Skype Keyboard Shortcuts
Skype's history matters more to understanding its current shortcut set than almost any other app on this site: Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, ran it as a dominant consumer video-calling product for over a decade, and then announced in early 2025 that the free consumer version would be retired, with Microsoft actively migrating remaining users to Teams (free) by May 5, 2025. The shortcuts documented here reflect the last stable version of the consumer desktop app, which remains genuinely relevant for a few real reasons rather than being purely historical: existing installs on machines that haven't been forced to update may still run for a period, Skype for Business and Skype-branded enterprise calling infrastructure exist as a separate product line with their own lifecycle, and a meaningful number of people internationally — particularly for cross-border personal calls to landlines and mobiles via Skype Credit — used features that don't map directly onto Teams' feature set. Skype's shortcuts also carry a visible mark of the app's major 2017-2018 redesign, when Microsoft rebuilt the client on a new cross-platform framework and shifted its interface toward a more Teams-like, ribbon-and-panel layout; several bindings that worked in the older 'classic' Skype either changed or were dropped entirely in that transition, which is a genuine source of confusion for long-time users searching for a shortcut that used to exist. Given the retirement, we'd point anyone starting fresh with team or family video calling toward actively maintained alternatives — Teams, Zoom, Discord, or Google Meet, all covered elsewhere on this site — while keeping this reference available for the real population of people still running an existing Skype install or working with Skype for Business inside a corporate environment.
Messaging
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start new conversation | Ctrl+N | Cmd+N | Opens a new conversation panel to select a contact and start chatting, the standard way to begin a fresh conversation without searching your existing chat list first. |
| Search contacts and messages | Ctrl+F | Cmd+F | Opens the search bar for finding a contact by name or locating a specific message within your chat history, functionally similar to the search pattern used across most modern chat apps. |
| Open Settings | Ctrl+, | Cmd+, | Opens Skype's settings panel, following the same comma-based convention Microsoft and Apple both use across many of their other applications for quick access to preferences. |
| Insert line break without sending | Shift+Enter | Shift+Enter | Drops the cursor to a fresh line in the same message rather than firing it off, useful when Enter's default send behavior would otherwise cut a longer thought in half. |
Calls
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mute/unmute microphone during a call | Ctrl+Shift+M | Cmd+Shift+M | Toggles your microphone during an active audio or video call, the shortcut worth memorizing above nearly any other here given how often it gets used mid-call. |
| End the current call | Ctrl+Shift+H | Cmd+Shift+H | Hangs up the active call immediately, equivalent to clicking the red end-call button, without needing to move the mouse to the call controls. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Skype still available to download and use as of 2026?
Microsoft retired the free consumer Skype app on May 5, 2025, actively directing remaining users toward Teams (free) as the replacement for personal chat and video calling. Existing installations may continue functioning for some users depending on how Microsoft has phased out backend support, but Skype is no longer positioned as an actively developed consumer product, and new users are steered toward Teams instead.
What happened to my Skype contacts and chat history after the retirement?
Microsoft provided a migration path allowing Skype accounts to sign into Teams (free) using the same Microsoft account, carrying over contacts and, in many cases, chat history, though the completeness of that migration varied by account and by exactly when a user made the switch relative to Microsoft's rollout schedule.
Are Skype for Business and the consumer Skype app the same product?
No — Skype for Business was a separate enterprise communication product built on different underlying infrastructure and aimed at corporate deployments, and its own retirement timeline (largely folded into Microsoft Teams for business customers) ran on a different schedule than the consumer Skype app's 2025 shutdown. The shortcuts on this page describe the consumer app specifically, not Skype for Business.
Why do some of these shortcuts not match what I remember from older versions of Skype?
Skype underwent a major rebuild starting around 2017-2018, moving to a new cross-platform interface that reorganized much of the app around a more modern, Teams-like layout. Several keyboard bindings from the pre-redesign 'classic' Skype either changed or were dropped outright in that transition, which trips up long-time users hunting for a binding that simply no longer exists in its old form.
Can I still use Skype Credit or Skype Number for calling regular phone lines?
As part of the consumer retirement, Microsoft's guidance directed users relying on Skype's paid calling features (Skype Credit for calling landlines and mobiles, Skype Number for a dedicated phone number) to alternative services, since Teams' free tier does not carry over those specific paid PSTN-calling capabilities in the same form.
What's the best alternative to Skype now that the consumer app has been retired?
For most personal video calling and group chat needs, Microsoft's own recommended path is Teams (free), which shares your Microsoft account and can inherit migrated contacts, but Zoom, Google Meet, and Discord (all covered elsewhere on this site) are equally reasonable alternatives depending on whether you prioritize meeting-style video calls, casual group voice chat, or lightweight browser-based calling with no account required.
Why did Skype lose so much of its consumer popularity even before Microsoft retired it?
Skype's decline as the default choice for video calling predates its 2025 retirement by several years, driven by a combination of factors: dedicated workplace tools like Zoom and Teams captured business usage, WhatsApp and iMessage absorbed much of the casual personal video-calling market on mobile, and Skype's own major redesign in 2017-2018 was received unevenly by long-time users who felt the new interface added complexity without matching benefit. By the time Microsoft announced the consumer retirement, Skype's usage had already been shrinking for years relative to its early-2010s peak.
Does this shortcut list still apply to Skype for Business or its Teams-integrated successor?
Not directly — Skype for Business ran on separate underlying infrastructure from the consumer Skype app covered here, with its own distinct keyboard shortcut set aimed at enterprise calling and meeting scenarios, and Microsoft has been steering Skype for Business customers toward Teams for business on its own separate migration timeline, independent of the consumer app's 2025 retirement.