EmojiMaker
How to Get Emojis on Mac
The emoji keyboard on a Mac is one shortcut away — but it is hidden well enough that most people never find it. Here are all five ways to open it, fastest first, and what to do when the emoji you want isn’t in there.
- Ctrl + ⌘ + Space
- Works in every app
- Any Mac, any macOS
Five ways, fastest first
Open the emoji picker on a Mac
- Press Control + Command + SpaceClick into any text field, then press Ctrl + ⌘ + Space. The emoji picker pops up next to your cursor. Start typing a word — “heart”, “cat”, “fire” — to filter, then press Return or click the emoji to insert it. This works in every app, including the browser.
- Or press the 🌐 Globe keyOn Apple keyboards made since 2021 the Fn key doubles as a Globe key. A single press opens the same emoji picker. If it doesn’t, go to System Settings → Keyboard and set “Press 🌐 key to” → Show Emoji & Symbols.
- Use the Edit menuIn almost any Mac app, open Edit in the menu bar and choose Emoji & Symbols at the bottom. Same picker, no shortcut to remember — useful the first time you set up a new Mac.
- Add the input icon to your menu barSystem Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → Edit → turn on Show Input menu in menu bar. A small keyboard or flag icon appears top-right; click it and choose Show Emoji & Symbols.
- Say it with dictationTurn on dictation (System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation), press the microphone key or Fn twice, and say “heart emoji” or “thumbs up emoji”. macOS inserts the emoji instead of the words. It works for a few hundred common emojis, not all of them.
Using the emoji picker once it’s open
The small popover that appears after Ctrl + ⌘ + Space is the fast version of the Character Viewer. Type to search — it matches on names and keywords, so “happy” finds 😊 😄 😁 and “food” finds a whole row. Your most-used emojis collect at the top under Frequently Used. Hold an emoji with a skin tone to pick a variant. Press Escape to close it without inserting anything.
Click the small icon in the picker’s top-right corner and it expands into the full Character Viewer: categories down the left, a favourites list you can build yourself, and every symbol macOS knows about — arrows, currency, maths, kaomoji faces. You can drag that window anywhere and leave it open while you work.
MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac — is it any different?
No. Every method above is part of macOS, so it behaves identically on a MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro, an iMac or a Mac mini with any keyboard attached. The only variation is the keyboard itself:
- 2021 and newer Apple keyboards have the Globe key on the Fn key — one press opens the picker.
- Older Apple keyboards have no Globe key; use Ctrl + ⌘ + Space or the menu bar.
- 2016–2019 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar shows an emoji strip on the bar when you are in a text field — tap to insert.
- Windows keyboards on a Mac map Ctrl + Win + Space to the same shortcut.
macOS versions: what changed
The picker has been in macOS since 2011 and the shortcut has never changed. What moved is the settings menu: on macOS Ventura and later it is System Settings → Keyboard; on Monterey and earlier it is System Preferences → Keyboard. macOS Sequoia (15.2+) added Genmoji on Apple Silicon Macs, which lets you describe an emoji in words — but the result is an image that only works inside Apple’s own apps, not a character you can paste anywhere.
When the emoji you want doesn’t exist
The picker only contains the standard Unicode set — the same few thousand emojis every phone has. If you want a specific face, a mashup of two emojis, or something sized for Slack or Discord, you need to make it as an image instead.
- The free emoji maker builds a custom face from Fluent-style parts in the browser and exports PNG or SVG. SVG matters on a Mac: it stays sharp on a Retina display and opens straight into Sketch, Figma or Keynote.
- The emoji combiner overlays any two standard emojis into one image — the thing people usually want when they say “I wish there was a crying-cat-with-fire emoji”.
- Slack and Discord both accept custom emoji uploads; the dedicated makers export at the exact size each one wants.
For the full comparison of every method — built-in, Genmoji, Emoji Kitchen and browser tools — see how to make custom emojis on any device.
Frequently asked questions
What is the keyboard shortcut for emojis on a Mac?
Control + Command + Space (Ctrl + ⌘ + Space). It opens the emoji picker at your cursor in any text field. On Apple keyboards from 2021 onward, pressing the Globe (Fn) key once does the same thing.
Why is the emoji shortcut not working on my Mac?
Three usual causes: you are not clicked into a text field (the picker needs somewhere to insert), the Globe key is set to another action in System Settings → Keyboard, or a third-party app has claimed Ctrl + ⌘ + Space as its own shortcut. Try the Edit → Emoji & Symbols menu; if that works, the shortcut is being intercepted.
Is it different on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or iMac?
No. The emoji picker and all five methods on this page are part of macOS, not the hardware. The only difference is the keyboard: older MacBooks without a Globe key rely on Ctrl + ⌘ + Space or the menu bar, and 2016–2019 MacBook Pros can also tap the emoji strip on the Touch Bar.
How do I get the new emojis on my Mac?
Update macOS. Emoji artwork ships inside the operating system, so new emojis arrive with macOS point updates (System Settings → General → Software Update). If a friend sends an emoji that shows as a blank box or question mark, your Mac is on an older version than theirs.
Can I make my own custom emojis on a Mac?
Not through the built-in picker — it only contains standard Unicode emojis. To make a custom one, use a browser-based emoji maker: build a face from parts, download it as PNG or SVG, and use it as a sticker, avatar or custom emoji in Slack and Discord. On Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 15.2 or later you can also create Genmoji through Apple Intelligence, though those only work inside Apple apps.
Where are emojis saved on a Mac?
They are not files you can open. Emojis are characters inside the Apple Color Emoji font, which lives in /System/Library/Fonts. You cannot add to that font — which is why custom emojis on a Mac are always images, not keyboard characters.