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The Shortwave MethodCustomize your ShortwaveThe Shortwave AI AssistantCollaborate with your teamBillingSecurity & PrivacyMigrations
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Use Shortwave with other email providersUnified inbox via forwardingManage multiple accountsSignatures in ShortwaveInstall Shortwave's PWADefault email appEnable push notificationsTroubleshoot push notificationsManage auto-apply labelsIntegrate Shortwave with your CRMUsing MCP with ShortwaveMake the most of your quotaTroubleshoot email syncing issuesDownload EML fileGoogle Advanced ProtectionImport full historyBefore you contact supportUpgrade, downgrade, or delete accountKeyboard shortcuts & commands
Type Shift ? to open the keyboard shortcut reference from directly within Shortwave.
Compose & send
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Compose | C | Start a new draft |
| New thread | N | Start a new thread when viewing a search result addressed to the relevant search participants |
| Reply all | A | Reply all to focused thread |
| Reply to sender | R | Reply to sender to focused thread |
| Forward | F | Forward focused thread |
| Cc | Ctrl Shift C | Focus the Cc field to add recipients |
| Bcc | Ctrl Shift B | Focus the Bcc field to add recipients |
| Instant intro | Ctrl Shift I | Move last sender to Bcc and inserts text Thanks "lastSenderName"! (moved to BCC) |
| Attach file | Ctrl Shift A | Attach a file to the current draft |
| Link | Ctrl K | Add a link to your text. If you have a link already copied, you can paste it over highlighted text with Ctrl V. |
| Discard draft | Ctrl Shift D Ctrl Shift , | Discard the current draft |
| Send | Ctrl Enter | Send your message from the compose box |
| Send & done | Ctrl Shift Enter | Send your message from the compose box and mark thread as done |
| Undo send | Ctrl Z Z | Revert most recently sent message back into a draft |
| View sent message | Ctrl Shift V | Open most recently sent email in pop-out window |
| Search | / | Open search |
| Close | Esc | Close selection / cancel action / remove focus |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Ctrl / Shift / | Open the in-app keyboard shortcuts reference |
Threads
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ask AI | Y | Prompt AI to help summarize, translate, or understand a thread |
| Done | D or E | Archive the currently focused thread or bundle and automatically focus the next item |
| Done & next | [ | Archive the current thread if one is selected. Go to the next thread and opens it, even if that means going to the next bundle or group. |
| Done & previous | ] | Archive the current thread if one is selected. Go to the previous thread and opens it, even if that means going to the previous bundle or group. |
| Manage todos | T | Create a new todo or add an item to an existing todo |
| Snooze | B or H | Open the snooze picker for the focused thread or bundle |
| Star | S | Star or unstar the focused thread |
| Label | L | Add a label to the focused thread or bundle |
| Move to | V | Move the focused thread or bundle from it's current location to the applied label |
| Delete | # Delete | Delete the focused thread or bundle |
| Unsubscribe | Ctrl U | Unsubscribe you from the mailing list |
| Block spam | Ctrl B | Report the current thread as spam and automatically trashes all future messages from the sender |
| Report spam | ! | Report the current thread as spam and removes it from the inbox |
| Mute (Unfollow) | M | Unfollow the focused thread |
| Copy thread link | Ctrl C | Copy the thread's unique link when a thread is focused |
| Mark unread | U Shift U | Mark the current thread as unread |
| Mark read | U Shift I | Mark the current thread as read |
| Mark important | + | Mark the current thread as important |
| Mark not important | - | Mark the current thread as not important |
| Undo | Ctrl Z Z | Undo the most recent action |
Thread list
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Next | ↓ or J | Move to the next item (thread or bundle) |
| Previous | ↑ or K | Move to the previous item (thread or bundle) |
| Select | X | Select the focused item and enables multi-select mode |
| Open in side panel | → or Enter | Open the focused item in a side panel (thread or bundle) |
| Close | ← or Esc | Close the open item (thread or bundle) |
| Scroll down | ↓ | Scroll the page down (when thread has focus) |
| Scroll up | ↑ | Scroll the page up (when thread has focus) |
| Page down | Space | Scroll down one page height |
| Page up | Shift Space | Scroll up one page height |
| Toggle sidebar | Ctrl \ | Collapse / expand the left sidebar |
Go to
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox | G + I | Go to Inbox |
| Todos | G + O | Go to Todos |
| Starred | G + S | Go to Starred |
| Snoozed | G + B G + H | Go to Snoozed |
| Done | G + E | Go to Done |
| Important | G + + | Go to Important |
| Sent | G + T | Go to Sent |
| Drafts | G + D | Go to Drafts |
| Spam | G + ! | Go to Spam |
| Trash | G + # | Go to Trash |
| Favorite (1-9) | G + 1 | Go to favorited search (1 through 9) |
| AI Assistant | Ctrl J | Open AI Assistant |
| Insert AI Snippet | Ctrl ; | Open the AI Snippet insertion modal |
