GIMP is a popular, free, and open-source photo editing software offering advanced editing tools. You can use it for image manipulation, image editing, drawing, and more. This tool is also considered to be the best and free Photoshop alternative. So, people who do not want to spend on Photoshop use GIMP. GIMP is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
If you use GIMP, learn GIMP keyboard shortcuts to do things faster. Keyboard shortcuts let you perform tasks faster than a mouse and keyboard. In this article, I am listing GIMP keyboard shortcuts for Windows and macOS. Windows Keyboard shortcuts also work on Linux.
GIMP Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows
Edit Shortcuts
Ctrl+Z Undo Ctrl+Y Redo Ctrl+X Cut Ctrl+C Copy Shift+Ctrl+C Copy Visible Ctrl+V Paste Shift+Ctrl+V Past as New Image Delete Clear Ctrl+, Fill with FG Color Ctrl+. Fill with BG Color Ctrl+; Fill with Pattern
2. View Shortcuts
Ctrl+E Shrink Wrap – Reduce image window to size of image F11 Toggle Fullscreen View Ctrl+T Show Selection Shift+Ctrl+T Show Guides Shift+Ctrl+R Show Rulers
3. File operations
Ctrl+N New Image Shift+Ctrl+V Create a new Image from Clipboard Ctrl+O Open Image Ctrl+Alt+O Open as Layers Ctrl+S Save Image Shift+Ctrl+S Save As Ctrl+P Print Ctrl+W Close Shift+Ctrl+W Close All Ctrl+Q Quit
4. Layer Shortcuts
Shift+Ctrl+N New Layer Shift+Ctrl+D Duplicate Layer Ctrl+H Anchor Layer Page Up/Page Down Select Previous/Next Layer Home/End Select Top/Bottom Layer
5. Select Shortcuts
Ctrl+A Select All Shift+Ctrl+A Select None Ctrl+I Invert Selection Shift+Ctrl+L Create a Floating Selection Shift+O Select by Color Shift+V Select from Path Shift+Q Toggle Quick Mask
6. Image Operations
Ctrl+D Duplicate Image Ctrl+M Merge Visible Layers Alt+Return Display Image Properties
7. Selection Tools
R Rectangle Select E Ellipse Select F Free Select U Fuzzy Select Shift+O Select by Color I Intelligent Scissors
8. Paint Tools
Shift+B Bucket Fill L Blend N Pencil P Paintbrush Shift+E Eraser A Airbrush K Ink C Clone H Heal Shift+U Blur / Sharpen S Smudge Shift+D Dodge / Burn
9. Transfrom Tools
Q Align M Move Shift+C Crop Shift+R Rotate Shift+T Scale Shift+S Shear Shift+P Perspective Shift+F Flip
10. General
B Paths O Color Picker Z Zoom Shift+M Measure T Text Ctrl+B Toolbox D Default Colors (Sets foreground to black and background to white) X Swap Colors
11. Dockable Dialogs
Ctrl+L Layers Shift+Ctrl+B Brushes Shift+Ctrl+P Patterns Ctrl+G Gradients Ctrl+B Toolbox
12. Help Menu
F1 Help Shift+F1 Context Sensitive Help
13. PlugIn Shortcuts
Ctrl+F Repeat Last PlgIn Shift+Ctrl+F Plug In
14. Selection Shortcuts
Ctrl+A Select All Ctrl+Shift+A Select None Ctrl+I Invert Selection Ctrl+T Toggle Selection Shift+V Path to selection Ctrl+Shift+L Float Selection
GIMP Keyboard Shortcuts for macOS
GIMP keyboard shortcuts for macOS are almost the same. You just need to use Command in place of CTRL.
Edit Shortcuts
Command+Z Undo Command+Y Redo Command+X Cut Command+C Copy Shift+Command+C Copy Visible Command+V Paste Shift+Command+V Past as New Image Delete Clear Command+, Fill with FG Color Command+. Fill with BG Color Command+; Fill with Pattern
2. View Shortcuts
Command+E Shrink Wrap – Reduce image window to size of image F11 Toggle Fullscreen View Command+T Show Selection Shift+Command+T Show Guides Shift+Command+R Show Rulers
3. File operations
Command+N New Image Shift+Command+V Create a new Image from Clipboard Command+O Open Image Command+Option+O Open as Layers Command+S Save Image Shift+Command+S Save As Command+P Print Command+W Close Shift+Command+W Close All Command+Q Quit
4. Layer Shortcuts
Shift+Command+N New Layer Shift+Command+D Duplicate Layer Command+H Anchor Layer Page Up/Page Down Select Previous/Next Layer Home/End Select Top/Bottom Layer
5. Select Shortcuts
Command+A Select All Shift+Command+A Select None Command+I Invert Selection Shift+Command+L Create a Floating Selection Shift+O Select by Color Shift+V Select from Path Shift+Q Toggle Quick Mask
6. Image Operations
Command+D Duplicate Image Command+M Merge Visible Layers Option+Return Display Image Properties
7. Selection Tools
R Rectangle Select E Ellipse Select F Free Select U Fuzzy Select Shift+O Select by Color I Intelligent Scissors
8. Paint Tools
Shift+B Bucket Fill L Blend N Pencil P Paintbrush Shift+E Eraser A Airbrush K Ink C Clone H Heal Shift+U Blur / Sharpen S Smudge Shift+D Dodge / Burn
9. Transfrom Tools
Q Align M Move Shift+C Crop Shift+R Rotate Shift+T Scale Shift+S Shear Shift+P Perspective Shift+F Flip
10. General
B Paths O Color Picker Z Zoom Shift+M Measure T Text Command+B Toolbox D Default Colors (Sets foreground to black and background to white) X Swap Colors
11. Dockable Dialogs
Command+L Layers Shift+Command+B Brushes Shift+Command+P Patterns Command+G Gradients Command+B Toolbox
12. Help Menu
F1 Help Shift+F1 Context Sensitive Help
13. PlugIn Shortcuts
Command+F Repeat Last PlgIn Shift+Command+F Plug In
14. Selection Shortcuts
Command+A Select All Command+Shift+A Select None Command+I Invert Selection Command+T Toggle Selection Shift+V Path to selection Command+Shift+L Float Selection
