🍎 How to Type Emojis on a Mac: Shortcuts and Tips
Every Mac has a built-in emoji picker one shortcut away. Learn Control + Command + Space, set up the Globe key, save favorites in Character Viewer and create your own emoji text shortcuts.
The emoji keyboard shortcut on Mac is Control + Command + Space, and once it is in your muscle memory you will never hunt for an emoji again. macOS also lets you open the same picker with the Globe key, browse a much larger Character Viewer, save favorites and turn short codes into emojis automatically. You do not need an iPhone or any extra apps for any of it.
The emoji keyboard shortcut on Mac
- Click into any text field: Messages, Mail, Notes, Slack, a browser, anywhere.
- Press Control + Command + Space.
- A compact emoji picker appears at your cursor.
- Start typing to search, or scroll through the categories.
- Click an emoji, or highlight it with the arrow keys and press Return.
Search works on keywords, so typing cry brings up 😭 Loudly Crying Face and 🥹 Face Holding Back Tears, while star finds 🤩 Star-Struck and 🌟 Glowing Star. Recently used emojis appear first, so your favorites stay close at hand.
Prefer the menus? In most apps, choose Edit → Emoji & Symbols to open the same picker.
Use the Globe or fn key instead
Newer Mac keyboards have a Globe (🌐) key, which doubles as the fn key. You can make a single press of it open the emoji picker:
- Open System Settings → Keyboard.
- Find the setting Press 🌐 key to (on some keyboards it mentions fn).
- Choose Show Emoji & Symbols.
Now one tap of Globe opens the picker. On recent versions of macOS, Globe + E also shows Emoji & Symbols, so you can keep the single press for something else, like switching input sources.
Character Viewer: the expanded view
The compact picker is great for quick emojis, but the full Character Viewer is where macOS keeps everything else. To open it, click the expand button in the top-right corner of the compact picker.
The expanded view gives you:
- A sidebar of categories, including Emoji, Arrows, Bullets/Stars, Currency Symbols, Letterlike Symbols, Math Symbols and more.
- A larger preview of the selected character, plus its name and Unicode code point.
- Font variations, showing how a character looks in different fonts.
- A search field that searches all characters, not just emojis.
To add more categories to the sidebar, open the action menu in the Character Viewer and choose Customize List. You can turn on extra sets such as Pictographs, Enclosed Characters or specific scripts.
Save your favorites
If you use the same emojis every day, such as 👍 Thumbs Up, ✨ Sparkles or ✅ Check Mark Button, add them to Favorites:
- Open the expanded Character Viewer.
- Select the emoji or symbol.
- Click Add to Favorites.
Your favorites appear in their own section of the sidebar, ready to double-click.
Picking skin tones on a Mac
For emojis that support skin tones, such as 👋 Waving Hand or 🙏 Folded Hands, click and hold the emoji in the picker to see the five tone options. Our guide to emoji skin tones explains where these tones come from.
Create emoji shortcuts with text replacements
Text replacements let you type a short code and have macOS swap in an emoji automatically. It is ideal for the handful of emojis you send constantly.
- Open System Settings → Keyboard.
- Click Text Replacements.
- Click + to add a new entry.
- In Replace, type a code such as
:shrug. - In With, paste the emoji, such as 🤷 Person Shrugging.
Now typing :shrug followed by a space becomes 🤷 in most apps that use the standard macOS text system. Pick codes you would never type by accident; starting them with a colon or another symbol helps. Text replacements can also sync to your other Apple devices through iCloud, but that is optional.
Many chat apps, including Slack and Discord, also support their own shortcodes like :fire: for 🔥 Fire. Each emoji page on Emojis Keyboard lists its shortcode where one exists.
A note on the Touch Bar
Some older MacBook Pro models had a Touch Bar that could suggest emojis while you typed in apps like Messages. Current Macs no longer have one, so the keyboard shortcuts above are the method that works on every Mac.
No iPhone needed
You might see advice about using Continuity or your iPhone to send emojis from a Mac. You do not need any of that. The emoji picker, Character Viewer and text replacements are all built into macOS and work on their own.
Another option: an online emoji keyboard
Sometimes it is easier to browse emojis on a full page, especially when you are choosing several for a post or caption. The Emojis Keyboard emoji keyboard lets you click to copy any emoji and paste it with Command + V. You can also browse themed sets like aesthetic emojis or heart emojis.
Also using a PC? See how to type emojis on Windows for the equivalent shortcut.
FAQ
What is the emoji keyboard shortcut on Mac?
Press Control + Command + Space in any text field. You can also set the Globe key to open the emoji picker.
Why doesn't the shortcut work?
Make sure your cursor is in an editable text field. Some apps or games may not support the picker; in that case, use Edit → Emoji & Symbols or copy emojis from a web page.
How do I find symbols like arrows or currency signs?
Open the expanded Character Viewer and choose a category from the sidebar, or search for the symbol by name.
Do flag emojis work on a Mac?
Yes. Apple's emoji font includes country flags, so they display normally. Browse them on our flags page.