GTA 5 Controls and How-To Guide

Here are the default GTA V Story Mode controls for each platform, followed by answers to the how-to questions most players end up asking. If your controls differ, check the Settings menu, as PC keys and controller layouts can be changed. You can also open the pause menu and look under Brief, then Help, to see the most recent on-screen hints again.

Pause menu open on its Game tab, with Brief and the other tabs across the top.

How to do common things in GTA 5

How to switch characters

Hold Down on the D-pad, or Alt on PC, to bring up the character wheel. Then point the right stick or the mouse at the character you want. During a mission you can usually press the prompt to swap straight away. A character whose face is grayed out isn’t available yet, or the story doesn’t allow it at the moment.

Michael in a red-lit room with a tip to hold the switch button to show the available characters.

Michael on a sidewalk on his phone, with a tip on screen to hold Left Alt to view the switch menu.

How to save the game

Bring up the phone and pick the Quick Save icon to save almost anywhere outside a mission. Or sleep in the bed at any safehouse, which also moves time forward. The game autosaves after most missions, too, but you should keep a manual save in another slot before a big choice.

Franklin in his bedroom with a tip that progress can be saved with the Quick Save button on the phone.

A made bed in a bedroom with a tip to sleep in the bed to save the game.

Michael holding up his phone with the Quick Save icon highlighted on the home screen

How to detonate a sticky bomb

Throw the bomb with the throw button, then press Left on the D-pad, or G on PC, to set it off. It works from any distance, and you can place several and set them off together. Sticky bombs stick to vehicles, and Lester suggests them for The Hotel Assassination, though only a sniper kill earns the medal there.

Night at a trailer park with the sticky bomb trigger prompt and the objective to detonate the bombs before leaving.

A man in a dark alley beside a wooden fence, with the sticky bomb trigger prompt shown at the top left.

How to shoot while driving

Press LB on Xbox, L1 on PlayStation, or left mouse on PC. To aim first, hold the aim button and use the right stick or mouse. You’ll fire whichever pistol or SMG you’ve chosen, so pick one on the weapon wheel before you start driving. Rifles can’t be fired from a car.

A white car driving down a Los Santos street with a tip about the drive-by aim and fire controls.

Trevor on a desert road opening the weapon wheel with the AP Pistol selected, a dark SUV ahead.

How to use a parachute

You get a parachute free with any helicopter or plane, and you can buy one from Ammu-Nation. It’s equipped automatically. After you jump, press A on Xbox, X on PlayStation, or left mouse on PC, to pull the cord. Steer with the left stick or WASD. Push forward to speed up and pull back to slow down before you land.

A man under a rainbow parachute above downtown towers, with the steering controls on screen.

A parachuting man drifts low over a park toward a yellow target ring.

The parachuting man stands on a yellow target ring in a park.

How to use the tow truck

Back up to the car until the hook is over its front or rear. On PC, Left Ctrl lowers the arm, Left Shift raises it, and H drops the car. On a controller, the arm uses the stick the game shows on screen the first time you get in, and you can check Brief, then Help, in the pause menu. Keep your speed down around corners, or the car swings out and comes off. Tonya’s missions are the first place you’ll need this.

A tow truck lines its back end up with a large Big G Goods trailer on a city street

A tow truck's arm reaches toward a gray car on a city street.

A tow truck sets a car down in a parking lot drop-off zone.

How to fly a plane or helicopter

Hold RT or R2 (W on PC) to throttle up, and steer with the left stick. LB and RB, or L1 and R1, turn the nose left and right. In a plane, pull back on the left stick at speed to take off, then raise the landing gear by clicking the left stick (G on PC). To land, line up early, lower the gear and ease off the throttle. In a helicopter, RT climbs, LT descends, and easing off both lets you hover. Flight School teaches all of this, and it counts toward 100%.

A red-and-white Flight School trainer plane lines up on a runway to take off.

The red-and-white trainer plane comes in low over a runway, slowing for landing.

A helicopter hovers beside a lift bridge over the port, with the Helicopter Course banner.

The Helicopter Course passed screen appears over a pale blue sky.

How to zoom in with a sniper rifle

Aim with the scope first. Then use Up and Down on the D-pad on consoles, or the mouse wheel on PC. The advanced scope on the Sniper Rifle lets you zoom in further.

Night view through a sniper scope over a desert road, with the prompt to look down the sights and zoom.

Through a rifle scope at night, a figure on an ATV sits in scrub beside a desert road.

How to crouch

There’s no separate crouch button in Story Mode. Click the left stick, or press Left Ctrl on PC, to go into stealth mode, which bends your character low and quiet. Taking cover behind a low wall also makes you crouch.

Franklin creeps low across a lawn with a tip about using stealth mode to move quietly.

Franklin fires a rifle from behind a low brick wall beside a street of houses.

How to take cover

Press RB on Xbox, R1 on PlayStation, or Q on PC when you’re next to a wall or object. Aim to lean out and shoot, and press the same button again to leave cover.

A man kneels behind a shack window frame, rifle raised, using the wall as cover to shoot.

