How to type emoji on Mac
macOS Character Viewer + shortcut
Every modern macOS has a built-in emoji picker called the Character Viewer. You can also pin it to your menu bar, search by name, and use Apple Intelligence Genmoji on Macs with M1 or newer.
Step-by-step
- 1
Open the Character Viewer
⌃ ⌘ SpaceIn any app, press Control-Command-Space (older macOS also accepts Fn+E). The Character Viewer popup opens — type to search or browse categories.
- 2
Search by name
In the Character Viewer, just start typing — "fire", "heart-eyes", "pizza". Click an emoji to insert it; double-click for variants.
- 3
Pin to menu bar
System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit → enable "Show Input menu in menu bar". The flag/keyboard icon now lets you open the Character Viewer instantly.
- 4
Use Genmoji (Apple Intelligence)
In any app on Apple Silicon Mac with Apple Intelligence enabled, open the Character Viewer → tap Genmoji → type a description. Apple generates a custom emoji you can reuse via the same picker.
- 5
Voice dictation
Enable Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard. Press Fn twice in any text field, then say "fire emoji" or "smiling face emoji".
Frequently asked
Check System Settings → Keyboard → Shortcuts → Input Sources for conflicts. Some apps (Slack, VS Code) override the shortcut — use their built-in emoji picker instead.
Yes — click the small icon in the popup's top-right corner to expand into the full Character Viewer with categories, recents and favorites.