Nodes is built to keep your hands on the keyboard. Here are the shortcuts worth committing to memory - they're the keys Nodes ships with, and most of them can be changed in Settings ▸ Shortcuts.
Notes & tabs
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘N | New note |
| ⌘T | New tab |
| ⌘W | Close the current tab |
| ⌘D | Delete the current note, or the tag on a tag page (always asks first) |
| ⌘1 | Home |
| ⌘2-⌘7 | Jump to an open tab |
Navigation
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘O | Search |
| ⌘G | Graph view (press again to toggle graph ⇄ timeline) |
| ⌘S | Toggle sidebar |
| ⌘? | Nodes Help (opens this guide) |
Editing
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘I | Node Inspector |
| ⌘F | Toggle Find in document |
| ⌘↓ / ⌘↑ | Next / previous match (while the find bar is open - Return in its field also moves to the next match) |
| ⇧⌘R | Lock for editing |
| ⇧⌘M | Raw Markdown syntax |
| ⌘+ / ⌘− | Zoom in / out (⌘+ is ⇧⌘= on most keyboards) |
| ⌘0 | Actual size |
Import & export
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⇧⌘E | Export |
| ⇧⌘I | Import |
Graph
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘F | Toggle graph search |
| Space | Play or pause Simulate over time (while the graph settings are open) |
| Esc | Leave the graph or timeline |
Light Windows
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘O | Open a file |
| ⌘S | Save |
| ⇧⌘M | Raw Markdown syntax |
A small thing to know: ⌘O and ⌘S do different jobs depending on where you are. In the workspace they mean Search and Toggle Sidebar; in a Light Window they mean Open and Save. Nodes always routes them to the window you're actually using.
Most shortcuts here also live in the menu bar, so you can rediscover them any time without leaving the app. The find bar's match navigation (⌘↓ / ⌘↑) and Esc to close are available only while the find bar is open.
Change a shortcut
Settings ▸ Shortcuts lists all 31 commands: the ones with a key come first, and the rest sit under UNBOUND. The field at the top filters by name or by key.
Click a command's key, then press the combination you want. Esc leaves the key as it was and Delete removes it. Nodes won't accept a key on its own, or one with only ⇧ or only ⌃ - those are for typing and moving the caret.
If another command in the list already has that key, Nodes tells you which one before anything changes. take it moves the key over and leaves the other command without one (undo stays in the footer for a few seconds). Or just press a different combination. ⌘Q, ⌘H, ⌘M and ⌘, are off limits, and so is a key macOS answers first or one held by a command that isn't in the list.
- clear removes a command's key. reset gives it back the key it shipped with, and reset all in the footer does that for every command.
- Tab 2 to 7 is a single row. You pick the modifiers and the digits stay the tabs' positions, so switching to ⌥⌘ moves all six keys at once.
- Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Inline Code, Blockquote, Link, Heading 1 to 3, Bullet List and Numbered List ship without a key. Once you give one a key, it works while you're typing in a note. Flow also has no key until you give it one.
- The graph's search has no row of its own: it uses whatever key you give Find in Document.
- Nodes Help always stays on ⌘?, the standard macOS help key.
The Format commands aren't in the menu bar - the key you give one shows in the editor's right-click Format menu.