Basic Xcode keyboard shortcuts every developer should know
Increase your productivity when working with Xcode
15 Sep 2019 · 3 min read
Using keyboard shortcuts is key of being productive and efficient when working with a development environment like Xcode.
In this post, I share my most used basic Xcode shortcuts. If you are already working with Xcode for a long time, you may be more interested in my post on the advanced Xcode shortcuts.
Before starting, here is a quick key reference:
- ⌘ - Command
- ⇧ - Shift
- ⌥ - Option/Alt
- ⌃ - Control
Let's do some ground work.1. Product
The most basic shortcuts are those for running, testing and cleaning:
Running tests with `⌘ U`.You will find them in Xcodes Product menu item. When you are working with Xcode for some time now, you most certainly use them already.
2. Navigate
Quickly navigating back and forth when working on different files is a real time saver. Same for jumping to a definition.
You can lookup these actions in Xcodes Navigate menu.
3. Open quickly
Another essential shortcut is the one for opening a file quickly with ⇧ ⌘ O.
You can find it in Xcodes File menu.
4. Find
Searching is another basic action. You can search in the file that is currently open or in project / workspace.
5. View
Being able to show and hide different Xcode areas quickly is really useful especially when working on smaller screens.
- ⌘ 0 to show and hide the project navigator
- ⌘ ⇧ Y to show and hide the debug console
- ⌘ ⌥ 0 to show and hide the inspectors
Inside those views, you have even more options like switching between different navigators with ⌘ 1, ⌘ 2 ... ⌘ 9. Check them out in Xcodes View menu.
Conclusion
Many of those shortcuts can be easily found and looked up directly in Xcodes menu right next to their action names. I can only recommend to take some time, go through Xcodes menu items and look up more interesting actions on your own.