How to Browse the Web Without a Mouse (Chrome, Edge, Brave)

To browse the web without a mouse in Chrome, Edge or Brave, learn about 10 built-in shortcuts for tabs, the address bar and scrolling, then add a link-hint extension such as Vimium for clicking links. It is for anyone who wants their hands to stay on the keyboard.

The shortcuts come from Google's Chrome keyboard shortcuts page and Microsoft's Edge list. Brave uses the same Chromium defaults.

Which keys move between tabs and the address bar?

• Scenario: with 30 tabs open, press Ctrl + Shift + A, type "invoice" and press Enter. Microsoft's Edge list does not include this key, so in Edge type the page name in the address bar instead.
• Menus (Windows): Alt + F opens the Chrome menu, Ctrl + H history, Ctrl + J downloads.

How do I click links and select text without a mouse?

Built-in keys handle forms and text; a link-hint extension handles link-heavy pages.

• Tab through the page: Tab moves to the next link, button or field, Shift + Tab moves back, Enter activates. Fine on a login form, slow on a news page with 200 links.
• Find, then Enter: press Ctrl + F, type a few letters of the link text, press Esc, then Enter. Chrome leaves the matched link focused.
• Scroll: Space and Shift + Space move a screen at a time; Home and End jump to the top and bottom on Windows.
• Caret browsing: press F7 (fn + F7 on some Mac laptops) and confirm. Move the cursor with arrow keys, hold Shift to select, Ctrl + C to copy, F7 again to turn it off.

Link hints: Vimium is free and open source. Press f, then type the letters shown on the link; j/k scroll, T searches tabs, x closes a tab. Vimium C and Surfingkeys do the same with more configuration. Limit: like all extensions, they cannot run on chrome:// pages. We compare more options in the best keyboard shortcut extensions.

How do I open the same pages every day without clicking?

Save them as a SuperCommands link collection, such as the same 6 tabs you open every morning, and open it by typing its name.

1. Open the tabs, press Alt + S and type c link.
2. Choose Current Tabs, tick the pages and save the collection as standup.
3. In Properties, add the text shortcut standup or a hotkey such as Alt + 1.
4. Next morning, type c, Space, standup in the address bar and press Enter: all the tabs open together.

SuperCommands is free and open source, but runs in Chrome, Edge and Brave only and does not label links, so many people run it next to Vimium. See the address bar search docs and our SuperCommands vs Vimium comparison.

Which one should you pick?

• Pick Ctrl + L if you only learn one key.
• Pick Ctrl + 1 to Ctrl + 9 and Ctrl + Shift + A if most of your clicks are switching tabs.
• Pick Vimium if you follow many links on content-heavy pages.
• Pick a SuperCommands link collection if you open the same set of pages every day.

FAQ

Can you use Chrome without a mouse?

Yes. Built-in shortcuts cover tabs, the address bar, scrolling, history and menus, and Tab or Find plus Enter follows links. Vimium makes clicking links much faster.

What is caret browsing in Chrome?

A mode that puts a movable text cursor on web pages so you can select text with the arrow keys. Toggle it with F7 in Chrome, Edge and Brave.

What is the shortcut to search tabs in Chrome?

Ctrl + Shift + A on Windows and Linux, Cmd + Shift + A on Mac. Type part of a tab's title and press Enter.

How do I switch to the last tab in Chrome?

Press Ctrl + 9 on Windows or Cmd + 9 on Mac. It always selects the rightmost tab, however many are open.