What is this page about?

This page lists 139 keyboard shortcuts for Sketch on macOS, organized into 10 sections covering everything from layer management to vector editing and zoom controls. It is a reference you can scan when you forget a specific shortcut, not a tutorial.

Which sections are worth learning early?

Start with General, Selecting Layers, and Moving and Resizing Layers - those come up constantly in everyday work. Once those feel natural, Text Editing and Vector Editing are the next most useful groups to pick up.

Does this page cover Sketch on other operating systems?

No. Sketch runs only on macOS, so all shortcuts listed here use Mac modifier keys like Command and Option. There is no Windows or Linux version of Sketch.

Which sections are daily-use shortcuts versus occasional reference?

Arranging Layers, Inserting Layers, and Zoom and Focus tend to be daily-use shortcuts. Exporting Layers is more situational - useful to know but not something most people use on every session.

Sketch Hotkeys and Keyboard Shortcuts

Arranging Layers(18)Editing Layers(17)Exporting Layers(4)General(23)Inserting Layers(11)Moving and Resizing Layers(14)Selecting Layers(13)Text Editing(15)Vector Editing(9)Zoom and Focus(15)

Swipe to browse every section.

Arranging Layers

Action	Hotkey
Send to back	`⌃`+`⌥`+`⌘`+`↓`
Select previous layer in group	`⇧`+`⇥`
Bring to front	`⌃`+`⌥`+`⌘`+`↑`
Adjust layer hierarchy	`Click`+`And`+`Drag`+`Layer`
Lock/unlock layer	`⇧`+`⌘`+`L`
Move up (out of group/Artboard)	`⌥`+`⇧`+`⌘`+`↑`
Selects layer inside group	`↩`
Bring forward	`⌥`+`⌘`+`↑`
Distribute horizontally	`⌃`+`⌘`+`H`
Rename layer	`⌘`+`R`
Align layer to Artboard	`⌥`+`Click`+`Align`+`Buttons`
Send backward	`⌥`+`⌘`+`↓`
Distribute vertically	`⌃`+`⌘`+`V`
Hide/show layer	`⇧`+`⌘`+`H`
Selects parent group	`⎋`
Select next layer in group	`⇥`
Ungroup	`⇧`+`⌘`+`G`
Group	`⌘`+`G`

Editing Layers

Action	Hotkey
Return to instance	`⌘`+`⎋`
Use as mask	`⌃`+`⌘`+`M`
Copy style	`⌥`+`⌘`+`C`
Subtract multiple layers	`⌥`+`⌘`+`S`
Toggle fill	`F`
Union multiple layers	`⌥`+`⌘`+`U`
Pick color	`⌃`+`C`
Intersect multiple layers	`⌥`+`⌘`+`I`
Rotate layer	`⇧`+`⌘`+`R`
Edit layer	`↩`
Transform shape	`⇧`+`⌘`+`T`
Paste style	`⌥`+`⌘`+`V`
Delete layer	`⌫`
Edit layer opacity	`0to9`
Show Difference between multiple layers	`⌃`+`⌘`+`X`
Toggle border	`B`
Finish editing	`⎋`

Exporting Layers

Action	Hotkey
Export layer	`⇧`+`⌘`+`E`
Insert flattened duplicate	`Drag`+`A`+`Layer/thumbnail`+`To`+`Canvas`
Export asset	`Drag`+`A`+`Layer/thumbnail`+`To`+`Desktop`
Includes folder in export	`/in`+`Layer`+`Name`

General

Action	Hotkey
Save document	`⌘`+`S`
Toggle grid	`⌃`+`G`
Open Preferences window	`⌘`
Toggle layout guides	`⌃`+`L`
Toggle rulers	`⌃`+`R`
New document	`⌘`+`N`
Paste	`⌘`+`V`
Copy	`⌘`+`C`
Quit Sketch	`⌘`+`Q`
Paste over selection	`⇧`+`⌘`+`V`
Toggle pixel grid	`⌃`+`X`
Undo	`⌘`+`Z`
Redo	`⇧`+`⌘`+`Z`
Page setup	`⇧`+`⌘`+`P`
Hide Sketch	`⌘`+`H`
Cut	`⌘`+`X`
Open document	`⌘`+`O`
New page	`⇧`+`⌘`+`N`
Close window	`⌘`+`W`
Move canvas	`Space`+`Drag`
Save document as…	`⌥`+`⇧`+`⌘`+`S`
Duplicate document	`⇧`+`⌘`+`S`
Toggle pixels	`⌃`+`P`

Inserting Layers

Action	Hotkey
Pencil tool	`P`
Rounded rectangle	`U`
Lock ratio of shape	`⇧`+`Drag`
Oval	`O`
Slice tool	`S`
Line	`L`
Vector tool	`V`
Draw shape from center	`⌥`+`Drag`
Text tool	`T`
Rectangle	`R`
Artboard	`A`

