File Copy, Cut, and Paste Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac

If you’re coming from Windows, you’re probably familiar with its keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste files (ctrl + c, ctrl + v) or cut and paste (ctrl + x, ctrl + v).

If you’re new to macOS, the shortcuts are a bit different — but actually more comfortable to press.

For copy and paste, it’s quite similar. You just replace ctrl with ⌘ command.

But for cut and paste, it works slightly differently.

Here are the keyboard shortcuts for copying, cutting, and pasting files or directories on macOS.

Mac Copy and Paste Keyboard Shortcut

Select the files or directories you want to copy, then press:

⌘ Command + C

Go to the new folder location where you want to paste the files or directories, then press:

⌘ Command + V

Mac Cut and Paste Keyboard Shortcut

Select the files or directories you want to cut or move, then press:

⌘ Command + C

Go to the new folder location where you want to paste the files or directories, then press:

⌘ Command + ⌥ Option + V

On macOS, cut for files is essentially a move operation triggered during paste with ⌘ + ⌥ + v.

Conclusion

That’s it for today’s short article.

As usual, if you have any questions or a better method, leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!