Keyboard Shortcuts

Overview

A complete reference of keyboard shortcuts available in Obvious. Press ? anywhere inside a project to open the shortcuts modal, which shows only the shortcuts active on the current page.

Note: Shortcuts that show Ctrl use the Ctrl key on all platforms (Mac, Windows, Linux). Shortcuts that show Cmd/Ctrl use Cmd on Mac and Ctrl on Windows/Linux.

Global

These shortcuts work on every page in Obvious.

Shortcut	Action
Cmd/Ctrl+N	Create new project
Cmd/Ctrl+P	Navigate to projects page
Cmd/Ctrl+L	Navigate to library page
Cmd/Ctrl+K	Focus search input
Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+N	Open quick note modal
Ctrl+A	Toggle assistant sidebar
Ctrl+,	Open personalization settings
Ctrl+Shift+D	Toggle dark/light theme

Notes:

Cmd/Ctrl+N is disabled on the Notes page and Shortcuts page, which use their own local Ctrl+N shortcut.
Ctrl+A (assistant sidebar) requires the assistant feature to be enabled on your workspace.
Ctrl+Shift+D works even when the cursor is in a text input.

Project page — Threads

Active when you're inside a project.

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+T	Create new thread
Ctrl+[	Switch to previous thread
Ctrl+]	Switch to next thread
Ctrl+D	Archive the active thread

Project page — Agent mode

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9	Select agent mode by position
Ctrl+Shift+[	Cycle to previous agent mode
Ctrl+Shift+]	Cycle to next agent mode

Ctrl+1 selects the first mode in the dropdown (Auto), Ctrl+2 selects the second (Fast), and so on. The number of available positions depends on your plan and enabled features.

Project page — Chat input

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+/	Focus chat input
Ctrl+Shift+M	Open @mention in chat
Ctrl+Shift+/	Open /command in chat

Project page — Layout

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+	Toggle split view
Ctrl+B	Toggle chat sidebar
Ctrl+E	Toggle chat focus mode
Ctrl+G	Toggle grid/list view
Ctrl+H	Toggle hidden folders

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Shift+C	Toggle comments panel
Ctrl+Shift+K	Toggle tasks panel
Ctrl+Shift+F	Toggle files panel
Ctrl+Shift+X	Toggle context panel
Ctrl+Shift+A	Toggle activity panel
Ctrl+Shift+Tab	Cycle to next sidebar panel

Ctrl+Shift+Tab cycles through Comments → Tasks → Files → Context → Activity. When the last panel is active, pressing again closes the sidebar.

Project page — Actions

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Shift+N	Create new artifact
Ctrl+Shift+O	Create new folder
? (Shift+/)	Open keyboard shortcuts help

Workbooks

Active when a workbook sheet is open.

Shortcut	Action
Cmd/Ctrl+B	Bold selected text
Cmd/Ctrl+I	Italic selected text
Cmd/Ctrl+U	Underline selected text
Cmd/Ctrl+Z	Undo
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z	Redo
Cmd/Ctrl+Y	Redo (alternative)

Slides editor

Active when editing a slide in a presentation.

Shortcut	Action
Cmd/Ctrl+C	Copy selected blocks
Cmd/Ctrl+V	Paste blocks
Cmd/Ctrl+G	Group selected blocks
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+G	Ungroup selected blocks
Cmd/Ctrl+]	Move selected block forward (z-order)
Cmd/Ctrl+[	Move selected block backward (z-order)
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+]	Move selected block to front
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+[	Move selected block to back
Delete or Backspace	Delete selected blocks

Calendar view

Active when a calendar artifact is focused.

Shortcut	Action
Shift+Arrow Left	Navigate to previous month
Shift+Arrow Right	Navigate to next month
Arrow Left	Move to previous day with events
Arrow Right	Move to next day with events
Arrow Up	Move to previous event (or same weekday in prior week)
Arrow Down	Move to next event (or same weekday in next week)
Enter	Open the focused event for editing
Escape	Close the record sidebar

Notes page

Active on the Notes page (/notes).

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+N	Create new note
Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+N	Create new note (overrides global quick note modal)
Arrow Up or K	Move to previous note in list
Arrow Down or J	Move to next note in list
Enter or Space	Open selected note
Delete or Backspace	Delete selected note

Shortcuts page

Active on the Shortcuts page (/shortcuts).

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+N	Create new shortcut