Mac Shortcuts

Please refer to this post if you are a Windows user.

In this post, I will be sharing why and how I ditched the mouse and started utilising keyboard shortcuts.

Why avoid the mouse?

As a software engineer, efficiency is of the essence, especially when one is dealing with many tasks in his bucket or meeting tight deadlines. For any typing setup, majority of the time is spent moving between the keyboard and mouse. Fortunately for us, we can save this precious time by mastering keyboard shortcuts that can perform the same functions/tasks. Not only do you become more productive, you also get to look really cool (somewhat) and experience what it is like to feel like an experienced hacker (sortof).

It will require some practice to master and apply them properly. But rest assured, once you overcome this steep learning curve, you will witness your productivity drastically increase overtime. Below is a compilation of shortcuts that I have learnt and frequently use on Web browsers, Terminals and VSCode.

Glossary of Shortcuts

Basic

Command + A                             Select all                                                          
Command + C                             Copy                                                                
Command + F                             Find keyword                                                        
Command + Option + F                    Replace keyword                                                     
Command + Q                             Close application                                                   
Command + S                             Save                                                                
Command + V                             Paste                                                               
Command + W                             Close active window                                                 
Command + X                             Cut                                                                 
Command + Z                             Undo                                                                
Command + `                             Toggle between application windows                                  
Command + Shift + Z                     Redo                                                                
Command + Ctrl + F                      Fullscreen                                                          
Command + Up/Down                       Move cursor to start/end of document                                
Command + Left/Right                    Move cursor to start/end of line                                    
Command + Option + D                    Show Dock                                                           
Command + Option + Space                Open Finder                                                         
Command + Mission Control               Show/Hide opened apps                                               
Command + Shift + 3                     Print full screen                                                   
Command + Shift + 4                     Select area and print screen of selected area                       
Command + Shift + 5                     Screen recording                                                    
Command + Shift + Up/Down               Select all characters from cursor to the top/bottom of the document 
Command + Shift + Left/Right            Select all characters left/right of the cursor                      
Command + Space + 'Type your search'    System search                                                       
Command + Tab                           Toggle applications                                                 
Ctrl + Up                               View all applications from desktop                                  
Shift + Up/Down                         Select characters above/below the line                              
Shift + Left/Right                      Select characters left/right of the cursor                          
Option + Up/Down                        Move current line above/below it                                    
Option + Left/Right                     Move cursor to the start/end of words

Browser

Comamnd + D                                     Bookmark current tab                      
Command + L                                     Move cursor to address bar                
Command + R                                     Reload page                               
Command + T                                     Open new tab                              
Command + W                                     Close active tab                          
Command + Shift + T                             Open recently closed tab                  
Command + Shift + W                             Close all active windows                  
Command + Left/Right                            Navigate to previous/next page in history 
Control + Tab OR Command + Option + Left/Right  Toggle between tabs                       
F12                                             Open web console

VSCode

Command + L                               Select line                                                  
Command + P                               Search for file                                              
Command + N                               Work on a new file                                           
Command + W                               Close active tab                                             
Command + Shift + F                       Find keyword in directory                                    
Command + Shift + K                       Delete line                                                  
Command + Shift + P                       Open command palette                                         
Command + Shift + V                       Preview Markdown file on the side                            
Command + Option + Up/Down                Add cursors to multiple lines at the same horizontal positon 
Command + Option + Left/Right             Toggle tabs                                                  
Command + \                               Split code editor/Terminal                                   
Command + /                               Comment line of code                                         
Ctrl + `                                  Open/close Terminal in code editor                           
Ctrl + Shift + `                          Open new Terminal in code editor                             
Option + Shift + Up/Down                  Copy and paste current line above/below it                   
Option + Shift + Left/Right               Select words to the left/right of the cursor                 
`Select keyword` + Command + D            Add cursor to all found keywords one at a time               
`Select keyword` + Command + Shift + L    Add cursor to all found keywords

Bash/Terminal

Command + D                            Split Terminal vertically                                                         
Command + Shift + D                    Split Terminal horizontally                                                       
Command + T                            Open new Terminal tab                                                             
Command + W                            Close active Terminal tab                                                         
Command + Shift + W                    Close all active Terminal tabs in the same session                                
Command + Left/Right                   Toggle between Terminal tabs                                                      
Command + Option + Up/Down/Left/Right  Toggle between split Terminals in the same tab                                    
Command + Shift + I                    Broadcast input to multiple Terminal tabs in the same session (iTerm) 
Ctrl + A                               Move cursor to start of line                                                      
Ctrl + E                               Move cursor to end of line                                                        
Ctrl + H                               Clear character before cursor position                                            
Ctrl + D                               Clear character after cursor position                                             
Ctrl + U                               Clear line before cursor position                                                 
Ctrl + K                               Clear line after cursor position                                                  
Ctrl + L OR `clear` OR `cls`           Clear screen                                                                      
Ctrl + W                               Delete previous word                                                              
Ctrl + C                               Cancel program                                                                    
Ctrl + Z                               Stop program                                                                      
`history`                              Show history of commands                                                          
Option + Left/Right                    Move cursor between words                                                         
Up/Down                                Cycle history of commands

Other ways to shortcut your workflow

Learn to touch-type, which incorporates all your fingers to access the keys on your keyboard optimally. With sufficient practice, you will be able to master typing without glancing on the keys, saving time as a result.
Use Tabs for autocompletion in the Terminal, especially when your folder/file names are long/foreign.
When inputing text in multiple input boxes, use Tabs instead of moving the mouse to proceed to the next input.
Use aliases to execute long/complex commands
- alias nrs=npm run start (Executes npm run start with nrs)
- alias gps=git push (Executes git push with gps)
Broadcast input to multiple Terminal tabs in the same session if the same executions need to be done on multiple replica servers (You will need to install iTerm2 for this)

Conclusion

Ever since I started learning and using these shortcuts, it was excruciating to realise the amount of time wasted performing repetitive work (Eg. Editing the same variable names repeatedly; Highlighting a block of text; Deleting characters one by one using Backspace). To anyone who is using a computer, ditch the mouse and give these shortcuts a shot. Afterwards, you can reward yourself with a nice coffee break.