Quick Answer
Open the Shortcuts app from the launcher, find the action you want, click Edit, then Add shortcut, and press the key combination you want to use. You can assign up to five custom combinations per action, and system shortcuts must include the Search key to avoid conflicts with browser shortcuts.
What You Can and Can’t Customize
The Shortcuts app lets you add, edit, or reset shortcuts for many system-level actions, like opening specific apps or triggering window management commands. A few built-in shortcuts are locked and can’t be changed. Top-row keys (back, forward, refresh, and so on) can’t be used as part of a custom combination; use the corresponding function key instead if your keyboard supports it.
How to Customize Shortcuts
Step 1: Open the Shortcuts app
Search “Shortcuts” in the launcher and open it. This shows every current keyboard shortcut, grouped by category.
Step 2: Find the shortcut you want to change
Browse or search for the specific action, then hover over it and click “Edit.”
Step 3: Add a custom combination
Click “Add shortcut,” then press and hold one to four modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Search) plus one additional key, and release to save it.
Step 4: Remove or reset a shortcut
Click the trash icon next to a custom combination to remove just that one, or use “Reset to default” to revert the entire action back to its original shortcut.
Step 5: Remap physical keys separately
For remapping entire keys rather than adding shortcuts, go to Settings > Device > Keyboard > “Customize keyboard keys,” which lets you reassign what a specific physical key does system-wide.
Still Stuck?
If a shortcut you created doesn’t seem to do anything, double check it doesn’t overlap with a locked system shortcut or one already used inside the specific app you’re testing it in, since app-level shortcuts can override system ones. If your keyboard isn’t registering keys correctly at all, fix that first, since a custom shortcut can’t work around unreliable hardware input.
FAQ
Do custom shortcuts sync across Chromebooks signed into the same account?
No, shortcut customizations are stored locally per device, so they need to be set up again on each Chromebook you use.
Can I use a custom shortcut to open a specific website?
Not directly through the Shortcuts app, but you can pin the site as an app shortcut and then assign a launch shortcut to that app instead.
What happens if two shortcuts conflict?
The Shortcuts app warns you when a combination is already in use and won’t let you save a duplicate without resolving the conflict first.
