Speed Up Using Shortcuts (Mac)

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.

Keyboard shortcuts

Basic Shortcuts
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 Shortcuts
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 Command + Option + Left/Right	Toggle between tabs
F12	Open web console

VSCode Shortcuts
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 Shortcuts
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 clear 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

1. 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.
2. Use Tabs for autocompletion in the Terminal, especially when your folder/file names are long/foreign.
3. When inputing text in multiple input boxes, use Tabs instead of moving the mouse to proceed to the next input.

4. Use aliases to execute long/complex commands
   Eg. alias nrs=npm run start (Executes npm run start with nrs)
   Eg. alias gps=git push (Executes git push with gps)

5. 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 :)

Sources

1. Keyboard shortcuts for a Developer
2. 10 Essential Keyboard Shortcuts For Programmers
3. Bash Shortcuts
4. Windows vs. Mac: 70+ Common and Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts
5. Visual Studio Code - Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac
6. iTerm2
7. Typing Techniques – 5 Skills to Master