Craft Keyboard Shortcuts
Craft's editor is block-based like Notion's, meaning each paragraph, heading, image, or list is its own manipulable unit, and its shortcuts split fairly evenly between text formatting (which leans on familiar Markdown-style typed shortcuts, like typing a hyphen and space for a bullet list) and block-level operations like moving, duplicating, and converting a block's type. Where Craft distinguishes itself from similar block editors is its visual card system for organizing top-level documents, which comes with its own dedicated navigation shortcuts not found in a linear document editor. On iOS there's no physical keyboard modifier to speak of, so the table below reflects the Mac and Windows desktop apps, where the same actions simply swap Cmd for Ctrl as expected. This page is written for people already using Craft's card-based document structure across multiple Spaces rather than treating it as a single flat notebook, since that's where the document-navigation shortcuts genuinely add value over just scrolling a sidebar list. If you're coming from Notion, most of the block-formatting shortcuts and Markdown shorthand will transfer directly, while Craft's visual card layout for organizing top-level documents is the one conceptual difference worth spending a little time getting comfortable with. Cross-document linking through the @ mention shortcut is worth calling out specifically since it's what elevates Craft's card-based structure beyond a simple folder hierarchy — a document can reference another directly inline, and Focus mode exists specifically to support long writing sessions within that same linked-document structure without losing your place among surrounding blocks.
Text Formatting
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bold selected text | Ctrl+B | Cmd+B | Toggles bold on whatever text is selected, a binding so universal across rich-text editors that it barely needs explaining. |
| Convert block to Heading 1 | Ctrl+Alt+1 | Cmd+Option+1 | Converts the current block into a top-level heading, or typed as Markdown shorthand by starting a line with '# ' followed by a space. |
| Convert to bulleted list | Ctrl+Alt+8, or type '- ' | Cmd+Option+8, or type '- ' | Turns the current block into a bulleted list item, reachable either through this shortcut directly or by starting a fresh line with a hyphen and a space, which Craft picks up on and auto-converts the moment you keep typing. |
| Convert to checklist | Ctrl+Alt+9, or type '[] ' | Cmd+Option+9, or type '[] ' | Converts the current block into a checkable to-do item, with typed Markdown-style shorthand '[] ' also triggering the same conversion automatically. |
| Highlight selected text | Ctrl+Shift+H | Cmd+Shift+H | Drops a colored highlight behind the selected text, a fast way to flag an important passage buried in a longer document. |
| Apply inline code formatting | Ctrl+E, or wrap text in backticks | Cmd+E, or backticks | Formats the selected text in a monospaced code style, achievable either via the shortcut or by typing backtick characters around the text, useful for filenames, code snippets, or technical terms within otherwise regular prose. |
| Link to another document | Type @ followed by document name | Same | Typing @ triggers an autocomplete list of existing documents in the current space, letting you insert a clickable cross-reference link without leaving the keyboard to search manually. |
Block Operations
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move block up | Ctrl+Shift+Up | Cmd+Shift+Up | Moves the current block one position earlier in the document, reordering it relative to surrounding blocks without cutting and re-pasting. |
| Move block down | Ctrl+Shift+Down | Cmd+Shift+Down | Moves the current block one position later in the document, the reverse companion to moving a block up. |
| Duplicate current block | Ctrl+D | Cmd+D | Creates an exact copy of the current block directly beneath it, faster than manually selecting and copy-pasting a block's content. |
| Indent block (nest under previous) | Tab | Tab | Nests the current block as a sub-item beneath the block immediately above it, building a hierarchical outline structure within the document. |
| Delete current block | Ctrl+Shift+Backspace | Cmd+Shift+Backspace | Removes the entire current block in one action, distinct from repeatedly pressing Backspace to delete its text character by character, useful for quickly clearing out an empty or unwanted block. |
Document Navigation
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create new document | Ctrl+N | Cmd+N | Creates a new blank document card in the current space, Craft's top-level organizational unit shown visually as cards in its space view. |
| Quick switcher / search | Ctrl+K | Cmd+K | Opens a fuzzy-search palette for jumping to any document, space, or block by typing a partial title or content match, following the widely adopted Ctrl/Cmd+K quick-switcher convention shared by many modern productivity tools. |
| Navigate back to previous document | Ctrl+[ | Cmd+[ | Returns to the previously viewed document, following the same back-navigation mental model as a web browser, useful after clicking through a chain of linked documents and wanting to retrace your steps. |
| Open today's Daily Note | Ctrl+Shift+J | Cmd+Shift+J | Jumps directly to (or creates, if it doesn't exist yet) a dated Daily Note document, useful for quickly logging a thought or task without first deciding which permanent document it belongs in. |
| Toggle Focus mode | Ctrl+Shift+F | Cmd+Shift+F | Dims everything except the current paragraph or block being edited, reducing visual distraction during longer writing sessions, a feature borrowed conceptually from dedicated distraction-free writing apps like iA Writer. |
| Export current document | Ctrl+Shift+E | Cmd+Shift+E | Opens the export dialog for saving the current document as PDF, Word, or Markdown, useful for sharing content with someone who doesn't use Craft themselves. |
Frequently Asked Questions
I typed a dash and space at the beginning of a line and it stayed as plain text instead of becoming a bullet — why?
Markdown-style auto-conversion in Craft requires the hyphen and space to be typed at the very beginning of an otherwise empty block — if there's already text before your cursor on that line, or you paste text containing a leading hyphen rather than typing it live, the automatic shorthand conversion won't trigger, and you'd need the explicit keyboard shortcut or block-type menu instead.
What's the real difference between moving a block and indenting it?
Moving a block (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Up or Down) repositions it earlier or later in the document's linear top-to-bottom order while keeping it at the same nesting level. Indenting (Tab) instead changes its hierarchical relationship, nesting it as a child beneath the block directly above without necessarily changing its vertical position much — the two operations solve different organizational problems and are often used together when restructuring a document.
Do these shortcuts work the same way in the iOS app?
The underlying actions are the same, but iOS naturally substitutes on-screen toolbar buttons and gesture-based interactions (like swiping a block, or using the accessory toolbar above the keyboard) for most of what a physical keyboard shortcut does on Mac or Windows, since iOS doesn't universally guarantee a hardware keyboard is attached. An iPad with a hardware keyboard connected does support a meaningful subset of the same key combinations as the Mac app.
Is Delete Block reversible if I remove something by mistake?
Yes — like nearly every other action in Craft's editor, deleting a block registers as a single undoable step in the standard undo history (Cmd/Ctrl+Z), so an accidental block deletion is a one-keystroke fix immediately after it happens, the same as reversing any other typing or formatting action.
What's the benefit of the back-navigation shortcut over just using the sidebar to find a document again?
The sidebar requires you to remember and re-locate a document's position in your folder or space structure, while the back shortcut simply retraces your actual browsing path regardless of where in the structure each document happens to live, which is faster specifically when you've followed a chain of cross-linked documents and want to return to something you were looking at a moment ago rather than searching for it fresh.
What is the Daily Note feature meant to be used for?
Daily Notes give you one dated document per day, automatically created the first time you open it that day, meant as a low-friction landing spot for quick thoughts, meeting notes, or tasks that don't yet warrant filing into a permanent, purpose-built document — many users treat it as a running scratchpad they periodically mine for content worth promoting into a dedicated document.