Compiled from the default key bindings in KiCad 9.0 official documentation and source code, with added explanations for functions that are easy to misinterpret based on their names.
Applicable versions: KiCad 8 / 9 (9.0 is used as the reference; 8.x is mostly the same). On macOS, Ctrl corresponds to the Cmd key; a few key bindings (such as drawing copper zones) differ on macOS and are marked separately.
Press Ctrl+F1 in the software at any time (Help → List Hotkeys…) to view all key bindings and search them; nearly all actions can be customized under Preferences → Hotkeys.
1. Common to All Editors
Shortcut
Function
Notes
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y
Undo / Redo
Redo can also use Ctrl+Shift+Z
Ctrl+X / C / V
Cut / Copy / Paste
Ctrl+D
Duplicate and place
Duplicate: copies in place and follows the cursor, making repeated placement easy
Del / Backspace
Delete selection
Ctrl+A / Ctrl+Shift+A
Select all / Deselect all
Ctrl+F
Find
Find and locate by reference designator, footprint name, or net name
Ctrl+Alt+F
Find and replace
F3
Find next
F1 / F2
Zoom in / Zoom out
Zoom centered on the cursor
Home
Zoom to fit all
View the whole schematic / board at once (Ctrl+0 has the same effect)
Ctrl+Home
Zoom to selected objects
F4
Center view on cursor
Arrow keys
Move cursor
Note: in KiCad, the arrow keys move the crosshair cursor, not the selected object (unlike AD/EasyEDA)
Ctrl+Arrow keys
Move cursor quickly
Larger step size
Shift+Arrow keys
Pan view
Mouse wheel
Zoom view
Hold middle mouse button and drag = pan; right-click = context menu
2. Schematic Editor
Placement
Shortcut
Function
Notes
A
Place symbol
Opens the symbol chooser
P
Place power symbol
VCC/GND power ports
W
Draw wire
Most frequently used key
B
Draw bus
The thick line is only for visual grouping; actual connections rely on labels
Z
Place bus entry
The short diagonal segment where a wire connects to a bus
C
Expand from bus
Automatically creates a labeled branch wire from the bus
L
Place net label
Local net name (limited to the current sheet)
Ctrl+L
Place global label
Net name effective across sheets throughout the project
H
Place hierarchical label
Used with hierarchical subsheets
S
Draw hierarchical sheet
Draw a subsheet box
J
Place junction
Solid dot at T-shaped intersections
Q
Place no-connect flag
An X mark indicating that these two wires are intentionally not connected
T
Place text
Schematic annotation
I
Draw line
Graphic annotation with no electrical properties
Editing
Shortcut
Function
Notes
M
Move
Pick up in place; wires do not follow
G
Drag
While dragging, wires automatically reroute and follow; use G rather than M when changing layout
R / Shift+R
Rotate counterclockwise / clockwise
X / Y
Mirror horizontally / vertically
Alt+S
Swap
Swap the positions of two symbols, including wire follow-through
E
Properties dialog
Edit whatever is selected
U
Edit reference designator
Directly change references such as R1, C2, etc.
V
Edit value
Directly change resistance/capacitance values
F
Edit footprint
Assign or change the footprint for a symbol
O
Automatically arrange fields
Automatically align reference designators, values, and other fields, fixing “fields everywhere”
Ctrl+E
Open in Symbol Editor
View and Navigation
Shortcut
Function
Notes
` / ~
Highlight net / Clear highlight
The entire net under the cursor changes color, useful for checking connections
PgUp / PgDn
Previous / next sheet
Page through multi-page schematics
Alt+Backspace
Leave subsheet
Return from a hierarchical subsheet to the parent
Alt+← / → / ↑
Navigate back / forward / up
Similar to browser page history
Ctrl+H
Hierarchy navigator
Opens the sheet tree for quick navigation
Tab / Shift+Tab
Next / previous item on same net
After selecting a wire, jump along the net like “walking the wire”
Backspace
Undo previous segment
While drawing a wire, undo the previous segment
/
Toggle wire style
While drawing wires, toggle between orthogonal and diagonal styles
Shift+Space
Toggle wire/bus corner mode
Switch between 90° and 45° corners
Insert (or F1)
Repeat last item
Repeat the last placed item, such as placing resistors continuously
Electrical Rules Check (ERC) has no default shortcut; run it from the Inspect menu.
