YouTube

YouTube keyboard shortcuts.

Control the YouTube player from the keyboard — seek, speed, volume and full screen. Same on every platform.

Playback
Play / pauseK
Play / pause (alt)Space
Restart video0
Increase speed+>
Decrease speed+<
Next video (playlist)+N
Previous video+P
Seeking
Back 10 secondsJ
Forward 10 secondsL
Back 5 seconds
Forward 5 seconds
Previous frame (paused),
Next frame (paused).
Jump to 0%–90%1–9
Jump to startHome
Jump to endEnd
Volume & display
Mute / unmuteM
Volume up
Volume down
Full screenF
Theater modeT
MiniplayerI
Toggle captionsC
These work when the YouTube player has focus, so click the video first. They're identical on Mac, Windows and Linux. Note the seek keys differ: J and L jump 10 seconds while the arrow keys move 5.

Seek and speed without the mouse

The keys that change how people watch are J, K and L — back ten seconds, play/pause, forward ten seconds — borrowed straight from professional video editors. The arrow keys nudge five seconds instead, which is handy for catching a moment you just missed. To get through a long video faster, Shift + > speeds playback up and Shift + < slows it down, stepping through YouTube's speed options.

The display keys worth knowing

A few single letters control the viewing experience: F toggles full screen, T switches to theater mode, I pops out the miniplayer so you can keep browsing, and C turns captions on or off. M mutes, and the up and down arrows handle volume. One caveat: the number keys 1 through 9 jump to 10% through 90% of the video — useful, but easy to hit by accident when you meant to type. For desktop browsing around the video, the Chrome shortcuts complement these.

FAQ

Why aren't YouTube keyboard shortcuts working?
The player needs focus first — click once on the video, then use the keys. If your cursor is in the search box or a comment field, the shortcuts won't fire.
How do I change YouTube playback speed with the keyboard?
Press Shift + > to speed up and Shift + < to slow down. Each press steps through YouTube's available speeds, from 0.25× up to 2×.

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