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Add a Quick Launcher / Command Palette for faster navigation #22832
Description
The feature request
GitHub Desktop currently requires using menus and dropdowns to switch between repositories, branches, and other commonly used actions.
It would be useful to have a keyboard-first Quick Launcher / Command Palette, accessible through a shortcut such as Ctrl + K on Windows.
This would be especially helpful for users who frequently work across multiple repositories and branches and want to navigate without reaching for the mouse.
Proposed solution
Add a searchable Quick Launcher that opens with a keyboard shortcut and provides fast access to common GitHub Desktop actions.
For example, users could:
- switch repositories
- switch or create branches
- fetch, pull, or push
- open the current repository in their editor
- open pull requests
- search commits
- access repository settings
- execute other common GitHub Desktop commands
Example workflow:
Ctrl + K → type frontend → select repository → Enter
or:
Ctrl + K → type feature/login → select branch → Enter
A command palette similar to those available in VS Code and other developer tools would make GitHub Desktop significantly faster and more convenient for keyboard-heavy workflows.
Additional context
No response
Activity
desktop-triage commentedon Sep 8, 2026
Triage summary: This is a feature request for a keyboard-first Quick Launcher / Command Palette (e.g.,
Ctrl+K) to switch repositories/branches and trigger common actions, similar to VS Code's command palette. The request clearly describes the desired functionality and example workflows, so it meets the bar for classification as an enhancement.Duplicate check: Searched for related issues ("command palette", "quick launcher", "Ctrl+K quick switcher", "keyboard shortcut switch repository/branch"). Found related-but-distinct closed issues — #22436 (show path when switching repositories), #16104 (switch between multiple accounts), #11598 (recent repositories setting), and #21893 (sidebar for repo switching) — none of which propose a searchable command palette. No duplicate found.
Recommended label:
enhancement— clear, actionable feature request describing new UI functionality (command palette) with concrete example use cases, not present in the current app.github-actions commentedon Sep 11, 2026
Thank you for your issue! We have categorized it as an enhancement (feature or improvement) request, and it has been added to our backlog. In doing so, we are not committing to implementing this feature at this time, but, we will consider it for future releases based on community feedback and our own product roadmap.
Unless you see the help wantedIssues marked as ideal for external contributors
label, we are not currently looking for external contributions for this feature.
If you come across this issue and would like to see it implemented, please add a thumbs up! This will help us prioritize the feature. Please only comment if you have additional information or viewpoints to contribute.