Quick answer: In most Mac apps, press ⌘ Command + ↓ Down Arrow to jump to the bottom of the page, and ⌘ + ↑ for the top. In text fields use End (or Fn + → on a laptop). As always on the Mac, a couple of apps do their own thing.
The main shortcut: ⌘ + Down Arrow
In Safari, Chrome, Notes, Mail, Preview, and most document apps, ⌘ + ↓ drops straight to the bottom of the page. If you're in a text field, End does the same thing — and on a MacBook without an End key, that's Fn + →.
Reading a long chat or log? Jumping to the bottom once is easy. If you find yourself doing it constantly — chasing the newest message in a thread — that's exactly the repetitive friction Scroll Elevator removes with a button at your cursor (and a hold-to-cruise that glides you down a very long page).
Where it doesn't work — and what to use instead
| App | Scroll to bottom | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Safari / Chrome | ⌘ + ↓ or End | Works as expected |
| Notes / Mail / Pages | ⌘ + ↓ | Goes to end of the document |
| Finder | Scroll down, or End | ⌘ + ↓ opens the selected item |
| Terminal / iTerm | ⌘ + End | ⌘ + ↓ jumps to the next command |
| Xcode / code editors | ⌘ + ↓ | Bottom of file (moves the text cursor) |
One screen at a time
To move down gradually instead of jumping all the way, press Space to page down (and Shift + Space to page up) in most browsers. On a laptop, Fn + ↓ is Page Down. See Page Up and Page Down on a Mac for the full rundown.
Why is it so inconsistent?
macOS never standardized a single "go to bottom" command, so each app wired up ⌘ + ↓, End, and the rest to whatever fit — and Apple dropped the dedicated End key from laptop keyboards. The result is the patchwork above.
Want one button that works in every app?
Scroll Elevator is a tiny Mac menu-bar app that puts a jump-to-top and jump-to-bottom button right at your cursor whenever you scroll. Click to leap to the bottom of any app — or hold to cruise smoothly all the way down a long page. No per-app exceptions to memorize.