Alfred Keyboard Shortcuts
Alfred predates most of today's launcher competitors and its core shortcut philosophy shows that maturity — a single global activation hotkey opens a lightweight search bar, with the real depth living in its Workflows feature (largely mouse-configured but keyboard-triggered once built) rather than a large surface of memorized individual shortcuts. Alfred's free version covers basic app launching and web search, while its paid Powerpack unlocks Workflows, clipboard history, and snippets, meaning the shortcut set meaningfully expands once that upgrade is purchased. Since Alfred has never shipped for Windows, every shortcut here relies on Cmd, Option, and Control as its modifier set with nothing to reconcile cross-platform. This page is aimed at Mac users evaluating whether the Powerpack upgrade is worth it, or existing Powerpack owners who've never gone deep on Workflows despite having paid for the feature, since Workflows are genuinely where Alfred's long-term value concentrates once basic app launching stops feeling novel. Because Alfred has been actively maintained for well over a decade and has a large community-built Workflow ecosystem, it's worth browsing existing shared Workflows before building your own from scratch for a common task, since someone else has likely already solved a similar automation need. Universal Actions extend Alfred's Action Panel concept beyond results found within its own search bar, letting the same rich right-click-style action menu apply to whatever is currently selected in Finder or in a text field elsewhere on the system, which is a Powerpack feature that longtime users sometimes discover well after they've already gotten comfortable with the more basic app-launching and file-search functionality covered above.
Launcher Core
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Alfred | — | Option+Space (customizable) | Opens Alfred's main search bar from anywhere on the system, the single global hotkey underlying the entire app, customizable to a different combination in Preferences if it conflicts with another tool. |
| Search for a file | — | Type query directly in Alfred bar | Typing a query in the main Alfred bar searches file names by default, with results filtered live as you type, functioning as Alfred's core Spotlight-replacement behavior. |
| Trigger a web search | — | Type keyword (e.g. 'google') then query | Typing a configured search keyword followed by a query performs a direct web search using that specific search engine or site, bypassing the need to open a browser and navigate to the site first. |
| Open Action Panel for a result | — | Cmd+Return (with a result highlighted) | Opens a secondary menu of alternative actions available for the currently highlighted result — revealing it in Finder, copying its path, or other file-specific actions beyond just opening it directly with plain Return. |
| Use the built-in calculator | — | Type a math expression directly in the bar | Type any arithmetic expression right into Alfred's bar and it computes the answer live as you type, skipping a trip to a dedicated Calculator app entirely, and Return copies that result straight to the clipboard. |
| Search Contacts | — | Type contact name in Alfred bar | Searches macOS Contacts directly from the Alfred bar, showing quick actions like calling, emailing, or messaging a found contact without opening the Contacts app separately. |
| Trigger a system command (sleep, lock, empty trash) | — | Type command name, e.g. 'lock' or 'empty trash' | Typing a recognized system command keyword executes common macOS system actions directly, avoiding the need to navigate the Apple menu for routine actions like locking the screen or emptying the Trash. |
Clipboard Snippets
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Clipboard History | — | Cmd+Option+C (customizable, Powerpack required) | Opens Alfred's clipboard history panel, a Powerpack-tier feature that keeps a searchable log of previously copied text, images, and files far beyond the one single item macOS's built-in clipboard remembers. |
| Expand a text snippet | — | Type assigned snippet keyword (Powerpack required) | Typing a configured snippet trigger anywhere across the system expands it into pre-defined text automatically, a Powerpack feature functioning system-wide rather than being scoped only to the Alfred window. |
| Show clipboard/text in Large Type | — | Cmd+L (with text selected) | Displays the selected or copied text in a large, full-screen-overlay font, useful for quickly reading a small piece of copied text (like a verification code) from across the room or for a screen-share presentation. |
| Delete a specific Clipboard History entry | — | Within Clipboard History, select item, Cmd+Delete | Removes a specific saved entry from clipboard history permanently, useful for scrubbing a sensitive copied value (a password, a private link) that you don't want lingering in searchable history even though it's stored locally rather than shared anywhere. |
Workflows
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger a Workflow via keyword | — | Type assigned workflow keyword (Powerpack required) | Typing a keyword bound to a custom Workflow executes that Workflow's configured automation chain, which can range from a simple URL-opening shortcut to a complex multi-step script pulling data from an API. |
| Trigger a Workflow via global hotkey | — | Custom-assigned per Workflow (Powerpack required) | Workflows can alternatively be bound to their own dedicated global hotkey rather than requiring the Alfred bar to be open first, letting a specific automation trigger instantly from anywhere on the system. |
| Open Alfred Preferences | — | Cmd+, (from Alfred bar) or via menu bar icon | Opens Alfred's Preferences window, where Workflows are built and configured, hotkeys are customized, and the Powerpack license is managed. |
| Open Universal Actions on any selected item | — | Configurable hotkey applied to current Finder/text selection (Powerpack) | Extends the Action Panel outside Alfred's own search results entirely, so it can operate on a file highlighted in Finder or a text selection in whatever app currently has focus, not just on items already surfaced by an Alfred query. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do so many of Alfred's features say 'Powerpack required'?
Alfred ships as a genuinely functional free app covering basic app and file launching plus simple web search, but its most powerful features — Workflows (custom automation chains), Clipboard History, and Snippets — are gated behind a one-time paid Powerpack license upgrade, a deliberate freemium model rather than a subscription, distinguishing it from some competing launchers' different monetization approaches.
What's actually inside a Workflow, and are they hard to build?
A Workflow is a visual flowchart-style automation built in Alfred's Preferences, chaining together triggers (a keyword, hotkey, or file-watcher) with actions (opening a URL, running a script, showing a notification) — building a Workflow from scratch generally requires basic scripting knowledge (AppleScript, Python, or Bash) for anything beyond the simplest chains, though Alfred's community shares a large library of pre-built Workflows others have already created for common tasks, importable without needing to build from scratch.
Does Alfred's clipboard history persist after restarting the Mac?
Yes — clipboard history (a Powerpack feature) is stored persistently in Alfred's own database rather than being cleared on restart or logout, though it's configurable in Preferences to automatically expire entries after a set time period or exclude sensitive content like passwords copied from a password manager, which some users specifically configure to avoid accidentally retaining sensitive copied data indefinitely.
Does the built-in calculator support anything beyond basic arithmetic?
Alfred's calculator handles standard arithmetic operations, parentheses for order of operations, and several common mathematical functions, though it's not intended as a full scientific or programmer's calculator replacement — for genuinely advanced calculations, most users still reach for a dedicated calculator app, reserving Alfred's built-in version for quick everyday sums that don't justify switching apps entirely.
If I delete a sensitive item from Clipboard History, is it gone from everywhere, including any Workflow that might have referenced it?
Deleting an entry removes it from Alfred's own stored clipboard history database, but it has no effect on anywhere that value may have already been pasted into a document, message, or another application before deletion — Alfred's clipboard history deletion only controls whether that specific copied value remains searchable and re-pasteable from within Alfred going forward, not any use of it that already happened elsewhere.
Does Alfred replace the need to ever open Finder or System Settings directly?
Not entirely — Alfred's file search, system commands, and Universal Actions cover a large share of routine quick actions (finding a file, locking the screen, emptying Trash) without opening a dedicated app, but for genuinely deep file management or detailed system configuration, most users still fall back to Finder or System Settings directly, using Alfred primarily as a fast on-ramp for common, quick actions rather than a full replacement for either.