macOS Catalina: The Missing Manual

Appendix D. Appendix D The Master Secret Keystroke List

Here it is, by popular, frustrated demand: the master list of keystroke in macOS, including all the keys you can press during startup. Clip and post to your monitor (unless, of course, you got this book from the library).

Note

For the most part, the following list doesn’t include the keystrokes already listed in your menus, like -P for Print, -S for Save, and so on.

Keys to hold down at startup

N	Starts up from a NetBoot server
T	Puts the Mac into Target Disk mode
D	Starts up to diagnostic or hardware test mode
Option-D	Starts up to diagnostic or hardware test mode over the internet
-R	Starts Recovery Mode
Option--R	Starts up from Recovery Mode over the internet
Option	Starts up to Startup Manager, which allows you to choose a startup disk
Option--P-R	Zaps the parameter RAM (PRAM) (hold down until you hear the second chime)
-V	Shows Unix console messages during startup, logout, and shutdown
F12, mouse down, ...