KDE Plasma Keyboard Shortcuts

Tromsø ships KDE Plasma 6 on an immutable base. This cheat sheet lists the default Plasma 6 shortcuts for windows, virtual desktops, navigation, and applications.

On PC keyboards, Meta refers to the Windows key. On Mac keyboards, Meta refers to the Command (⌘) key.

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Window Management & Tiling

Shortcut	Action
Meta + Left	Quick tile active window to the left half
Meta + Right	Quick tile active window to the right half
Meta + Up	Maximize active window
Meta + Down	Restore or minimize active window
Meta + Shift + Left	Tile window to the top-left or bottom-left corner
Meta + Shift + Right	Tile window to the top-right or bottom-right corner
Meta + T	Open the interactive Plasma tiling layout editor
Alt + Tab	Switch between open windows (hold Alt to step forward)
Alt + Shift + Tab	Step backward through open windows
Alt + F4	Close the active window
Alt + F3	Open the window operations menu
Meta + D	Toggle Show Desktop (minimize or restore all windows)
Alt + Left Click + Drag	Move window from anywhere inside the window frame
Alt + Right Click + Drag	Resize window from anywhere inside the window frame

Interactive Tiling

Plasma 6 includes built-in custom tiling zones. Press Meta + T to edit your screen layout tiles. When you move a window, hold the Shift key to snap it into a predefined tile zone.

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Virtual Desktops & Overview

Shortcut	Action
Meta + W	Open KWin Overview (grid of all virtual desktops and windows)
Meta + Tab	Toggle Present Windows on the current virtual desktop
Ctrl + F9	Present Windows on current desktop
Ctrl + F10	Present Windows across all virtual desktops
Ctrl + F1 … Ctrl + F4	Switch directly to Virtual Desktop 1, 2, 3, or 4
Ctrl + Alt + Left / Right	Switch to the previous or next virtual desktop
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Left / Right	Move the active window to the previous or next virtual desktop

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Applications & System Navigation

Shortcut	Action
Meta (tap)	Open the Application Launcher (Kickoff menu)
Alt + Space (or Meta + Space)	Open KRunner (search apps, calculate, run commands)
Ctrl + Alt + T	Open Konsole terminal
Meta + E	Open Dolphin file manager
Meta + V	Open the clipboard history popup
Meta + L	Lock the session screen
PrintScreen	Launch Spectacle for full-screen screenshot
Shift + PrintScreen	Launch Spectacle to capture a rectangular region
Meta + Shift + PrintScreen	Launch Spectacle to capture the active window
Ctrl + Alt + Delete	Open the session log out / shutdown dialog

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Key Differences from GNOME Defaults

Users who switch from GNOME or Bluefin to KDE Plasma (Tromsø) should note these default differences:

Action / Feature	KDE Plasma 6 (Tromsø)	GNOME (Default)
Tap Super / Meta	Opens Application Launcher menu	Opens Activities Overview
Desktop Overview	Meta + W	Super
Command / Quick Search	Alt + Space (KRunner)	Super search
Terminal Shortcut	Ctrl + Alt + T (Konsole)	Not bound by default
File Manager	Meta + E (Dolphin)	Not bound by default
Clipboard History	Meta + V (built-in)	Needs extension
Corner Tiling	Meta + Shift + Arrow	Needs extension or manual drag
Custom Tile Zones	Meta + T (native editor)	Needs extension

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Customize Shortcuts

To change keyboard shortcuts or add custom shortcuts:

1. Open System Settings (search in Kickoff or KRunner).
2. Navigate to Keyboard → Shortcuts (or search for Shortcuts in System Settings).
3. Select an application or KWin component to view its key bindings.
4. Click a shortcut entry and press your preferred key combination.
5. Click Apply to save changes.

To create a custom command shortcut (for example, to launch a custom script or container):

1. In System Settings → Shortcuts, click Add New → Command.
2. Name the shortcut, enter the command path, and assign a key combination.
3. Click Apply.

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Sources & Upstream Documentation

• KDE UserBase Plasma 6 Shortcuts — Canonical upstream reference
• KWin manual — the window manager and its tile zones
• Tromsø quick start — how to install and build Tromsø
• Desktop environment comparison — how the TunaOS desktops compare