Moving and Resizing Layers

Action	Hotkey
Contract by 1 px	`⌘`+`←`+`Orup`
Move layer ignoring smart guides	`⌘`+`Drag`
Show distance between other layers	`⌥`+`Hover`
Duplicate	`⌥`+`Drag`
Expand by 1 px	`⌘`+`Right Arrow`+`Ordown`
Resize layer from center	`⌥`+`And`+`Resize`
Expand by 10 px	`⇧`+`⌘`+`Right Arrow`+`↓`
Contract by 10 px	`⇧`+`⌘`+`←`+`Orup`
Nudge layer any direction by 1 px*	`Arrow`+`Keys`
Duplicate (repeat with ⌘D)	`⌘`+`D`
Preserve layer ratio	`⇧`+`And`+`Resize`
Move layer along X/Y axis	`⇧`+`Drag`
Nudge layer any direction by 10 px*	`⇧`+`Arrow`+`Keys`
Scale layer	`⌘`+`K`

Selecting Layers

Action	Hotkey
Select all	`⌘`+`A`
Select previous Artboard	`Fnleft`
Select a range of layers in Layer List	`⇧`+`Click`
Select next Artboard	`Fnright Arrow`
Select grouped layer	`Double`+`Click`+`Layer`
Filter in Layer List	`⌘`+`F`
Add layer to selection/deselect layer in Layer List	`⌘`+`Click`
Page down	`Fndown`
Selects layer within drag bounds	`⌥`+`Drag`
Select all Artboards	`⇧`+`⌘`+`A`
Select multiple layers	`Click`+`And`+`Drag`+`In`+`White`+`Space`
Page up	`Fnup`
Select layer	`Click`

Text Editing

Action	Hotkey
Change typeface	`⌘`+`T`
Align center	`⇧`+`⌘`+`\|`
Paste as rich text	`⌥`+`⇧`+`⌘`+`V`
Underline	`⌘`+`U`
Increase font size	`⌥`+`⌘`+`+`
Align left	`⇧`+`⌘`+`{`
Align right	`⇧`+`⌘`+`}`
Decrease character spacing	`⌃`+`⌥`+`T`
Emoji & symbols	`⌃`+`⌘`+`Space`
Decrease font size	`⌥`+`⌘`
Increase character spacing	`⌃`+`⌥`+`L`
Italic	`⌘`+`I`
Convert to outlines	`⇧`+`⌘`+`O`
Bold	`⌘`+`B`
Insert a line break	`⇧`+`↩`

Vector Editing

Action	Hotkey
Place new point at a 45º angle	`⇧`+`Click`+`(when`+`Inserting`+`Points)`
Toggle point between Straight and Mirrored	`Double`+`Click`+`Vector`+`Point`
Show all handle control points	`⌥`
Place new point between existing points	`⌘`+`Click`+`Path`+`Segment`
Converts selected point to Disconnected	`⌘`+`Drag`+`Handle`+`⌃`+`Point`
Selects next point	`⇥`
Move point along X/Y axis	`⇧`+`Drag`+`Vector`+`Point`
Change vector point type	`1`+`2`+`3`+`4`
Open/close path	`⌥`+`⌘`+`O`

Zoom and Focus

Action	Hotkey
Show/hide Toolbar	`⌥`+`⌘`+`T`
Zoom in	`Z`+`Click`
Enter presentation mode	`⌘`+`.`
Zoom out	`⌘`+`-`
Show/hide Inspector	`⌥`+`⌘`+`2`
Zoom to area	`Z`+`Drag`
Temporarily zoom out to 100%	`~(§on`+`Some`+`Keyboards)`
Zoom in	`⌘`+`+`
Show/hide Layer List	`⌥`+`⌘`+`1`
Zoom out	`⌥`+`Z`+`Click`
Zoom to all elements on Canvas	`⌘`+`1`
Zoom to selected layer(s)	`⌘`+`2`
Center selected layer(s) in the Canvas	`⌘`+`3`
Zoom to 100%	`⌘`+`0`
Toggle full screen	`⌃`+`⌘`+`F`

Arranging Layers

Editing Layers

Exporting Layers

General

Inserting Layers

Moving and Resizing Layers

Selecting Layers

Text Editing

Vector Editing

Zoom and Focus

Arranging Layers

Editing Layers

Exporting Layers

General

Inserting Layers

Moving and Resizing Layers

Selecting Layers

Text Editing

Vector Editing

Zoom and Focus

Sketch Hotkeys

Frequently Asked Questions

PhotoShop

Illustrator

AutoCAD

InDesign

Affinity Photo

PureRef

Arranging Layers18

Editing Layers17

Exporting Layers4

General23

Inserting Layers11

Moving and Resizing Layers14

Selecting Layers13

Text Editing15

Vector Editing9

Zoom and Focus15

Arranging Layers18

Editing Layers17

Exporting Layers4

General23

Inserting Layers11

Moving and Resizing Layers14

Selecting Layers13

Text Editing15

Vector Editing9

Zoom and Focus15

Sketch Hotkeys

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this page about?

Which sections are worth learning early?

Does this page cover Sketch on other operating systems?

Which sections are daily-use shortcuts versus occasional reference?

Related Apps

PhotoShop

Illustrator

AutoCAD

InDesign

Affinity Photo

PureRef

Arranging Layers

Editing Layers

Exporting Layers

General

Inserting Layers

Moving and Resizing Layers

Selecting Layers

Text Editing

Vector Editing

Zoom and Focus

Arranging Layers

Editing Layers

Exporting Layers

General

Inserting Layers

Moving and Resizing Layers

Selecting Layers

Text Editing

Vector Editing

Zoom and Focus