Notion Shortcuts: How to Open Any Page Instantly from Your Mac Menu Bar

Notion has over 100 keyboard shortcuts. You can bold text, create headings, toggle sidebars, and move blocks around. However, there's one thing Notion shortcuts can't do — open a specific page, database, or project with a single click.

Think about your daily workflow. You probably visit the same five or six Notion pages every day. Your task board. Your meeting notes. A client project database. A shared team wiki. Yet every time you need one, you go through the same routine: switch to Notion, scroll the sidebar, search with Cmd+P, and finally click.

That's a lot of friction for pages you visit dozens of times per day. Fortunately, there's a faster way. By combining Notion's URL system with a Mac menu bar app called ExtraBar, you can turn any Notion page into a one-click shortcut that lives in your menu bar — always visible, always ready.

Why Standard Notion Shortcuts Don't Solve This Problem

Let's be clear: Notion's built-in keyboard shortcuts are excellent. Cmd+P opens search. Cmd+N creates new pages. Cmd+Shift+L toggles dark mode. For editing and formatting, they're indispensable.

But here's the gap. None of these notion shortcuts actually let you jump to a specific page. Cmd+P opens search, which then requires you to type a name, wait for results, and click. That's three steps when you want just one.

Furthermore, Notion's sidebar doesn't scale well. Once you have 20 or 30 pages, finding the right one becomes a scrolling exercise. Favorites help, but they're still buried inside the app. You have to switch to Notion first, then navigate.

What power users actually need is a way to land on a specific Notion page — instantly — without opening the app first. Something that sits outside Notion entirely, always accessible.

How Notion URLs Make One-Click Notion Shortcuts Possible

Every page in Notion has a unique URL. You can grab it by clicking the three-dot menu and selecting "Copy link." The URL looks something like this:

https://www.notion.so/Your-Page-Title-abc123def456

This link works in any browser. But here's the trick that makes everything click. If you replace https with notion, you get a deep link:

notion://www.notion.so/Your-Page-Title-abc123def456

This deep link opens the page directly in Notion's desktop app — skipping the browser entirely. It works for pages, databases, specific database views, and even individual blocks. As a result, any Notion page becomes a launchable action.

The problem? You still need somewhere to store and trigger these links quickly. Bookmarks are messy. Browser tabs pile up. Alfred and Raycast require typing a query. That's where ExtraBar comes in.

ExtraBar — Your Notion Shortcuts Command Center

ExtraBar is a macOS app that turns your menu bar into a customizable command center. You add actions — deep links, keyboard shortcuts, shell scripts, macOS Shortcuts — and they appear as clickable items in your menu bar or in a floating bar you summon with a hotkey.

For Notion users specifically, ExtraBar solves the navigation problem completely. Instead of searching for pages inside Notion, you create ExtraBar actions with Notion deep links. Then you click them from the menu bar — or press a hotkey and navigate with arrow keys.

Additionally, ExtraBar comes with 36+ app presets, including built-in support for Notion. It doesn't require any permissions to work, runs entirely offline, and stores all data locally on your Mac. It's a one-time purchase with lifetime updates — no subscription needed.

Here's why this matters: your most important notion shortcuts should live outside the app. They should be accessible no matter what you're doing on your Mac. ExtraBar makes that possible.

Setting Up Notion Shortcuts in ExtraBar — Step by Step

Building your Notion command center takes about 10 minutes. Here's how.

Step 1 — Collect Your Most-Used Notion URLs

First, identify the Notion pages you visit most often. Open each one, click the three-dot menu (or press Cmd+L), and copy the link. Then convert each URL from https:// to notion:// so it opens directly in the desktop app.

For example, you might collect links for:

• Your daily task board
• A project-specific database
• Weekly meeting notes
• A team wiki or documentation hub
• Client-specific pages or dashboards

Keep these links in a text file temporarily. You'll paste them into ExtraBar in the next step.

Step 2 — Install and Configure ExtraBar

Download ExtraBar from extrabar.app. Open it and choose your preferred display mode:

• Inline Mode adds your actions directly to the macOS menu bar
• Floating Bar Mode creates a separate bar you summon with a global hotkey
• Menu Mode nests everything under a single icon

For Notion power users, Floating Bar mode is often ideal. You can keep it hidden until needed, then summon it with one hotkey.

