Alternatively, you can also check the Slack keyboard shortcuts page.

Reviewing the list again may help you find the operation you've been looking for.