Nuke Keyboard Shortcuts: Complete List for Windows, Mac & Linux
Nuke keyboard shortcuts are key combinations in Foundry’s Nuke the node-based compositing and visual effects software used across film and television that trigger commands instantly instead of clicking through menus. For example, pressing R inserts a Read node, M inserts a Merge node, and F zooms the viewer to fit. Learning them is the fastest way to speed up a compositing workflow.
Most-used Nuke shortcuts at a glance: Ctrl/Cmd + S (save), R (Read node), W (Write node), M (Merge node), F (zoom to fit), D (disable node), Ctrl/Cmd + Z (undo). The full categorized list for Windows, Mac, and Linux is below, with a free PDF download.
This guide covers every Nuke shortcut organized by panel node graph, 2D and 3D viewers, timeline, curve editor, and script editor plus mouse-button combos and how to customize your own hotkeys.
Global Nuke Shortcuts (Most Used)
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Select all | Ctrl + A | Cmd + A |
| Copy | Ctrl + C | Cmd + C |
| Paste | Ctrl + V | Cmd + V |
| Cut | Ctrl + X | Cmd + X |
| Duplicate | Ctrl + D | Cmd + D |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | Cmd + Z |
| Redo | Ctrl + Shift + Z | Cmd + Shift + Z |
| New project / script | Ctrl + N | Cmd + N |
| Open project / script | Ctrl + O | Cmd + O |
| Save current project / script | Ctrl + S | Cmd + S |
| Save As (specify name) | Ctrl + Shift + S | Cmd + Shift + S |
| Close current project / script | Ctrl + W | Cmd + W |
| Exit the application | Ctrl + Q | Cmd + Q |
| Select none | Ctrl + Shift + A | Cmd + Shift + A |
| Open Preferences dialog | Shift + S | Shift + S |
| Cycle through tabs in current pane | Ctrl + T | Cmd + T |
| Save current window layout (F1–F6) | Ctrl + F# | Cmd + F# |
| Make window fullscreen | Alt + S | Option + S |
| Show Curve Editor | Alt + ` | Option + ` |
| Delete selected clips / folders | Backspace / Delete | Backspace / Delete |
| Clear buffers & playback cache | F12 | F12 |
| Expand focused panel to full window | Space (short press) | Space (short press) |
| Raise right-click menu | Space (long press) | Space (long press) |
| Go to next pane | Ctrl + Alt + ` | Cmd + Option + ` |
| Go to previous pane | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + ` | Cmd + Option + Shift + ` |
| Go to next tab | Ctrl + Shift + [ | Cmd + Shift + [ |
| Go to previous tab | Ctrl + Shift + ] | Cmd + Shift + ] |
| Close current tab | Shift + Esc | Shift + Esc |
| Change workspace | Shift + F1–F6 | Shift + F1–F6 |
| Open a recent project / script | Alt + Shift + 1–6 | Option + Shift + 1–6 |
Node Graph Shortcuts
| Action | Windows/ Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Insert Dot node | . (period) | . (period) |
| Search by node name or class | / | / |
| Tab node search menu | Tab | Tab |
| Snap all nodes to grid | \ | \ |
| Snap selected node to grid | Shift + \ | Shift + \ |
| Insert Blur node | B | B |
| Insert ColorCorrect node | C | C |
| Insert Grade node | G | G |
| Insert Merge node | M | M |
| Insert Transform node | T | T |
| Insert Read node | R | R |
| Insert Write node | W | W |
| Insert Roto node | O | O |
| Insert RotoPaint node | P | P |
| Insert Copy node | K | K |
| Insert AddMix node | Shift + A | Shift + A |
| Disable / enable node | D | D |
| Rename selected node | N | N |
| Auto-place selected nodes | L | L |
| Jump to bookmarked node | J | J |
| Display selected node information | I | I |
| Open properties for selected node(s) | Enter | Return |
| Display Project Settings | S | S |
| Fit selected / all nodes to panel | F | F |
| Render all Write nodes | F5 | F5 |
| Render selected Write nodes | F7 | F7 |
| Command entry mode | X | X |
| Delete selected nodes | Backspace / Delete | Backspace / Delete |
| Duplicate and branch selected nodes | Alt + B | Option + B |
| Duplicate selected node(s) | Alt + C | Option + C |
| Clone selected node(s) | Alt + K | Option + K |
| Declone nodes | Alt + Shift + K | Option + Shift + K |
| Toggle expression links on / off | Alt + E | Option + E |
