django-admin-keyshortcuts

A Django package that adds keyboard shortcuts to the Django Admin interface for improved accessibility.

Demo

A static preview of Django Admin with Keyboard Shortcuts is available at:
https://khanxmetu.github.io/django-admin-keyshortcuts-demo/

Try it out and then provide feedback on the forum thread: Feedback: django admin keyboard shortcuts

Setup

Install from pip:
pip install django-admin-keyshortcuts

then add django_admin_keyshortcuts before django.contrib.admin in your INSTALLED_APPS:

INSTALLED_APPS = (
    ...,
    'django_admin_keyshortcuts',
    'django.contrib.admin', 
    ...,
)

Usage

The following is a list of supported shortcuts

Description	Shortcut (Windows/Linux)	Shortcut (MacOS)	Scope
Show shortcuts help dialog	?	?	Global
Go to the site index	g i	g i	Global
Toggle sidebar	[	[	Global (where it exists)
Select previous row for action	k	k	Change List
Select next row for action	j	j	Change List
Toggle row selection	x	x	Change List
Focus actions dropdown	a	a	Change List
Focus search field	/	/	Change List
Save and go to change list	Ctrl+s	⌘+s	Change Form
Save and add another	Ctrl+Shift+S	⌘+Shift+S	Change Form
Save and continue editing	Ctrl+Alt+s	⌘+⌥+s	Change Form
Delete	Alt+d	⌥+d	Change Form
Confirm deletion	Alt+y	⌥+y	Delete Confirmation
Cancel deletion	Alt+n	⌥+n	Delete Confirmation

Adding Custom Shortcuts

This package uses the GitHub Hotkey library for handling shortcuts. You can add new ones by extending templates:

1. In the admin template, locate the element you want triggered by the shortcut.
2. Extend the template and add data-hotkey attribute to the target element, e.g. data-hotkey="Mod+s". See hotkey string format for supported modifier and key combinations.
3. Document the shortcut in the help dialog.

View-specific (per page) shortcuts: Extend change_list_shortcuts, change_form_shortcuts, or delete_confirmation_shortcuts.
Example:

{% extends "admin/change_list_shortcuts.html" %}
{% load shortcuts %}
{% block extra_shortcuts %}
{{ block.super }}
  <section>
    <h3>Custom Shortcuts</h3>
    <dl>
        <dt class="shortcut-description">A Custom Shortcut</dt>
        <dd class="shortcut-keys">{% shortcut_format_kbd "Mod+s" %}</dd>
    </dl>
</section>
{% endblock %}

Global shortcuts:
Example:

{% extends "admin/shortcuts.html" %}
{% load shortcuts %}
{% block global_shortcuts %}
  {{ block.super }}
  <section>
    <h3>Custom Shortcuts</h3>
    <dl>
      <dt class="shortcut-description">A Custom Shortcut</dt>
      <dd class="shortcut-keys">{% shortcut_format_kbd "Mod+S" %}</dd>
    </dl>
  </section>
{% endblock %}

Tip: Use the Mod key (⌘ on macOS, Ctrl on Windows/Linux). It ensures shortcuts are OS-independent and automatically map to the correct key per platform.

About

The django-admin-keyshortcuts package is being developed with the goal of eventually merging its functionality into Django core.
This package has been undergoing refinements with respect to GSoC 2025: Keyboard Shortcuts Specification