Step 3 — Create Deep Link Actions

Now create an action for each Notion page:

1. Open ExtraBar's management screen
2. Add Notion as an app (or use the built-in preset)
3. Click "Add Action" and select the deep link type
4. Set a clear Menu Label like "Task Board" or "Client X Project"
5. Paste your notion:// deep link
6. Repeat for each page

You can also organize actions into subfolders. For instance, group pages by project, team, or context. A freelancer might create folders like "Client A," "Client B," and "Personal."

Step 4 — Navigate by Keyboard

Assign a global hotkey to ExtraBar. Your workflow then becomes:

1. Press the ExtraBar hotkey from any app
2. Navigate with arrow keys or number keys
3. Press Enter on the Notion page you need
4. Notion opens directly to that page

Consequently, you skip Notion's sidebar, search, and all the clicking. The page simply opens.

Real-World Notion Shortcuts Setups by Role

Project Managers

Project managers live in Notion databases. Typically, they juggle sprint boards, roadmaps, meeting notes, and status reports. With ExtraBar, you can create dedicated actions for each project board — no more digging through nested sidebar pages.

For example, your ExtraBar setup might include "Sprint Board," "Q1 Roadmap," "Team Standup Notes," and "Resource Allocation." Each opens the exact Notion page in one click.

Developers

Developers often use Notion for technical documentation, bug trackers, and project specs. With ExtraBar, you can also jump straight to your engineering wiki, API docs, or the current sprint backlog. Pair these with deep links to Cursor projects for a complete workflow.

Content Creators

Writers and marketers using Notion as a content calendar can similarly benefit. Create ExtraBar actions for your editorial calendar, draft database, published articles tracker, and brand guidelines. Every piece of your content pipeline becomes one click away.

Freelancers

Freelancers managing multiple clients in Notion face constant context-switching. Therefore, ExtraBar is especially useful here. Create a folder per client — each containing links to their project board, invoices, contracts, and communication notes. Switching clients means pressing one hotkey and selecting a folder.

ExtraBar vs. Other Notion Shortcuts Solutions

Several tools can trigger Notion URLs. However, each has limitations that ExtraBar addresses.

Notion's built-in favorites and sidebar require you to be inside the Notion app first. They don't work from other apps, and they clutter the interface as you add more pages.

Alfred and Raycast are powerful launchers, but they're query-based. You press a hotkey, type the name of a workflow, and it fires. This works well if you remember your command names. However, it doesn't solve the discovery problem — you can't see what's available without typing.

Browser bookmarks work for https:// links but open pages in the browser rather than the desktop app. They also get buried among hundreds of other bookmarks.

ExtraBar, by contrast, is persistent and visual. Your Notion notion shortcuts sit in the menu bar or floating bar, always organized and always one hotkey away. No typing, no searching, no switching to another app first. Furthermore, ExtraBar works alongside these other tools — it's not an either-or choice.

Beyond Deep Links — Combining Notion Shortcuts with Other Actions

ExtraBar doesn't just handle Notion URLs. You can also mix Notion deep links with other action types in the same bar. For instance:

• Zoom meeting links to join your recurring meetings with ease, directly from the menu bar
• Slack channel deep links allow you to jump directly into any channel
• macOS Shortcuts can be added and triggered easily with ExtraBar
• Keyboard shortcuts that trigger automations in BetterTouchTool or Keyboard Maestro

This combination is what makes ExtraBar especially powerful. Instead of scattering your notion shortcuts across five different apps, you centralize everything in one visible command center.

Additionally, ExtraBar supports export and import of configurations. You can set up your Notion command center on one Mac and then transfer it to another in seconds.

Stop Searching, Start Clicking

Notion's built-in keyboard shortcuts handle formatting and editing brilliantly. But they can't solve the biggest time-waster: navigating to the right page. That's a different kind of shortcut entirely — one that lives outside Notion.

With ExtraBar, every important Notion page becomes a persistent, one-click action in your menu bar. No sidebar scrolling. No Cmd+P guessing. Just click and land exactly where you need to be.

Download ExtraBar and build your own set of notion shortcuts that actually save you time.