Keyboard Shortcuts
BetterBoard is built for keyboard-first use. The command palette gives you access to every action without touching the mouse. Individual shortcuts cover navigation, work item editing, and board controls.
Command palette
Press ⌘K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) from anywhere on the board to open the command palette. You can also press . (period) as an alternative.
The palette gives you instant access to board actions, work item actions on the selected work item, and navigation. Type to filter available commands. Press Enter to execute, Escape to close, and Backspace on an empty query to go back to the root.
Navigation
Use arrow keys to move focus between cards on the board.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
↑ ↓ ← → |
Move focus to the nearest card in that direction |
Shift+↑ Shift+↓ Shift+← Shift+→ |
Move focus and extend selection (range select) |
Enter |
Open focused work item in Jira |
Escape |
Close open editor → close palette → clear selection (cascading) |
Work item shortcuts
These shortcuts act on the focused or hovered card. If work items are selected, the action applies to all selected work items.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
A |
Open assignee picker |
S |
Open status picker |
P |
Open priority picker |
L |
Open labels picker |
D |
Open due date picker (if due date field is shown) |
T |
Open start date picker (if start date field is shown) |
I |
Assign to me (no picker — updates immediately) |
O |
Open work item in Jira |
Space |
Toggle selection (for bulk actions) |
Board shortcuts
These shortcuts work at any time without requiring a card to be focused.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
⌘K / Ctrl+K |
Open command palette |
⌘F / Ctrl+F |
Open quick search |
⌘⌫ / Ctrl+Delete |
Delete selected work items (opens confirmation) |
F |
Open filter picker |
C |
Create new work item |
Shift+C |
Open card color options |
N then B |
Create new board (two-key chord) |
. |
Open command palette (alternative to ⌘K) |
Bulk selection
Select multiple work items to act on them together. There are three ways to build a selection:
Space— toggles selection on the focused card⌘+click(Mac) /Ctrl+click(Windows/Linux) — adds or removes a card from the selectionShift+clickorShift+arrow— selects a contiguous range
With multiple work items selected, the bulk action bar appears at the bottom of the board. You can also use ⌘K to run actions on all selected work items at once. See Bulk editing for details.
⌘K and Escape always work regardless.