VLC media player

VLC cheat sheet: keyboard shortcuts

This VLC media player cheat sheet provides a comprehensive list of default keyboard shortcuts used in VLC Media Player for playback, navigation, audio, subtitles, and interface control. It also explains how to configure global hotkeys.

Published:: 2025-04-15
Updated:: 2025-04-15
Reading time:: 02:17
Author:: Jonas Jared Jacek
Tags:: vlc, cheat sheet
License:: CC BY-SA 4.0
Permalink:: VLC cheat sheet

Introduction #

This cheat sheet provides you with a complete list of default VLC media player keyboard shortcuts, also known as hotkeys, and explains how to configure global hotkeys to control playback even when VLC is not in focus.

VLC keyboard shortcuts #

The following list covers the essential default key bindings for VLC Media Player. You can change them via the preferences menu.

Playback controls #

Space — Play/Pause
S — Stop playback
N — Next item in playlist
P — Previous item in playlist
T — Show current time and remaining time
F — Toggle fullscreen
Esc — Exit fullscreen
] or + — Faster playback
[ or - — Slower playback
= — Reset speed to normal
E — Forward 10 seconds
Q — Backward 10 seconds

Ctrl + O — Open file
Ctrl + P — Open preferences
Ctrl + I — Show media information
Ctrl + J — Show codec information
Ctrl + H — Toggle interface controls
Ctrl + E — Adjust effects and filters
Ctrl + Q — Quit VLC

Jumping and seeking #

Alt + Left — Short jump backward (10 seconds)
Alt + Right — Short jump forward (10 seconds)
Ctrl + Left — Medium jump backward (1 minute)
Ctrl + Right — Medium jump forward (1 minute)
Shift + Left — Long jump backward (3 minutes)
Shift + Right — Long jump forward (3 minutes)
Ctrl + T — Jump to specific time

Volume and audio controls #

M — Mute toggle
Up Arrow or Ctrl + Up — Increase volume
Down Arrow or Ctrl + Down — Decrease volume
A — Cycle audio track
B — Next audio track
Shift + Left — Decrease audio delay
Shift + Right — Increase audio delay
L — Cycle through audio delay values

Playlist #

Ctrl + L — Show playlist
Ctrl + N — New playlist
Ctrl + Y — Save playlist

Video controls #

Alt + Left — Rotate video 90 degrees
Alt + Right — Rotate video 270 degrees
Z — Change zoom mode
C — Cycle aspect ratio
O — Toggle on-screen display
Ctrl + H — Toggle video filters

Subtitle controls #

V — Cycle subtitle track
G — Toggle subtitles on/off
H — Increase subtitle delay
G — Decrease subtitle delay

Advanced controls #

R — Record
D — Frame-by-frame playback
Ctrl + R — Repeat toggle
Ctrl + S — Shuffle toggle
Ctrl + D — Bookmark menu
Ctrl + B — Add bookmark
Ctrl + Shift + B — Delete bookmark

How to set global hotkeys in VLC #

VLC allows you to define global hotkeys that work even when the application is minimized or not focused (not the active window).

Follow these steps to configure them:

Open VLC Media Player.
Go to Tools > Preferences or press Ctrl + P.
At the bottom left, select All under Show settings to open advanced preferences.
In the left panel, navigate to Interface > Hotkeys settings.
Scroll through the list to find the actions you want to assign global hotkeys to (such as “Play/Pause”, “Next Track”, or “Stop”).
Double-click the desired action.
In the dialog that appears, you can set a Hotkey and a Global hotkey.
Click OK and then Save to apply changes.
Restart VLC for changes to take effect

Avoid conflicts with system shortcuts or other applications when setting global hotkeys.

Global hotkeys may not work if another application or the operating system uses the same key combination. Choose unique combinations to avoid conflicts.

FAQ's #

Most common questions and brief, easy-to-understand answers on the topic:

How do I jump to a specific time in VLC?

Press Ctrl + T, enter the time in seconds or HH:MM:SS format, then press Enter.

How can I reset VLC keyboard shortcuts to default?

Go to Tools > Preferences > Hotkeys and click the Reset Preferences button at the bottom of the window to restore all defaults.

Can I use multimedia keys on my keyboard with VLC?

Yes. You can bind play/pause, next, and previous keys under Preferences > Hotkeys, and enable global hotkeys to control playback system-wide.

Why are my VLC global hotkeys not working?

Some global hotkeys may conflict with system shortcuts or other applications. Try using less common key combinations and restart VLC after setting them.

Is it possible to export VLC hotkey settings?

You can manually back up the vlcrc configuration file, usually located in your user directory under .config/vlc or AppData\Roaming\vlc.

Author

Jonas Jared Jacek (J15k)

Jonas works as project manager, web designer, and web developer since 2001. On top of that, he is a Linux system administrator with a broad interest in things related to programming, architecture, and design. See: https://www.j15k.com/

License

VLC cheat sheet: keyboard shortcuts by Jonas Jared Jacek is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only. To give credit, provide a link back to the original source, the author, and the license e.g. like this:

<p xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"><a property="dct:title" rel="cc:attributionURL" href="https://www.ditig.com/vlc-cheat-sheet">VLC cheat sheet: keyboard shortcuts</a> by <a rel="cc:attributionURL dct:creator" property="cc:attributionName" href="https://www.j15k.com/">Jonas Jared Jacek</a> is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="license noopener noreferrer">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>.</p>

For more information see the Ditig legal page.

VLC cheat sheet: keyboard shortcuts

Introduction #