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macOS Uses Command (⌘) as the primary modifier. Committing staged changes, switching branches, and pushing to a remote all follow the standard Mac Command pattern.
Windows Uses Ctrl as the primary modifier. The same workflow actions as on Mac, with Ctrl in place of Command throughout.
Repository navigation. Switching between repositories, viewing repository settings, and opening the current repository in VS Code or the file system.
Branch management. Creating new branches, switching between branches, publishing a branch to remote, and managing upstream tracking.
Commit workflow. Staging files, writing a commit message, and committing — including the shortcut to confirm a commit from the message field.
Sync operations. Fetching, pulling, pushing, and force-pushing each have dedicated shortcuts.
History and diff view. Switching between the Changes and History tabs, navigating between commits in history, and moving between files in the diff view.
Application navigation. Toggling between repositories, switching panels, and accessing GitHub.com from within the app.
Pull request creation, code review, issue management, and Actions monitoring all happen in GitHub.com — either in the browser or another tool. GitHub Desktop is specifically the local repository layer of the workflow. Its shortcut set reflects that scope.
A printable PDF of GitHub Desktop shortcuts is available for both Mac and Windows. The shortcut set is compact enough that the full reference fits on one page — useful during the initial period of building commit and branch shortcuts into muscle memory.
VS Code, Slack, Notion, and Figma sit near GitHub Desktop because repository work often connects code editing, team communication, project notes, and design handoff. GitHub Desktop is where many people review changes, switch branches, pull updates, and push commits. VS Code is often where the actual file edits happen, Slack is where development decisions may be discussed, Notion can hold project notes and specs, and Figma may be part of the design-to-development workflow. These apps are related by workflow and audience, not because every setup has to use all of them.
No. Pull request creation and review happen in GitHub.com, not in GitHub Desktop. GitHub Desktop's shortcuts are limited to local repository actions: staging, committing, pushing, pulling, and branch management.
No. GitHub Desktop is available on Mac and Windows only. Linux developers typically manage Git through VS Code's source control panel or the command line.
Yes. GitHub Desktop has a shortcut that opens the current repository in your configured external editor — which is typically VS Code. This is covered on the platform pages.
This section lists official sources and documentation for GitHub Desktop. Use these references to verify shortcut behavior instead of relying on memory, old screenshots, or another person’s setup. They are especially helpful when comparing Windows and macOS, where the same repository action may depend on different keyboard habits.
Official references are useful for checking platform differences, keyboard layout issues, browser conflicts, operating system shortcut conflicts, and app-version differences. A shortcut can be correct in one setup and still feel wrong because the OS or layout gets in the way. When something behaves differently than expected, verify it against the official source before updating personal notes, changing a team cheat sheet, or teaching the workflow to someone else.
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