How to Copy URL with Keyboard Shortcut in Chrome (2026)

Copying a URL sounds like the simplest thing in the world. You do it dozens of times a day — sharing links in Slack, pasting references into documents, saving pages to your notes. And yet, the way most people copy a URL in Chrome is surprisingly clunky. There is a much faster way, and it takes exactly one keypress.

The Default Way to Copy a URL in Chrome (And Why It's Slow)

Think about what you actually do every time you need to copy the current tab URL in Chrome. You move your hand to the mouse, click the address bar, wait for the text to highlight (or manually select all with Ctrl+A), then press Ctrl+C. That is three distinct steps, and if the address bar does not fully select the URL on click — which happens more often than it should — you end up fiddling with text selection before you can copy anything.

The alternative is not much better. Right-clicking on a page and choosing "Copy link address" only works for hyperlinks, not the page URL itself. And if you want the address of the tab you are currently viewing, right-click does not help at all — you are back to clicking the address bar.

Either path takes two to three seconds. That does not sound like much until you realize you do it thirty or forty times in a workday. Those seconds add up, and more importantly, every trip to the address bar pulls your focus away from whatever you were doing. You break your keyboard flow, reach for the mouse, click around, and then navigate back to where you were. It is a small interruption, but small interruptions compound.

The Faster Way — Copy URL with One Keyboard Shortcut

What if you could copy the URL of any Chrome tab without touching the mouse or the address bar? That is exactly what the Ctrl+Shift+C extension does. Install it once, and from that point on you have a dedicated copy URL keyboard shortcut that works on every page.

Press your chosen shortcut — the default is Ctrl+Shift+C — and the full URL of your current tab lands in your clipboard instantly. No clicking, no selecting, no address bar interaction at all. Your hands stay on the keyboard, your eyes stay on the content, and the URL is ready to paste wherever you need it.

It is the kind of tool that feels almost too simple to be useful until you start relying on it. Once the shortcut becomes muscle memory, copying a link in Chrome takes a fraction of a second, and you never think about it again.

How to Set Up Your URL Copy Shortcut

Getting started takes under a minute. Here is the full setup process:

Step 1: Install the extension. Head to the Ctrl+Shift+C page on the Chrome Web Store and click "Add to Chrome." The extension is lightweight and requires no special permissions to read your browsing data.

Step 2: Reload your open tabs. Chrome extensions cannot interact with tabs that were open before installation. Simply reload any tabs you are working with, or just continue browsing — new tabs will work automatically.

Step 3: Choose your shortcut. After installation, an onboarding screen appears where you can pick the key combination you prefer. The default Ctrl+Shift+C works well for most people, but you can assign any combo that fits your workflow.

Step 4: Press the shortcut on any page. That is it. Navigate to any website, press your shortcut, and the complete URL is copied to your clipboard. A brief visual confirmation appears so you know it worked.

If you are exploring more ways to streamline your browser, take a look at 10 Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts Every Developer Should Know for additional time-savers.

Why a Keyboard Shortcut Beats the Address Bar

There are a few concrete reasons why a dedicated shortcut to copy a link in Chrome is better than the traditional method:

Speed. The shortcut executes in a fraction of a second. Clicking the address bar, selecting the URL, and pressing Ctrl+C takes two to three seconds on a good day. Over the course of a week, that difference becomes significant.

Keyboard flow. If you work primarily from the keyboard — writing code, drafting documents, navigating with tab and arrow keys — reaching for the mouse to copy a URL is a jarring context switch. A keyboard shortcut keeps you in flow without lifting your hands.

Cross-browser compatibility. The extension works on every Chromium-based browser, including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, and Arc. Install it once and the same shortcut follows you across browsers.

Handles long URLs gracefully. Some URLs are absurdly long — think Google Docs links, analytics dashboards, or pages with complex query strings. Manually selecting these in the address bar is error-prone. The shortcut copies the entire URL every time, regardless of length, so you never accidentally grab a truncated link.

For more tools that eliminate small inefficiencies like this, check out Best Free Chrome Extensions for Productivity in 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it work on every website? Yes. The extension copies the URL of your active tab regardless of what site you are visiting. It works on standard pages, web apps, internal tools, and everything in between.

Is it free? Completely free, with no premium tier or hidden costs. The full feature set is available to everyone.

Does it collect any data? No. The extension collects zero data. It does not track your browsing, does not phone home, and does not require an account. Your URLs stay on your machine.

Can I change the keyboard shortcut? Absolutely. You can reassign the shortcut to any key combination you prefer through the onboarding screen or Chrome's built-in extension shortcuts page at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

Start Copying URLs the Fast Way

Once you start using a dedicated copy URL keyboard shortcut, the old address-bar method feels painfully slow. Ctrl+Shift+C is free, private, and takes thirty seconds to set up. Give it a try — your future self will thank you every time you paste a link without breaking stride.