1. Home
  2. DaVinci Resolve
  3. Keyboard shortcuts

DaVinci Resolve keyboard shortcuts

48 shortcuts, grouped into 8 colour-coded categories and searchable below. Every entry says what the shortcut actually does, not just what it's called in the menu.

48 shortcuts

Playback

5 shortcuts

J, K and L, plus play-around for auditioning a cut.

J

Play Reverse

Play in reverse. Press multiple times to increase reverse speed (2x, 4x, 8x). Hold K and tap J to step one frame back.

K

Stop

Stop playback. Hold K while pressing J or L to step frame by frame, or hold K+J/L for slow-motion playback in either direction.

L

Play Forward

Play forward. Press multiple times to increase speed (2x, 4x, 8x). Hold K and tap L to step one frame forward.

/

Play Around

Play a short pre-roll and post-roll around the current playhead position. Quick way to preview an edit in context without playing the whole timeline.

Space

Play / Pause

Toggle play and pause — the most-used shortcut in any NLE. Works in both the source viewer and the timeline.

Editing

10 shortcuts

Selection, trimming, snapping and clip enable. Resolve's edit-point model rewards learning U and V together — select the edit, then change what it affects.

E

Extend Edit

Extend the selected edit point to the current playhead position. Trims one side and extends the other without shifting downstream clips.

Y

Sel Forward

Select all clips forward on the current track from the clicked clip onwards. Useful for moving or deleting a chunk of the timeline in one operation.

U

Edit Type

Cycle the selected edit point type between Video+Audio, Video only, and Audio only. Determines what gets affected by trim operations.

A

Select

Return to the standard Selection Arrow tool for selecting and repositioning clips in the timeline.

D

Clip Enable

Toggle the selected clip between enabled and disabled. A disabled clip stays in the timeline but doesn't play or render — useful for temporarily hiding a clip without deleting it.

F

Match Frame

Match Frame — opens the source clip in the viewer at the same frame as the timeline playhead. Useful for finding original source footage.

V

Select Edit

Select the nearest edit point to the playhead. Once selected, the edit point can be trimmed with U (to change type) or with the comma/period nudge keys.

N

Snap

Toggle clip snapping on or off. When active, clips magnetically align to edit points and markers as you drag them.

,

Nudge Left

Nudge the selected clip or edit point one frame to the left. Hold Shift for multi-frame nudges.

.

Nudge Right

Nudge the selected clip or edit point one frame to the right. Hold Shift for multi-frame nudges.

Stop alt-tabbing to a cheat sheet.

KeyCut puts this whole reference on your iPad, colour-coded the same way — and with the free Mac Helper installed, tapping a key fires the shortcut straight into DaVinci Resolve.

Download free

Tools

4 shortcuts

Trim modes. Dynamic Trim on W is the one to learn first: it turns J, K and L into trimming controls rather than playback controls.

W

Dyn Trim

Activate Dynamic Trim mode. The playhead turns yellow. Use J/K/L to slip or slide the selected clip without leaving gaps in the timeline.

T

Trim Mode

Activate Trim Edit mode. Drag a clip edge to ripple trim it without leaving gaps, or slide along the clip to change start and end points.

S

Slip / Slide

Toggle between Slip and Slide trim modes when Dynamic Trim (W) is active. Slip changes which part of the source plays without moving the clip; Slide repositions the clip while trimming adjacent clips to compensate.

B

Blade Tool

Activate the Blade tool. Click a clip in the timeline to cut it at that point. Use Cmd+B to cut at the playhead without switching tools.

Marking

5 shortcuts

In and out points, markers and flags. Flags attach to clips, markers attach to positions — a distinction that catches people out.

I

Mark In

Set the In point at the current playhead position. Defines where a source clip or playback range begins.

O

Mark Out

Set the Out point at the current playhead position. Defines where a source clip or playback range ends.

G

Add Flag

Add a flag to the selected clip. Flags are clip-level annotations (different from timeline markers) and can be filtered in the Edit Index or Media Pool.

X

Mark Clip

Set In and Out points to match the full duration of the selected clip — marks the whole clip in a single keystroke.

M

Add Marker

Add a marker at the current playhead position. Markers can be named and colour-coded — use them for sync points, chapter markers, or notes.

Timeline

9 shortcuts

Multi-camera angle switching during playback.

1

Camera 1

Multi-cam: cut to Camera 1 angle in the timeline. Only active when the timeline is showing a multi-camera clip.

2

Camera 2

Multi-cam: cut to Camera 2 angle in the timeline. Only active when the timeline is showing a multi-camera clip.

3

Camera 3

Multi-cam: cut to Camera 3 angle in the timeline. Only active when the timeline is showing a multi-camera clip.

4

Camera 4

Multi-cam: cut to Camera 4 angle in the timeline. Only active when the timeline is showing a multi-camera clip.

5

Camera 5

Multi-cam: cut to Camera 5 angle in the timeline. Only active when the timeline is showing a multi-camera clip.

6

Camera 6

Multi-cam: cut to Camera 6 angle in the timeline. Only active when the timeline is showing a multi-camera clip.

7

Camera 7

Multi-cam: cut to Camera 7 angle in the timeline. Only active when the timeline is showing a multi-camera clip.

8

Camera 8

Multi-cam: cut to Camera 8 angle in the timeline. Only active when the timeline is showing a multi-camera clip.

