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The Shortwave MethodCustomize your ShortwaveThe Shortwave AI AssistantCollaborate with your teamBillingSecurity & PrivacyMigrations
Migrating from GmailMigrating from SparkMigrating from SuperhumanReferences
SearchKeyboard shortcuts & commandsSupported browsersHow-tos
Download Shortwave for desktopDefault email appEnable push notificationsTroubleshoot push notificationsManage multiple accountsManage auto-apply labelsIntegrate Shortwave with your CRMTroubleshoot missing threadsDownload EML fileGoogle Advanced ProtectionImport full historyDowngrade accountDelete accountKeyboard shortcuts & commands
Type
Ctrl
/ to open the keyboard shortcut reference from directly within Shortwave.
Compose & send
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Compose | C | Start a new draft |
| New thread | N | Start a new thread when viewing a search result addressed to the relevant search participants |
| Reply all | A | Reply all to focused thread |
| Reply to sender | R | Reply to sender to focused thread |
| Forward | F | Forward focused thread |
| Cc | Ctrl Shift C | Focus the Cc field to add recipients |
| Bcc | Ctrl Shift B | Focus the Bcc field to add recipients |
| Instant intro | Ctrl Shift I | Move last sender to Bcc and inserts text Thanks "lastSenderName"! (moved to BCC) |
| Attach file | Ctrl Shift A | Attach a file to the current draft |
| Link | Ctrl K | Add a link to your text. If you have a link already copied, you can paste it over highlighted text with Ctrl V. |
| Discard draft | Ctrl Shift D Ctrl Shift , | Discard the current draft |
| Send | Ctrl Enter | Send your message from the compose box |
| Scheduled send | Ctrl Shift L | Schedule your message to send later from the compose box |
| Send & done | Ctrl Shift Enter | Send your message from the compose box and mark thread as done |
| Undo send | Ctrl Z Z | Revert most recently sent message back into a draft |
| View sent message | Ctrl Shift V | Open most recently sent email in pop-out window |
| Search | / | Open search |
| Close | Esc | Close selection / cancel action / remove focus |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Ctrl / Shift / | Open the in-app keyboard shortcuts reference |
Threads
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ask AI | Y | Prompt AI to help summarize, translate, or understand a thread |
| Done | D or E | Archive the currently focused thread or bundle and automatically focus the next item |
| Done & next | [ | Archive the current thread if one is selected. Go to the next thread and opens it, even if that means going to the next bundle or group. |
| Done & previous | ] | Archive the current thread if one is selected. Go to the previous thread and opens it, even if that means going to the previous bundle or group. |
| Manage todos | T | Create a new todo or add an item to an existing todo |
| Snooze | B or H | Open the snooze picker for the focused thread or bundle |
| Star | S | Star or unstar the focused thread |
| Label | L | Add a label to the focused thread or bundle |
| Move to | V | Move the focused thread or bundle from it's current location to the applied label |
| Delete | # Delete | Delete the focused thread or bundle |
| Unsubscribe | Ctrl U | Unsubscribe you from the mailing list |
| Block spam | Ctrl B | Report the current thread as spam and automatically trashes all future messages from the sender |
| Report spam | ! | Report the current thread as spam and removes it from the inbox |
| Mute (Unfollow) | M | Unfollow the focused thread |
| Copy thread link | Ctrl C | Copy the thread's unique link when a thread is focused |
| Mark unread | U Shift U | Mark the current thread as unread |
| Mark read | U Shift I | Mark the current thread as read |
| Mark important | + | Mark the current thread as important |
| Mark not important | - | Mark the current thread as not important |
| Undo | Ctrl Z Z | Undo the most recent action |
Thread list
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Next | ↓ or J | Move to the next item (thread or bundle) |
| Previous | ↑ or K | Move to the previous item (thread or bundle) |
| Select | X | Select the focused item and enables multi-select mode |
| Open in side panel | → or Enter | Open the focused item in a side panel (thread or bundle) |
| Open in full screen | Ctrl Shift → | Open the focused thread in full screen |
| Close | ← or Esc | Close the open item (thread or bundle) |
| Scroll down | ↓ | Scroll the page down (when thread has focus) |
| Scroll up | ↑ | Scroll the page up (when thread has focus) |
| Page down | Space | Scroll down one page height |
