Keyboard Shortcuts and Controls for “Cities: Skylines”
A must-have list of keyboard shortcuts to play the city-building game “Cities: Skylines” more efficiently. It covers all core in-game controls—from camera movement and zoning to time speed adjustments.
Posted at: 2025.11.5
Basic Controls
In Cities: Skylines, the WASD keys are assigned to camera movement. You can rotate with the Q and E keys located to the left and right of WASD, and zoom with the Z and X keys below them. You can also adjust the camera tilt with the Home/End keys, so start by mastering these.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Scroll camera up | W |
| Scroll camera left | A |
| Scroll camera down | S |
| Scroll camera right | D |
| Rotate camera counterclockwise | E |
| Rotate camera clockwise | Q |
| Tilt camera up | Home |
| Tilt camera down | End |
| Pan camera up | R |
| Pan camera down | F |
| Rotate camera (mouse) | Middle button |
| Zoom in | Z |
| Zoom out | X |
| Exit tool/menu | Esc |
Game Speed
The “time progression speed” is used very frequently in the game. You can instantly switch it with the Space bar and number keys, so be sure to remember these. Even this alone will significantly reduce mouse operations.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Pause | Space |
| Normal speed | 1 |
| Fast | 2 |
| Fastest | 3 |
Build Tools
For construction, just remember the B key for the “Bulldozer Tool” and Page Up/Page Down for adjusting construction elevation. This alone will greatly improve the pace of city development.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Bulldozer Tool | B |
| Increase build elevation | Page Up |
| Decrease build elevation | Page Down |
Zoning
Zoning is also used frequently. Use number keys 4–9 to quickly switch zoning types, and 0 to dezone. You’ll need to remember which number corresponds to which zone, but once you have this down, your city-building speed will definitely improve.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Low Density Residential | 4 |
| High Density Residential | 5 |
| Low Density Commercial | 6 |
| High Density Commercial | 7 |
| Industrial | 8 |
| Office | 9 |
| Dezone | 0 |
Quick Functions
Let’s also look at key assignments for other frequently used functions. Cities: Skylines provides a wealth of convenient quick functions, such as Quick Save with F1 and access to features with the Y/U/I keys. Mastering these shortcuts will make selecting game areas and operating system panels smoother. It’s not used very often, but screenshots are mapped to F11 and F12.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Quick Save | F1 |
| Select Game Area | Y |
| Unlock Panel | U |
| Info Views | I |
| Standard Screenshot | F11 |
| Steam Screenshot | F12 |
| High-Resolution Screenshot | Shift + F12 |
Map Editor Only
In the Map Editor, Undo with Ctrl+Z and adjusting brush size with the numeric keypad are the basics. The Map Editor allows unlimited do-overs, so feel free to use it and learn through hands-on practice.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Undo | Ctrl + Z |
| Increase brush size | Numpad + |
| Decrease brush size | Numpad - |
| Increase brush strength | Shift + Numpad + |
| Decrease brush strength | Shift + Numpad - |