| Generate Flipbook for node | Alt + F | Option + F |
| Create StickyNote | Alt + N | Option + N |
| Toggle postage stamp on / off | Alt + P | Option + P |
| Version up Read/Write file name | Alt + Up Arrow | Option + Up Arrow |
| Version down Read/Write file name | Alt + Down Arrow | Option + Down Arrow |
| Nest selected nodes in Group | Ctrl + G | Cmd + G |
| Disconnect upstream node | Ctrl + D | Cmd + D |
| Move selected node upstream | Ctrl + Up Arrow | Cmd + Up Arrow |
| Move selected node downstream | Ctrl + Down Arrow | Cmd + Down Arrow |
| Copy as clone | Ctrl + K | Cmd + K |
| Open a Group’s sub-graph | Ctrl + Enter | Cmd + Return |
| Toggle Proxy | Ctrl + P | Cmd + P |
| Swap A/B inputs on node | Shift + X | Shift + X |
| Create node in new branch | Shift + (node key) | Shift + (node key) |
| Toggle node bookmark on / off | Ctrl + Shift + B | Cmd + Shift + B |
| Change node color | Ctrl + Shift + C | Cmd + Shift + C |
| Copy gizmo to group | Ctrl + Shift + G | Cmd + Shift + G |
| Create Precomp from selected nodes | Ctrl + Shift + P | Cmd + Shift + P |
| Extract selected nodes from tree | Ctrl + Shift + X | Cmd + Shift + X |
| Paste node into new branch | Ctrl + Shift + V | Cmd + Shift + V |
2D Compositing Viewer Shortcuts
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Zoom in | + | + |
| Zoom out | – | – |
| Zoom to fit | F | F |
| Zoom to fill | H | H |
| Increase gain | . (period) | . (period) |
| Decrease gain | , (comma) | , (comma) |
| Toggle left toolbar | [ | [ |
| Toggle right toolbar | ] | ] |
| Alpha channel | A | A |
| Red channel | R | R |
| Green channel | G | G |
| Blue channel | B | B |
| Matte channel | M | M |
| Luminance channel | Y | Y |
| Toggle overlays | Q | Q |
| Toggle wipe tool | W | W |
| Toggle 2D / 3D | Tab | Tab |
| Mark In point | I | I |
| Mark Out point | O | O |
| Play forward | L | L |
| Play backward | J | J |
| Pause | K | K |
| Step forward one frame | Right Arrow | Right Arrow |
| Step backward one frame | Left Arrow | Left Arrow |
| Go to in point | Home | Home |
| Go to out point | End | End |
| Swap A/B input buffers | Enter | Return |
| Toggle Proxy | Ctrl + P | Cmd + P |
| Toggle pixel aspect ratio | Ctrl + Shift + P | Cmd + Shift + P |
| Color picker (single pixel) | Ctrl + LMB | Cmd + LMB |
| Color picker (region) | Ctrl + Shift + LMB | Cmd + Shift + LMB |
| Pan | Alt + LMB | Option + LMB |
| Save script and increment version | Alt + Shift + S | Option + Shift + S |
3D Compositing Viewer Shortcuts
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| 3D Top view | C | C |
| 3D Bottom view | Shift + C | Shift + C |
| 3D Front view | Z | Z |
| 3D Back view | Shift + Z | Shift + Z |
| 3D Right-side view | X | X |
| 3D Left-side view | Shift + X | Shift + X |
| 3D Perspective view | V | V |
| Display Viewer settings | S | S |
| Toggle soft selection | N | N |
| Toggle wipe tool | W | W |
| Toggle 2D / 3D viewer | Tab | Tab |
| Translate viewer (y, z axis) | Alt + LMB | Option + LMB |
| Zoom in / out (drag) | Alt + MMB | Option + MMB |
| Rotate viewer (x, y axis) | Alt + RMB / Ctrl + LMB | Option + RMB / Cmd + LMB |
| Toggle locked / interactive camera | Ctrl + L | Cmd + L |
Curve Editor & Dope Sheet Shortcuts
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Display Curve Editor | Alt + ` | Option + ` |
| Frame all keyframes | A | A |
| Frame all selected keyframes | F | F |
| Interpolation: Cubic | C | C |
| Interpolation: Horizontal | H | H |
| Interpolation: Constant | K | K |
| Interpolation: Linear | L | L |
| Interpolation: Catmull-Rom | R | R |
| Interpolation: Smooth (bezier) | Z | Z |
| Break selected control points’ handles | X | X |
| Select all curves | Ctrl + A | Cmd + A |
| Copy selected keys | Ctrl + C | Cmd + C |
| Cut selected keys | Ctrl + X | Cmd + X |
| Paste curve | Ctrl + V | Cmd + V |
| Copy Expressions | Ctrl + E | Cmd + E |
| Copy Links | Ctrl + L | Cmd + L |
| Copy selected curves | Ctrl + Shift + C | Cmd + Shift + C |
Script Editor Shortcuts