9

Camera 9

Multi-cam: cut to Camera 9 angle in the timeline. Only active when the timeline is showing a multi-camera clip.

Navigation

8 shortcuts

Frame, edit-point and keyframe navigation. The bracket keys step through grade keyframes on the Color page.

[

Prev Keyframe

Move the playhead to the previous keyframe. Most useful on the Color page when stepping through animated grade keyframes.

]

Next Keyframe

Move the playhead to the next keyframe. Most useful on the Color page when stepping through animated grade keyframes.

;

First Frame

Jump the playhead to the first frame of the current clip or timeline.

'

Last Frame

Jump the playhead to the last frame of the current clip or timeline.

↑

Prev Edit

Jump the playhead to the previous edit point (clip boundary) in the timeline.

←

Prev Frame

Step the playhead back by exactly one frame. Hold to scrub backward slowly.

→

Next Frame

Step the playhead forward by exactly one frame. Hold to scrub forward slowly.

↓

Next Edit

Jump the playhead to the next edit point (clip boundary) in the timeline.

Workspace

6 shortcuts

Viewer modes, zoom and the Cinema Viewer. Several of these behave differently depending on which page you're on.

-

Zoom Out

Zoom out the timeline to show more of your edit.

=

Zoom In

Zoom in the timeline for frame-level precision.

Q

Src / TL Viewer

Toggle keyboard focus between the Source Viewer and the Timeline Viewer. Quick way to switch which viewer responds to playback commands without using the mouse.

P

Cinema View

Toggle Cinema Viewer — a clean full-screen preview of the timeline or source clip, without the interface chrome. Press P again to exit.

Z

Fit Viewer

Zoom the viewer to fit — returns the image to full-fit view after zooming in. Works on all pages including Color and Fusion.

C

Full Color

Display the full-colour RGB image in the viewer (Color page). Use R, G, B, or A to isolate single channels for inspection — C returns to the full image.

Command

1 shortcuts

Deleting clips.

Delete

Delete Clip

Delete (lift) the selected clip, leaving a gap. Use Shift+Delete for a ripple delete that closes the gap automatically.

No shortcuts match that. Try a shorter word — searching matches the name, the keys and the description.

Single-key shortcuts

This reference covers the 48 commands DaVinci Resolve puts on a single, unmodified keypress. That's a deliberate scope rather than an omission: single-key commands are the ones worth building muscle memory for, because they cost nothing to reach and you'll press them thousands of times. Modifier combinations are better looked up when you need them.

The full command set for your install is always in the Keyboard Customisation panel — that's where remapped keys and the combinations not listed here will appear.

How to actually learn these

Nobody memorises a list this long by reading it. Shortcuts stick when a key gets pressed a few hundred times on real footage, and they stick fastest when the reference is somewhere you can glance at without leaving the timeline.

The order that works for most editors: J, K and L for playback, I and O for marking, A for the Selection tool, then W for Dynamic Trim. That's enough to build a rough assembly without touching a menu, and everything else is refinement on top.

Two things slow people down. The first is drilling shortcuts for tasks you rarely do — there's no point learning multi-cam switching if you cut ninety-second social edits. The second is hiding the reference behind the application window, so checking it breaks concentration. A printed sheet solves that badly; a second screen solves it well.

Your version may differ

Everything here is the default set for DaVinci Resolve on macOS. If you've remapped anything, or imported a preset from another editor, your keyboard won't match this page. The definitive answer for your install is the Keyboard Customisation panel — Option+Cmd+K on Mac.

Related: using an iPad as a control surface for DaVinci Resolve. Shortcuts for the other editors KeyCut supports: Final Cut Pro Premiere Pro.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most useful DaVinci Resolve keyboard shortcuts?+

J, K and L for shuttle playback, I and O for in and out points, and A to return to the Selection arrow. After that, W for Dynamic Trim is the one that changes how you work — it turns J, K and L into trimming controls, so you can slip and slide clips by ear at playback speed rather than dragging with the mouse.

Do DaVinci Resolve shortcuts change between pages?+

Yes, and this catches out almost everyone learning Resolve. The same key often does something different on the Edit, Color and Fusion pages — C shows the full-colour image on the Color page, and the bracket keys step through grade keyframes there rather than doing anything in the timeline. This reference documents the Edit page, where the majority of keyboard work happens.

What is the difference between a marker and a flag in DaVinci Resolve?+

Flags attach to a clip and travel with it wherever it goes, including back in the Media Pool. Markers attach to a position — on the timeline or on a clip — and stay at that timecode. Use flags to tag footage you'll want to find again, and markers for sync points, notes and chapter points. G adds a flag, M adds a marker.

Can I use an iPad as a control surface for DaVinci Resolve?+

Yes. KeyCut shows the Resolve keyboard on your iPad, colour-coded by category, and the free Mac Helper fires your taps into Resolve as real keystrokes. Because the Helper watches which application is frontmost, moving between Resolve and another editor mid-session switches the iPad automatically.

How do I customise keyboard shortcuts in DaVinci Resolve?+

Open DaVinci Resolve → Keyboard Customisation. You can search commands, assign new keys, and save the result as a named preset. Resolve also ships with preset layouts emulating Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and Avid, worth knowing if you're moving over and would rather not retrain your hands.

Put this reference next to your keyboard.

KeyCut is the colour-coded version of this page, on your iPad — and it fires shortcuts straight into DaVinci Resolve.

Download on the App Store Get Mac Helper App