| Page up | Shift Space | Scroll up one page height |
| Toggle sidebar | Ctrl \ | Collapse / expand the left sidebar |
Go to
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox | G + I | Go to Inbox |
| Todos | G + O | Go to Todos |
| Starred | G + S | Go to Starred |
| Snoozed | G + B G + H | Go to Snoozed |
| Done | G + E | Go to Done |
| Important | G + + | Go to Important |
| Sent | G + T | Go to Sent |
| Drafts | G + D | Go to Drafts |
| Spam | G + ! | Go to Spam |
| Trash | G + # | Go to Trash |
| Favorite (1-9) | G + 1 | Go to favorited search (1 through 9) |
| AI Assistant | Ctrl J | Open AI Assistant |
| Insert AI Snippet | Ctrl ; | Open the AI Snippet insertion modal |
| Run AI Automation | Ctrl ' | Open the modal for running AI Automations |
| Command Palette | Ctrl K Ctrl Shift K Ctrl Shift P | Open command palette |
| Other account (1-9) | Alt 1 | Switch account (1 through 9) |
| Settings | Ctrl , | Go to Settings |
| Toggle theme | Ctrl Shift L | Toggle between light and dark mode themes |
Team collaboration & automation
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Share thread | Ctrl Shift S | Open the team sharing modal |
| Assign thread | Ctrl Shift Z | Open the teammate assignment modal |
Formatting
The following text shortcuts work when you are drafting messages in the compose box:
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Emoji | :emoji | Add emoji to your text :shorts :wave = 🩳 👋 |
| Bold | **bold**Ctrl B | Make your text bold |
| Italics | *italicize*Ctrl I | Make your text italicized |
| Underline | _underline_Ctrl U | Make your text underlined |
| Strikethrough | Ctrl Shift X | Add a |
| Code | `code`Ctrl E | Make your text code |
| Code block | ``` | Make your text a code block |
| Heading | # Space | Make your text a larger **Heading ** |
| Numbered List | 1 . SpaceCtrl Shift 7 | Add an ordered list |
| Bulleted List | - Space* SpaceCtrl Shift 8 | Add an unordered list |
| Quote | > SpaceCtrl Shift 9or q | Convert text to a quote. For quick quote, select a previous message and press Q to quote the text in your reply. |
| Add participant | +name | Add a person or channel to a thread, similar to adding them to the To or Cc field |
| Remove participant | -name | Remove a person or channel from a thread, similar to removing them from the To or Cc field |
| Add & notify participant | @name | Directly notify a specific person with a push notification |
| Link to | #name | Link a specific person or channel in a conversation |
Command palette
Like keyboard shortcuts, Shortwave's command palette provides quick keyboard-based access to navigation and thread shortcuts from wherever you are.
Use
Ctrl
K to pull up the command palette and start typing (Ctrl
Shift
P and Ctrl
Shift
K are also support shortcuts).
Global
Navigate to the following pages at any time:
- Inbox
- Snoozed
- Done
- Sent
- Spam
- Trash
- Starred
- Todos
- Label
- Settings
Threads
Take actions on a specific open thread, such as:
Triage actions
- Done / Move to inbox
- Star / Unstar
- Manage todos
- Snooze / Unsnooze
- Delete
- Report spam
- Block spam
- Follow / Mute
- Move to
Compose actions
- Reply
- Reply all
- Forward
Other actions
- Label
- Open AI Assistant
- Copy link
- Mark as unread
- Mark as important / not important
- Enable specific experiments
Date picker
Snoozing and scheduling emails in Shortwave is simple with our natural language date picker. You can type phrases into the input field to snooze a thread or schedule a message without ever leaving your keyboard.
Absolute dates
Use a combination of weekdays, months, dates, times, and years, such as:
- 12/10/2025
- 2025-12-10 8am
- Friday
- 2:15pm
- March 4, 2025
- Nov 23rd 2026 3pm
Relative dates
Use relative time inputs when you're not sure of the exact date. Try typing:
- Lunch tomorrow
- Midnight
- Noon
- EOD
- Next year
- Next week
- This weekend
- This evening
- Next Monday
Durations
Input a unit and amount to select a date that is a certain amount of time from now, such as:
- 2 years
- Four hours
- 1 day
Holidays
Type popular holidays to get the corresponding date, including:
- Halloween
- New Year's Eve
- Christmas
Guides
The Shortwave Method
Customize your Shortwave
The Shortwave AI Assistant
Collaborate with your team
Billing
Security & Privacy
How-tos
Download Shortwave for desktop
Default email app
Enable push notifications
Troubleshoot push notifications
Manage multiple accounts
Manage auto-apply labels
Integrate Shortwave with your CRM
Troubleshoot missing threads
Download EML file
Google Advanced Protection
Import full history
Downgrade account
Delete account