| Action | Windows/ Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Run script in editor | Ctrl + Enter | Cmd + Return |
| Increase indentation | Tab | Tab |
| Decrease indentation | Shift + Tab | Shift + Tab |
| Increase indentation of selected text | Ctrl + Shift + ] | Cmd + Shift + ] |
| Decrease indentation of selected text | Ctrl + Shift + [ | Cmd + Shift + [ |
| Load previous script | Ctrl + [ | Cmd + [ |
| Load next script | Ctrl + ] | Cmd + ] |
| Clear output window | Ctrl + Backspace | Cmd + Backspace |
| Action | Windows/ Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle Bezier / B-Spline / Ellipse / Rectangle tools | V | V |
| Toggle Clone tool | C | C |
| Toggle Brush / Eraser | N | N |
| Toggle Dodge / Burn | D | D |
| Toggle Blur / Sharpen / Smear tools | X | X |
| Pick color | I | I |
| Increase feather on selected point(s) | E | E |
| Remove feather from selected points | Shift + E | Shift + E |
| Smooth selected points | Z | Z |
| Cusp selected points | Shift + Z | Shift + Z |
| Remove selected point(s) | Delete | Delete |
| Switch back to current Select tool | Esc | Esc |
| Select all points | Ctrl + A | Cmd + A |
Nuke Studio Timeline Viewer Shortcuts
| Action | Windows / Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Zoom in | + | + |
| Zoom out | – | – |
| Zoom to fit | F | F |
| Zoom to fill | H | H |
| Razor selected | C | C |
| Razor all under playhead | Shift + C | Shift + C |
| Mark In point | I | I |
| Mark Out point | O | O |
| Go to In point | Shift + I | Shift + I |
| Go to Out point | Shift + O | Shift + O |
| Play forward | L | L |
| Play backward | J | J |
| Pause | K | K |
| Frame forward | Right Arrow | Right Arrow |
| Frame backward | Left Arrow | Left Arrow |
| Go to start | Home | Home |
| Go to end | End | End |
| Swap A/B inputs | Enter | Return |
| Display version selector | V | V |
| Version up selected clip | Alt + Up Arrow | Option + Up Arrow |
| Version down selected clip | Alt + Down Arrow | Option + Down Arrow |
| Wipe | W | W |
| Show overlays | Q | Q |
| Zoom to actual size | Ctrl + Shift + 1 | Cmd + Shift + 1 |
| Zoom to half size | Ctrl + Shift + 2 | Cmd + Shift + 2 |
| Full Quality 1:1 | Ctrl + Shift + F | Cmd + Shift + F |
| Ignore pixel aspect | Ctrl + Shift + P | Cmd + Shift + P |
Do Nuke Shortcuts Work in NukeX, Nuke Studio & Nuke Indie?
Yes the keyboard shortcuts in this guide work across the entire Nuke family, because they share the same core application. Foundry’s lineup is built from one set of binaries that run in different modes and license tiers:
| Product | What it is | Shortcut coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Nuke | The industry-standard node-based compositor | All Global, Node Graph, Viewer, Curve Editor, and Script Editor shortcuts |
| NukeX | Nuke plus advanced tools (Camera Tracker, GridWarp, etc.) | Everything in Nuke + extra tool nodes |
| Nuke Studio | NukeX combined with Hiero’s editorial timeline | Everything in NukeX + the Timeline Viewer shortcuts |
| Nuke Indie | Affordable edition for solo artists earning under $100k/year | Same shortcuts as Nuke Studio, with some export/resolution limits |
| Nuke Assist | Limited toolset for prep/roto seats, bundled with NukeX & Nuke Studio | Core Node Graph, Viewer, and Roto shortcuts |
| Hiero / HieroPlayer | Editorial conform and review tools | Timeline Viewer shortcuts apply |
Key point: The Timeline Viewer and Nuke Studio Timeline shortcuts only appear in products that include the editorial timeline Nuke Studio, Nuke Indie, and Hiero. If you’re running plain Nuke or NukeX, you won’t have a timeline panel, but every other shortcut on this page still works.
How to Customize Nuke Keyboard Shortcuts
Unlike some software, Nuke does not have a point-and-click “Keyboard Shortcuts” settings panel. Instead, you reassign shortcuts by adding a few lines of Python to your menu.py file, which Nuke runs automatically on startup. Here’s how:
- Locate your .nuke folder. This is your personal Nuke settings directory usually C:\Users\.nuke on Windows, or ~/.nuke on Mac and Linux.
