Instead of opening the extensions menu every time, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up a keyboard shortcut for your extensions in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Brave.
How to Set a Keyboard Shortcut for a Chrome Extension
We’ll start this guide by showing how to open a browser extension with a keyboard shortcut in Google Chrome, since this is one of the most popular browsers. Fortunately, there’s no need to install a third-party app to set a keyboard shortcut, since you can do it with the browser’s built-in feature.
Follow these steps to set keyboard shortcuts for your extensions:
Click the three-dot menu from the browser’s top-right corner. From the More tools list, open Extensions. Click the three-line menu from the top-left corner. Select Keyboard shortcuts. Click the Edit icon below the extensions. Enter the keys combination that will open the extension in the Type a shortcut field. Keep in mind, the key combination should include the Ctrl or Alt key.
If you have installed the same extensions on multiple browsers, we recommend setting the same keyboard shortcut.
How to Set a Keyboard Shortcut for a Firefox Extension
If you’ve recently made the switch to Mozilla Firefox, and you’re looking for a way to customize your browsing experience, setting up a keyboard shortcut for your Firefox extensions is a good place to start.
Follow these steps to manage your extensions’ keyboard shortcuts:
Navigate to about:preferences. From the left-hand menu, open Extensions & Themes. Click the Settings icon from the top of the page and select Manage Extension Shortcut. Enter a shortcut containing the Ctrl or Alt key.
Note: When setting a new keyboard shortcut, Firefox will inform you if the shortcut is already in use by another browser extension.
How to Set a Keyboard Shortcut for an Edge Extension
If you’ve upgraded to Windows 11, you might want to set Edge as your default browser. Microsoft Edge has definitely caught up in the browsers competition, so there’s no surprise you can set keyboard shortcuts to trigger the browser extensions.
From the browser’s toolbar, click the Extensions icon and select Manage extension. Click Keyboard shortcuts. Use the Type a shortcut field next to each extension to set a new keyboard shortcut. To remove a shortcut, just click X.
Note: If you set the same keyboard combination for more than one extension, Edge will not inform you the same combination is already in use by a different extension.
How to Set a Keyboard Shortcut for a Brave Extension
Brave is more than just a privacy-focused browser, as it comes with the Brave Rewards system and video call feature. However, Brave developers didn’t overlook the customizing options, so you can set a keyboard shortcut for a Brave extension as well.
Navigate to brave://settings. From the left pane menu, select Extensions. Scroll down and click Keyboard shortcuts. Click the Edit icon and input the keyboard combination containing the Ctrl or Alt key.
Note: A few extensions, such as MetaMask, might have a keyboard shortcut set by default. Nevertheless, you can easily edit it as shown above.
Access Extensions Easily on Your Favorite Browser
Now you know how to set a keyboard shortcut for extensions in your favorite browser. However, there are more tips and tricks you can use to make browsing more efficient.
Also, this might be a good occasion to take a look at your installed extensions or add-ons and remove those that you no longer need or are unsafe.
