QuickTime Player Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac (Complete List)
QuickTime Player is the media player and screen recorder built into every Mac, and it supports more than 50 keyboard shortcuts for playing, editing, trimming, and recording video all without touching the mouse. This guide lists every QuickTime Player shortcut for Mac, organized by task and verified against Apple’s official documentation, plus a free PDF cheat sheet you can download below.
Quick answer: The most-used QuickTime Player shortcuts on Mac are Space (play or pause), Command + F (full screen), Command + T (trim), Shift + Command + H (flip horizontally), and Control + Command + N (new screen recording).
Key Takeaways
- QuickTime Player has 52 keyboard shortcuts and trackpad gestures on Mac, covering playback, editing, viewing, and recording.
- Press Spacebar to play or pause, and Command + F to enter or exit full-screen view.
- To flip a video horizontally, press Shift + Command + H; to rotate, use Shift + Command + L (left) or Shift + Command + R (right).
- Start a screen recording with Control + Command + N and trim a clip with Command + T.
- All shortcuts below are verified against Apple’s official QuickTime Player User Guide (current for macOS Sequoia and Tahoe).
Most-Used QuickTime Player Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Play or pause | Space bar |
| Enter / exit full screen | Command + F |
| Trim | Command + T |
| Flip horizontally | Shift + Command + H |
| New screen recording | Control + Command + N |
| Show Movie Inspector | Command + I |
Basic Task Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| New movie recording | Option + Command + N |
| New audio recording | Shift + Command + N |
| New screen recording | Control + Command + N |
| Open file | Command + O |
| Open location using a URL | Command + L |
| Open Image Sequence | Shift + Command + O |
| Close window | Command + W |
| Save file | Command + S |
| Duplicate | Shift + Command + S |
| Minimize window | Command + M |
| Show Movie Inspector | Command + I |
| Show export progress | Option + Command + P |
Movie Playback Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Play or pause | Space bar |
| Play or pause all movies | Command + Return |
| Go back one frame | Left Arrow |
| Go forward one frame | Right Arrow |
| Go to the beginning of a movie | Option + Left Arrow |
| Go to the end of a movie | Option + Right Arrow |
| Cycle through rewind speeds | Command + Left Arrow |
| Cycle through fast-forward speeds | Command + Right Arrow |
| Turn volume up | Up Arrow |
| Turn volume down | Down Arrow |
| Volume to maximum | Option + Up Arrow |
| Volume to minimum | Option + Down Arrow |
| Loop the movie | Option + Command + L |
Movie Editing Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Undo | Command + Z |
| Redo | Shift + Command + Z |
| Cut | Command + X |
| Copy | Command + C |
| Paste | Command + V |
| Select all | Command + A |
| Rotate left | Shift + Command + L |
| Rotate right | Shift + Command + R |
| Flip horizontally | Shift + Command + H |
| Flip vertically | Shift + Command + V |
| Split clip | Command + Y |
| Trim | Command + T |
View & Size Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Enter full-screen view | Command + F |
| Exit full-screen view | Command + F or Esc |
| Display movie at actual size | Command + 1 |
| Fit the movie to the screen | Command + 3 |
| Fill the screen with the movie | Command + 4 |
| Display the movie in panoramic mode | Command + 5 |
| Increase the movie size | Command + Plus (+) |
| Decrease the movie size | Command + Minus (−) |
Trackpad Gestures (bonus — most blogs miss these)
| Action | Gesture |
|---|---|
| Scrub forward (paused) | Swipe two fingers up or right |
| Scrub backward (paused) | Swipe two fingers down or left |
| Skip forward (playing) | Swipe two fingers up or right |
| Skip backward (playing) | Swipe two fingers down or left |
| Adjust volume | Over the volume control, swipe two fingers up/down |
How to Flip a Video Horizontally in QuickTime Player
To flip a video horizontally in QuickTime Player on Mac, press Shift + Command + H while the clip is open. This mirrors the video left-to-right useful for fixing selfie-style footage from the front camera, correcting mirrored screen recordings, or matching the orientation of other clips.
Steps:
- Open your video in QuickTime Player (Command + O).
- Press Shift + Command + H to flip the video horizontally. (To flip top-to-bottom instead, press Shift + Command + V.)
- Save your change with Command + S, or keep the original and save a copy with Shift + Command + S (Duplicate).
You can also flip a clip from the menu bar: choose Edit > Flip Horizontal. The keyboard shortcut and the menu command do exactly the same thing.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Flip horizontally | Shift + Command + H |
| Flip vertically | Shift + Command + V |
| Rotate left | Shift + Command + L |
| Rotate right | Shift + Command + R |
⬇ Download the QuickTime Player Shortcuts PDF
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the QuickTime flip horizontal shortcut?
The QuickTime Player flip horizontal shortcut on Mac is Shift + Command + H. To flip a video top-to-bottom instead, press Shift + Command + V.
How do I move forward or back in a QuickTime video?
The arrow keys move one frame at a time Right Arrow goes forward a frame, Left Arrow goes back a frame. QuickTime Player has no built-in “skip 5 seconds” shortcut; to move faster, press Command + Right Arrow to cycle through fast-forward speeds, or Command + Left Arrow to rewind. You can also drag the playhead on the timeline.
What are the QuickTime Player hotkeys for Mac?
The most-used QuickTime hotkeys are Space (play/pause), Command + F (full screen), Command + T (trim), Shift + Command + H (flip horizontally), Command + Y (split clip), and Control + Command + N (new screen recording). See the full list above.
Do QuickTime Player shortcuts work on Windows?
No. The shortcuts in this guide are for QuickTime Player on macOS. Apple discontinued QuickTime for Windows in 2016 and no longer supports it, so Windows users should use a player like VLC instead.
Why are my QuickTime Player shortcuts not working?
First, make sure the QuickTime Player window is active and not behind another app or a dialog box. Some shortcuts, like Command + F for full screen, only work when a movie is open. If a specific shortcut still fails, check System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts for a macOS or app conflict that may have remapped the same key combination. Shortcuts can also vary with your keyboard layout and language.
How do I start a screen recording in QuickTime Player?
Press Control + Command + N to open a new screen recording, then click the record button. To record a movie from your camera instead, press Option + Command + N, and for audio-only recording press Shift + Command + N.
Can I customize QuickTime Player keyboard shortcuts?
QuickTime Player doesn’t have its own shortcut editor, but you can remap any of its menu commands system-wide through System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > App Shortcuts. Add QuickTime Player, type the exact menu command name, and assign your own key combination.
Conclusion
QuickTime Player’s keyboard shortcuts turn everyday tasks playing, trimming, flipping, and screen recording into single keystrokes, and you don’t need to memorize all 52 at once. Start with the ones you’ll use most: Space to play or pause, Command + F for full screen, Command + T to trim, and Control + Command + N to record your screen. Add one new shortcut each session and they’ll become muscle memory fast.
Every shortcut in this guide is verified against Apple’s official QuickTime Player User Guide and current for the latest versions of macOS. Bookmark this page or grab the free PDF cheat sheet above to keep the full list handy.
If you’ve outgrown QuickTime’s editing tools, VLC Media Player is a powerful free alternative for Mac see our full VLC keyboard shortcuts list to keep working without the mouse.