3. PCB Editor—Routing
Shortcut
Function
Notes
X
Route single track
Most commonly used
6
Route differential pair
Differential pair must first be defined in the footprint/net
Shift+X
Route selected items
Select multiple ratsnest lines at once and route them in batch
F
Try finish route
Let KiCad automatically find the endpoint and complete the current route
Shift+F
Autoroute selected items
Ctrl+E
Continue routing from the other end
Switch direction and continue routing
Shift+T
Optimize (straighten) selected track
Re-route crooked tracks with one key
V
Change layer while routing
Place the next via and switch to the other layer in the layer pair
PgUp / PgDn
Switch to top / bottom layer
+ / −
Next / previous layer
Cycle through layers by layer order
W / Shift+W
Next / previous track width
Cycle through preset track widths
’ / \
Increase / decrease via size
Cycle through preset via sizes
Ctrl+Shift+X
Place standalone via
Place a via without routing, such as for a test point
Take a new footprint directly from the footprint library and place it on the board
M
Move
Shift+M
Precise move
Place using relative/absolute coordinates
D
45° drag
Drag tracks/footprints with angle locked to 45°
G
Free-angle drag
Drag tracks at any angle
R / Shift+R
Rotate counterclockwise / clockwise
F
Flip to other side
Move footprint to the Bottom layer
Alt+S
Swap positions
Swap coordinates of two footprints
Ctrl+Shift+D
Duplicate and increment
Duplicate footprints and automatically increment reference designators by +1; great for resistor/capacitor arrays
Ctrl+T
Create array
Linear/circular array duplication
E
Properties dialog
Ctrl+E
Open in Footprint Editor
L
Lock / unlock
Prevent accidental movement of placed components
Del
Delete selection
Shift+Del
Delete entire track
Delete the continuous track on the same net under the cursor
Ctrl+Shift+Z
Draw copper zone (macOS: Alt+Z)
Create a new polygonal copper zone
B
Refill all copper zones
Recalculate all copper zones after changing tracks/board outline
Ctrl+B
Remove all copper fills
Copper zones keep only their outlines, making the view cleaner
Shift+C
Copper zone cutout
Cut out a keepout area within a copper zone
Ctrl+Shift+.
Duplicate similar copper zone
Quickly draw a copper zone with the same shape on another layer
Ctrl+Shift+K
Keepout
Keepout: no-routing/no-copper area
U
Expand selection to connected tracks
Select from one track segment to the continuous routed tracks of the entire net
Shift+P
Relative positioning
Precise placement relative to a reference point
Graphics and Annotations (Ctrl+Shift Series)
Shortcut
Function
Ctrl+Shift+L / P / C / A / B
Line / Polygon / Circle / Arc / Bezier curve
Ctrl+Shift+T
Text
Ctrl+Shift+H
Dimension
5. Highlighting and Layer Display
Shortcut
Function
Notes
`
Highlight net
The entire net under the cursor changes color and links with schematic highlighting
Alt+`
Restore last highlight
Toggle between the last two highlights
~
Clear all highlights
Shift+S
Toggle snap range
Switch snap “current layer only / all layers”
} / {
Increase / decrease current layer opacity
Dim other layers for a “pseudo-single-layer display”
6. Other
Shortcut
Function
Notes
Alt+3
Open 3D Viewer
Preview the finished product in real time
Ctrl+F1
Hotkey list
View/search all shortcuts from any editor
Design Rules Check (DRC) also has no default shortcut; run it from the Inspect menu. If you use it frequently, bind a shortcut yourself.
7. A Few Productivity Tips
G is used more than M: In KiCad, M means “pick up and move, with wires disconnected and rerouted,” while G means “drag along, with wires following in real time.” Use G most of the time when changing layout.
V is the universal layer-switching key: While routing, press V to automatically place a via and change layers, much faster than clicking the layer panel manually; combine it with W/Shift+W to switch track widths without touching the mouse menu.
The backtick ` highlights nets: You do not need to select first; just rest the cursor on a line and press ` to light up the whole net, with bidirectional linking between schematic and PCB.
Incrementing duplicate reference designators: For a row of 0402 resistors, draw one footprint and press Ctrl+Shift+D repeatedly; reference designators R1, R2, R3 are placed automatically.
Arrow keys move the cursor: Users coming from Altium / EasyEDA should note that KiCad’s arrow keys move the crosshair cursor by default, not the selected object; use Shift+Arrow keys to pan the view.
All key bindings can be changed: Go to Preferences → Hotkeys and double-click to rebind; if 6 (differential pair routing) feels awkward, you can change it to an Altium-style shortcut.