Blender Keyboard Shortcuts

Blender is built around the keyboard: nearly every modelling, animation, and shading action has a hotkey, and many start a tool that takes a follow-up key. This reference covers the default keymap across the main editors and modes.

How it works

Each shortcut is tagged with an editor (3D Viewport, UV, Node, Graph, or Global) and, for viewport actions, a mode (Object, Edit, Sculpt, Pose, or All). The search box matches the action, editor, and keys, while the editor and mode selectors filter the list. Universal shortcuts marked All stay visible whatever mode you pick. Remember that transform tools chain keys: pressing G then X then a number moves the selection a precise distance along X.

Tips and examples

• Shift A adds an object in the viewport or a node in the Node editor — the same mnemonic across editors.
• In Edit mode, number keys 1 2 3 switch between vertex, edge, and face selection.
• Z opens the shading pie menu (wireframe, solid, material preview, rendered) rather than toggling a single mode.
• Hold a tool’s modifier for a one-shot variant: in Sculpt mode, holding Shift while drawing smooths instead of building up.

This is the default keymap, not the Industry Compatible one. If you switched keymaps in Preferences, expect different select and transform bindings.

Essential shortcuts to learn first

If you are building muscle memory from scratch, these are the highest-leverage shortcuts to prioritise — they appear in nearly every modelling session:

Object Mode

• G, R, S — grab/move, rotate, scale. Type an axis letter (X, Y, Z) immediately after to lock to that axis. Type a number to set an exact amount.
• Shift + D — duplicate the selection.
• Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Shift + Z — undo / redo.
• H / Alt + H — hide selected / unhide all. Avoids cluttered viewports during complex scenes.
• Numpad 5 — toggle between perspective and orthographic view.
• Numpad 1 / 3 / 7 — front, right, top orthographic views. Ctrl + Numpad 1/3/7 for opposite faces.

Edit Mode

• A — select all / deselect all.
• Alt + click — select an edge loop.
• Ctrl + R — add a loop cut. Scroll the mouse wheel before confirming to set the number of cuts.
• E — extrude. Follow immediately with S to extrude and scale, or Z to extrude along Z.
• I — inset faces. Drag to set inset depth.
• Ctrl + B — bevel edges. Scroll to increase segment count while bevelling.
• F — fill: create an edge between two vertices or a face from a selection of vertices or edges.
• M — merge selected vertices.
• P — separate: extract selected geometry into a new object.

Modifier key patterns

Blender uses modifier keys consistently enough that learning the pattern is faster than memorising every combination:

• Shift generally adds to or expands the operation (add to selection, duplicate, increase segment count).
• Ctrl generally snaps or provides precise control (loop cut, bevel, snap to grid with Ctrl + G).
• Alt generally means the loop version of a selection (edge loop, face loop, ring) or inverts an action (unhide, invert selection).

UV Editor and Node Editor shortcuts

The 3D Viewport is not the only place shortcuts save time. In the UV Editor:

• A — select all UVs.
• G, R, S — move, rotate, scale UVs (same mnemonics as in the viewport).
• Ctrl + P — pin UVs so they stay in place during Unwrap operations.
• Shift + H — hide all unselected UV islands.

In the Shader Node Editor:

• Ctrl + Shift + click — preview a node directly by connecting it to the Material Output viewer.
• Ctrl + J — frame selected nodes (group them visually).
• Shift + A — add a node (same mnemonic as adding an object in the viewport).