Nuke Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows Ctrl as the primary modifier, Alt for secondary actions. Function-key shortcuts (F5/F7 to render, F8 to refresh clips) work directly.

Mac Cmd replaces Ctrl throughout, per Foundry's own note. Alt is written as Option here, the same physical key on a Mac keyboard. Every other key, including the mouse-button shortcuts, works the same as on Windows.

Single-key node insertion. Press the key to drop a node into the Node Graph, no menu needed:

• B: Blur node
• C: ColorCorrect node
• G: Grade node
• M: Merge node
• R: Read node
• W: Write node

Viewer playback. J plays backward, K pauses, L plays forward, the same convention shared with most editorial and color-grading tools.

Channel isolation. R, G, B, A, and Y toggle the Viewer between a single channel and the full RGB image.

Node navigation. Tab opens the node search menu; arrow keys step upstream and downstream through the connected node tree.

A printable PDF of Nuke shortcuts is available for each platform. The node-insertion keys and Viewer playback controls are the ones worth keeping at your desk.

Nuke Studio sits right next to Nuke since it's the same compositing core with an editorial Timeline layer added. Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, and Camtasia touch nearby stages of a video or VFX pipeline, editorial cuts, color grading, and screen capture that Nuke's compositing work feeds into or draws from. They're related by workflow, not because every project moves through all of them.

What do the B, C, G, M, R, and W shortcuts do in Nuke?

Each letter drops a specific node into the Node Graph at the current position: B inserts Blur, C inserts ColorCorrect, G inserts Grade, M inserts Merge, R inserts Read, and W inserts Write. Holding Shift while pressing one of these keys creates the node in a new branch instead of inline; holding Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) replaces the currently selected node with the new one.

Are Nuke's keyboard shortcuts the same on Windows and Mac?

Almost entirely. Nuke's own documentation says to replace Ctrl with Cmd on Mac, every other key, including Shift combinations and the mouse-button gestures, stays the same.

What does the X key do in Nuke's Node Graph?

X switches the Node Graph into command entry mode, letting you type a Python or TCL command directly instead of using the mouse or menus.

How do J, K, and L work in Nuke's Viewer?

J plays the Viewer backward, K pauses playback, and L plays forward. This is the same three-key convention used by most professional editorial and color-grading tools, so the muscle memory carries over.

This section lists official sources and documentation for Nuke. Use these references to verify shortcut behavior instead of trusting old notes, screenshots, or memory.