| Run AI Saved prompt | Ctrl ' | Open the modal for running AI Saved Prompts |
| Command Palette | Ctrl K Ctrl Shift K Ctrl Shift P | Open command palette |
| Other account (1-9) | Alt 1 | Switch account (1 through 9) |
| Settings | Ctrl , | Go to Settings |
| Toggle theme | Ctrl Shift L | Toggle between light and dark mode themes |
Team collaboration & automation
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Share thread | Ctrl Shift S | Open the team sharing modal |
| Assign thread | Ctrl Shift Z | Open the teammate assignment modal |
Formatting
The following text shortcuts work when you are drafting messages in the compose box:
| Action | Keys | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Emoji | :emoji | Add emoji to your text :shorts :wave = 🩳 👋 |
| Bold | **bold**Ctrl B | Make your text bold |
| Italics | *italicize*Ctrl I | Make your text italicized |
| Underline | _underline_Ctrl U | Make your text underlined |
| Strikethrough | X | Add a |
| Code | `code`Ctrl E | Make your text code |
| Code block | ``` | Make your text a code block |
| Heading | # Space | Make your text a larger **Heading ** |
| Numbered List | 1 . SpaceCtrl Shift 7 | Add an ordered list |
| Bulleted List | - Space* SpaceCtrl Shift 8 | Add an unordered list |
| Quote | > SpaceCtrl Shift 9or q | Convert text to a quote. For quick quote, select a previous message and press Q to quote the text in your reply. |
| Add participant | +name | Add a person or channel to a thread, similar to adding them to the To or Cc field |
| Remove participant | -name | Remove a person or channel from a thread, similar to removing them from the To or Cc field |
| Add & notify participant | @name | Directly notify a specific person with a push notification |
| Link to | #name | Link a specific person or channel in a conversation |
Command palette
Like keyboard shortcuts, Shortwave's command palette provides quick keyboard-based access to navigation and thread shortcuts from wherever you are.
Use Ctrl K to pull up the command palette and start typing (Ctrl Shift P and Ctrl Shift K are also support shortcuts).
Global
Navigate to the following pages at any time:
- Inbox
- Snoozed
- Done
- Sent
- Spam
- Trash
- Starred
- Todos
- Label
- Settings
Threads
Take actions on a specific open thread, such as:
Triage actions
- Done / Move to inbox
- Star / Unstar
- Manage todos
- Snooze / Unsnooze
- Delete
- Report spam
- Block spam
- Follow / Mute
- Move to
Compose actions
- Reply
- Reply all
- Forward
Other actions
- Label
- Open AI Assistant
- Copy link
- Mark as unread
- Mark as important / not important
- Enable specific experiments
Troubleshooting keyboard shortcuts
Shortcuts not working?
If keyboard shortcuts aren't responding, the most common cause is a browser extension conflict. Extensions like 1Password, ad blockers, Grammarly, and other productivity tools can intercept keyboard events before Shortwave receives them.
To diagnose:
- Open Shortwave in an incognito/private window (make sure extensions are disabled in incognito mode)
- Try the shortcut again
- If it works in incognito, a browser extension is the cause
To fix:
- Disable extensions one at a time to identify the conflict
- Check the conflicting extension's settings for an option to exclude Shortwave or disable its keyboard shortcuts
- For 1Password specifically: go to 1Password settings > Browser > disable "Universal autofill keyboard shortcut" or change it to a different key combination
Desktop app shortcuts
If you're using the Shortwave desktop app (PWA) and shortcuts aren't working, try these steps:
- Make sure the Shortwave window is focused (click anywhere in the app)
- Check that you're not in a text input field (press Escape first to deselect any input)
- If shortcuts still don't work, try quitting and reopening the app
Date picker
Snoozing and scheduling emails in Shortwave is simple with our natural language date picker. You can type phrases into the input field to snooze a thread or schedule a message without ever leaving your keyboard.
Absolute dates
Use a combination of weekdays, months, dates, times, and years, such as:
- 12/10/2025
- 2025-12-10 8am
- Friday
- 2:15pm
- March 4, 2025
- Nov 23rd 2026 3pm
Relative dates
Use relative time inputs when you're not sure of the exact date. Try typing:
- Lunch tomorrow
- Midnight
- Noon
- EOD
- Next year
- Next week
- This weekend
- This evening
- Next Monday
Durations
Input a unit and amount to select a date that is a certain amount of time from now, such as:
- 2 years
- Four hours
- 1 day
Holidays
Type popular holidays to get the corresponding date, including:
- Halloween
- New Year's Eve
- Christmas
Guides
The Shortwave Method
Customize your Shortwave
The Shortwave AI Assistant
Collaborate with your team
Billing
Security & Privacy
How-tos
Use Shortwave with other email providers
Unified inbox via forwarding
Manage multiple accounts
Signatures in Shortwave
Install Shortwave's PWA
Default email app
Enable push notifications
Troubleshoot push notifications
Manage auto-apply labels
Integrate Shortwave with your CRM
Using MCP with Shortwave
Make the most of your quota
Troubleshoot email syncing issues
Download EML file
Google Advanced Protection
Import full history
Before you contact support
Upgrade, downgrade, or delete account