- Open or create menu.py. Inside the .nuke folder, open the file named menu.py in any text editor. If it doesn’t exist, create a new empty file with that exact name.
- Add a command with your shortcut. Use the addCommand method to assign a key. For example, to make Shift + B create a Blur node: nuke.menu(‘Nodes’).addCommand(‘Filter/Blur’, ‘nuke.createNode(“Blur”)’, ‘shift+b’)
- Override an existing shortcut. To change a shortcut already in use, target the existing menu item and set a new key: nuke.menu(‘Nuke’).findItem(‘File/Save’).setShortcut(‘Ctrl+Shift+S’)
- Set the right context (optional). Some shortcuts should only fire in a specific panel. Pass shortcutContext 0 for the whole window, 1 for the application, or 2 for the Node Graph (DAG): nuke.menu(‘Nodes’).addCommand(‘Transform/Mirror’, ‘nuke.createNode(“Mirror”)’, ‘m’, shortcutContext=2)
- Save the file and restart Nuke. Your custom shortcuts load automatically the next time Nuke starts.
Warning: Assigning a key that’s already in use will override the original command. If two shortcuts share the same key and the same context (for example, two Viewer shortcuts), they may not behave as expected.
Nuke Shortcuts FAQ
What is the shortcut to create a node in Nuke?
In the Node Graph, single-letter keys insert the most common nodes: press R for a Read node, W for a Write node, M for a Merge node, B for a Blur node, G for a Grade node, and T for a Transform node. You can also press Tab to open the node search menu and type any node name.
How do I save a Nuke script with a keyboard shortcut?
Press Ctrl + S (Windows and Linux) or Cmd + S (Mac) to save the current script. To save with a new name, use Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + S. To save and automatically increment the version number, use Alt/Option + Shift + S your script name must include a _v# suffix (for example, myScript_v01.nk) for the increment to work.
Are Nuke keyboard shortcuts the same on Windows, Mac, and Linux?
Almost. Windows and Linux use identical keys (Ctrl, Alt, Shift). On Mac, replace Ctrl with Cmd and Alt with Option. Single-letter and function-key shortcuts are the same across all three operating systems.
How do I change or customize a Nuke shortcut?
Nuke has no built-in shortcut settings panel. You customize shortcuts by adding Python to your menu.py file in the .nuke folder. For example, nuke.menu(‘Nodes’).addCommand(‘Filter/Blur’, ‘nuke.createNode(“Blur”)’, ‘shift+b’) assigns Shift + B to a Blur node. Save the file and restart Nuke. A free community tool called Shortcut Editor (on Nukepedia) adds a visual dialog if you prefer not to write code.
Why doesn’t the S shortcut open Viewer settings in Nuke?
The S key opens Viewer settings only when no Roto or RotoPaint properties are open. If a Roto or RotoPaint panel has focus, S is reassigned to that tool’s function instead. Close the Roto properties or move focus to the Viewer to use S for Viewer settings.
Do these shortcuts work in NukeX, Nuke Studio, and Nuke Indie?
Yes. The entire Nuke family shares the same core application, so Global, Node Graph, Viewer, Curve Editor, and Script Editor shortcuts work everywhere. The Timeline Viewer shortcuts only apply to products that include the editorial timeline Nuke Studio, Nuke Indie, and Hiero.
How many keyboard shortcuts does Nuke have?
Foundry documents several hundred shortcuts across more than a dozen categories. This guide covers 100+ of the most useful ones for everyday compositing, organized by panel, for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Is there a Nuke shortcuts PDF I can download?
Yes. You can download a free, printable Nuke shortcuts cheat sheet in PDF format from the link in this guide and keep it beside your monitor for quick reference.
Final Thoughts
Learning Nuke shortcuts isn’t about memorizing all 180 keys at once it’s about building muscle memory for the handful you use every day. Start with the node-graph essentials (R, W, M, B, G), the viewer channel toggles (A, R, G, B), and the universal Ctrl/Cmd + S save habit. Once those feel automatic, layer in the timeline and curve-editor shortcuts as your work demands them.
The fastest compositors aren’t faster because they think faster they’re faster because their hands never leave the keyboard to hunt through menus. Every shortcut you internalize shaves seconds off a task you’ll repeat thousands of times across a project. Over a full shot, that adds up to real hours back in your day.
Bookmark this page as your reference, grab the free PDF cheat sheet above to keep beside your monitor, and when you’re ready, customize your own hotkeys with the menu.py method above to make Nuke truly yours.
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