Navigating through a cluttered inbox or managing a high volume of emails can be overwhelming, but Gmail keyboard shortcuts can make a significant difference. These time-saving tricks allow you to zip through emails, organize your inbox, and respond to messages with lightning speed — all without ever touching your mouse. By mastering a few key combinations, you can take control of your Gmail experience, streamlining tasks like composing, archiving, and searching for emails in mere seconds.

Whether you're a casual email user or someone who spends hours in their inbox each day, Gmail shortcuts are designed to simplify your workflow. From basic actions like replying to messages, to more advanced options like muting conversations or navigating through labels, these shortcuts can turn you into an email power user.

Here are 100 essential Gmail keyboard shortcuts to help streamline your email management and boost productivity. To use these, make sure Gmail shortcuts are enabled in settings (Settings > See all settings > Keyboard shortcuts on).

Basic email actions

When you're in the relevant view (Inbox as the place of origin for most, or within an email for a few of the ones below), you shouldn't have to press anything special to get these shortcuts to work, simply press the letter (or keys) below and the intended action will be understood by Gmail and should occur upon entry.

• C – Compose a new message
• D – Compose in a new tab
• R – Reply to a message
• A – Reply to all in a message
• F – Forward a message
• E – Archive the selected conversation
• Shift + U – Mark a message as unread
• M – Mute conversation
• S – Star or unstar a message
• ! – Report spam
• # – Delete the selected conversation
• G then I – Go to Inbox
• G then S – Go to Starred messages
• G then D – Go to Drafts
• G then A – Go to All mail
• G then C – Go to Contacts
• G then K – Go to Tasks
• / (Slash) – Search mail
• U – Refresh the inbox
• N – Go to the next message in conversation view

Navigation and selection

• K – Move to newer conversation
• J – Move to older conversation
• O or Enter – Open conversation
• X – Select conversation
• Shift + I – Mark as read
• G then L – Go to Label
• P – Previous message in an open conversation
• ; – Toggle between message pane and list view
• G then C – Go to Contacts
• Z – Undo the last action
• Shift + N – Update conversation
• ] – Archive the conversation and go to the next
• [ – Archive the conversation and go to the previous
• Ctrl + K – Add a hyperlink in the message
• Shift + K – Mark as read and go to the next
• Shift + R – Reply in a new window
• Shift + F – Forward in a new window
• Q – Search for messages from a contact

Labeling and organizing

• V – Move to
• L – Label conversation
• Shift + 8 then U – Remove conversation from label
• Shift + T – Add conversation to Tasks
• Ctrl + S – Save the draft
• Shift + G – Search within the current label
• Shift + L – Collapse or expand a label
• Shift + * (asterisk) then A – Select all conversations
• Shift + * (asterisk) then N – Deselect all conversations
• Shift + 8 then V – Move to a different label
• Y – Remove label (Archive in inbox, Remove from label in label view)
• Shift + 8 then S – Move to spam

Formatting and composing

• Ctrl/Command + B – Bold text
• Ctrl/Command + I – Italicize text
• Ctrl/Command + U – Underline text
• Ctrl/Command + K – Insert hyperlink
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + 7 – Numbered list
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + 8 – Bulleted list
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + E – Align center
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + L – Align left
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + R – Align right
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + 9 – Quote block
• Ctrl/Command + [ – Decrease indentation
• Ctrl/Command + ] – Increase indentation
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + 2 – Insert numbered list
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + 3 – Insert bulleted list
• Tab – Move to the next item (while composing)
• Shift + Tab – Move to the previous item (while composing)

Message thread and conversation view

• Shift + N – Update conversation
• Shift + R – Reply to the selected conversation in a new window
• Shift + F – Forward the selected conversation in a new window
• Shift + I – Mark a message as read
• Shift + U – Mark a message as unread
• Shift + P – Move to the previous message in conversation view
• Shift + M – Mute conversation

Navigation (views and windows)

• Shift + T – Add to tasks
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + I – Open the current message in a new window
• Esc – Close the open window or compose box
• Shift + G then S – Go to sent mail
• Shift + 8 then U – Remove a message from the label
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + B – Open the message in conversation view

Miscellaneous

• Ctrl/Command + Enter – Send message
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + C – Add Cc recipients
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + B – Add Bcc recipients
• Ctrl/Command + . (period) – Go to the next window
• Ctrl/Command + , (comma) – Go to the previous window
• Shift + ? – Open the list of available keyboard shortcuts
• Shift + L – Label the selected conversation
• Shift + E – Archive selected conversations
• Shift + 8 then 8 – Insert an asterisk (*) in a message
• G then T – Go to Sent mail
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + L – Insert a numbered list

Thread management

• Shift + K – Mark the current thread as read
• Shift + R – Reply to the conversation in a new window
• Shift + F – Forward the conversation in a new window
• Shift + J – Archive and go to the previous message
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + T – Reopen the last closed tab
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + U – Mark all unread emails as read
• Shift + P – Move to the previous email in a conversation
• Ctrl/Command + Shift + O – Open the message in a separate window
• Shift + N – Refresh conversation
• Ctrl/Command + * (asterisk) – Switch priority inbox view

Time to get started

Whether you’re composing a new message, organizing emails with labels, or swiftly navigating through a crowded inbox, these shortcuts streamline the entire process. Mastering these commands is not just about speed; it's about taking control of your workflow and making your email experience more seamless and productive. So, bookmark this page, and the next time you're in your inbox, try out a few of these shortcuts to see how much smoother your email management becomes!