Complete fzf keyboard shortcuts reference — 16 shortcuts across 2 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Windows & Mac.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + R | Fuzzy history search |
| Ctrl + T | Insert file path |
| Alt + C | cd into directory |
| Tab | Fuzzy completion |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + J | Move down |
| Ctrl + K | Move up |
| Enter | Accept selection |
| Tab | Toggle + down |
| Shift + Tab | Toggle + up |
| PageUp | Page up |
| PageDown | Page down |
| Ctrl + U | Clear query |
| Ctrl + W | Delete word |
| Ctrl + A | Start of query |
| Ctrl + E | End of query |
| Esc | Abort |
The most essential fzf shortcuts are: Ctrl + R (Fuzzy history search), Ctrl + T (Insert file path), Alt + C (cd into directory). These cover the most frequent actions and can significantly speed up your workflow.
fzf has 16 keyboard shortcuts across 2 categories on shortcut-tools.com.
Simply press the key combination while fzf is focused. Most shortcuts work immediately. On Mac, replace Ctrl with Cmd and Alt with Option for most shortcuts.
The fzf shortcut for fuzzy history search is Ctrl + R.
fzf includes 12 Inside the Finder shortcuts, including Ctrl + J (Move down) and Ctrl + K (Move up). See the full list in the Inside the Finder section above.
Print the fzf cheat sheet and keep it next to your keyboard for the first week, then switch to active recall: open Shortcut Speedrun and practice fzf shortcuts against the clock until they're automatic.
Yes — use My Stack to combine fzf shortcuts with any other platform on this site into one printable reference, which is useful if your daily workflow spans several tools.
Most do not — the underlying key is the same, but fzf (like most software) maps Ctrl on Windows/Linux to Cmd on Mac for standard operations. Where a shortcut is platform-specific, this page notes the Mac variant next to the Windows one.
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"