Complete Telegram keyboard shortcuts reference — 33 shortcuts across 6 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Windows & Linux.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Tab | Next Chat |
| Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Previous Chat |
| PageUp | Scroll Chat |
| Ctrl + O | Send File |
| Esc | Go Back / Cancel |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + Down | Next Folder |
| Ctrl + Shift + Up | Previous Folder |
| Ctrl + 1 | Jump to Folder |
| Ctrl + 8 | Last Folder |
| Ctrl + 0 | Saved Messages |
| Ctrl + 9 | Archived Chats |
| Alt + Enter | Jump to Bottom |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Up | Reply to Message |
| Ctrl + Down | Reply Below / Cancel |
| Up | Edit Last Message |
| Delete | Delete Message |
| Ctrl + + | Zoom Media In |
| Ctrl + - | Zoom Media Out |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + F | Search in Chat |
| Ctrl + J | Search Contact |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + W | Minimize to Tray |
| Ctrl + M | Minimize Window |
| Ctrl + L | Lock Telegram |
| Ctrl + Q | Quit Telegram |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | Bold |
| Ctrl + I | Italic |
| Ctrl + U | Underline |
| Ctrl + Shift + X | Strikethrough |
| Ctrl + K | Create Link |
| Ctrl + Shift + M | Monospace |
| Ctrl + Shift + P | Spoiler |
| Ctrl + Shift + . | Quote |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Plain Text |
Telegram Desktop turns chat-hopping into keystrokes: Ctrl + Tab and Ctrl + Shift + Tab cycle through chats, while Ctrl + Shift + Down / Ctrl + Shift + Up move between chat folders. Ctrl + 1 through Ctrl + 8 jump straight to a folder by position, Ctrl + 9 opens the archive, and Ctrl + 0 opens Saved Messages — which doubles as a private scratchpad for links and notes you send to yourself. Alt + Enter snaps a long chat back to the newest message.
Message handling has two underrated keys. Up immediately edits your most recent message — the fastest typo repair in any messenger — and Ctrl + Up walks upward through messages selecting each as a reply target, with Ctrl + Down stepping back or cancelling. Ctrl + F searches within the current chat and Ctrl + J searches your contacts.
Selected text formats in place: Ctrl + B, Ctrl + I, Ctrl + U for the basics, Ctrl + Shift + X for strikethrough, Ctrl + Shift + M for monospace, Ctrl + K to attach a link, Ctrl + Shift + P to hide text behind a spoiler, and Ctrl + Shift + N to strip formatting back to plain text. Window management is deliberately split three ways: Ctrl + M minimizes normally, Ctrl + W hides Telegram to the tray, and Ctrl + Q quits outright — while Ctrl + L locks the app behind your local passcode.
The lock only engages after you set a local passcode in Settings → Privacy and Security. Once one exists, Ctrl + L locks Telegram Desktop instantly and the passcode is required to reopen it — useful on shared machines.
Ctrl + M minimizes the window to the taskbar like any app. Ctrl + W hides Telegram into the system tray — still running, still notifying. Ctrl + Q exits completely, so notifications stop until you launch it again.
Up only grabs your most recent message. For anything older, select it (the Ctrl + Up walk works for finding it) and use the context menu's Edit — Telegram's edit window applies regardless of how you reach it.
Telegram Web and Telegram Desktop are different clients with different keymaps, and the browser claims some combinations first. The full set on this page targets Telegram Desktop; on the web, right-click selected text to reach the formatting menu when a chord does not fire.
On Telegram Desktop for Mac, Cmd generally replaces Ctrl — Cmd + 0 for Saved Messages, Cmd + F to search a chat. Note that the separate native macOS Telegram app (from the App Store) uses its own slightly different shortcut set.
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"