Aiming a rifle out of the same shack window at gunmen in a yard by a gas station.

How to heal

Health comes back on its own up to about half the bar. To go higher, use a first aid kit (every safehouse has one) or buy a drink from a vending machine. Armor doesn’t come back by itself. You have to buy it from Ammu-Nation or find it on the ground.

A man in a yellow check shirt uses a red soda vending machine in a gun shop.

Ammu-Nation armor shelf with Super Heavy Armor selected and cash at $163,547 top right.

How to call your car

You can’t in Story Mode, as the Mechanic is only in GTA Online. Your personal vehicle usually waits at your safehouse, or it’s sent to the impound lot if you left it somewhere the police towed it. Get it back at the impound in Davis or from the garage at Mission Row Police Station by paying a $250 fee. Aircraft, boats and military vehicles bought from websites can be delivered when you call Pegasus.

The Pegasus Concierge hangar at the airport, with a tip that bought planes are stored here.

How to sell cars

You can’t. There’s no way to sell a vehicle in Story Mode. If you’re after quick money, try these methods instead.

A black sports car drives along the Fort Zancudo Approach Road past hills and roadside trees.

How to keep a stolen car

Drive it into your character’s garage and it stays there. See the best cars guide for more.

Franklin's new safehouse at night, with an on-screen note that vehicles can be saved by parking in the garage.

A dark sports car parked in the open garage at Franklin's safehouse, with the same note on screen.

The dark sports car sits inside the safehouse garage under the lamp, with its tail lights on.

How to jump on a bike

On a BMX or Cruiser, press the handbrake button (RB, R1 or Space) for a bunny hop. On a motorcycle, lean back with the left stick (or Left Ctrl) to lift the front wheel. Lean forward before landing to keep from flipping.

On-screen text explains how to bunny hop a bicycle, with a rider on a green BMX on the boardwalk.

The bunny hop and wheelie instructions are still on screen as the green BMX rider heads down the boardwalk.

A rider on a green motorbike lifts the front wheel while airborne in front of tall gray columns.

A green motorbike rides on its rear wheel in the air above a city street, with buildings behind.

How to quit a mission

There’s no quit option during play. Fail the mission on purpose, or get wasted, and pick Quit on the screen that follows. You can also load an earlier save from the pause menu. If you fail the same checkpoint three times, the game also offers to skip it, though skipping means no medal.

A Mission Failed screen reading Franklin died, over a black and white view of him lying on the ground.

How to progress the story

Look for the colored letter blips on the map. M is Michael’s, F is Franklin’s and T is Trevor’s, and a heist board has its own icon. If nothing shows, switch characters, because only some of them have a mission waiting. If you still see nothing, play on for a little while or wait for a phone call or text. The mission order shows what comes next.

Franklin walks down a Los Santos street with a tip that missions are shown as blue and green letters, an M on the radar.

How to zoom out the minimap

The minimap pulls back on its own as you pick up speed. For the full map, open the pause menu, where you can also set a waypoint.

A dark car drives a night canyon road past rocky cliffs, with the minimap showing the road close up

The car takes a bend on a mountain road at night, and the minimap shows a wider stretch of road

Controls on foot

Action	PC	Xbox	PlayStation
Move	W A S D	Left stick	Left stick
Sprint and swim	Left Shift	A	X
Jump, climb and dodge	Space	X	Square
Stealth mode	Left Ctrl	Left stick click	L3
Enter or leave cover	Q	RB	R1
Enter or leave a vehicle	F	Y	Triangle
Reload and melee	R	B	Circle
Aim	Right mouse	LT	L2
Fire	Left mouse	RT	R2
Weapon wheel	Tab	LB (hold)	L1 (hold)
Character wheel	Alt (hold)	D-pad Down (hold)	D-pad Down (hold)
Special ability	Caps Lock	Both sticks click	L3 and R3
Change camera	V	View	Touchpad
Flashlight on a weapon	E	D-pad Right	D-pad Right

Driving controls

Action	PC	Xbox	PlayStation
Accelerate and brake	W and S	RT and LT	R2 and L2
Steer	A and D	Left stick	Left stick
Handbrake	Space	RB	R1
Fire	Left mouse	LB	L1
Aim	Right mouse
Headlights	H	D-pad Right	D-pad Right
Convertible roof	H (hold)	D-pad Right (hold)	D-pad Right (hold)
Horn and siren	G	Left stick click	L3
Radio stations	. and ,	D-pad Left	D-pad Left
Lean a motorcycle	Left Shift and Left Ctrl	Left stick	Left stick
Bicycle sprint	Caps Lock	A (hold, tap)	X (hold, tap)

Flying controls

Action	PC	Xbox	PlayStation
Throttle up and down	W and S	RT and LT	R2 and L2
Turn left and right	A and D	LB and RB	L1 and R1
Roll	Num 4 and Num 6	Left stick	Left stick
Nose up and down	Num 5 and Num 8	Left stick	Left stick
Fire weapons	Left mouse	A	X
Landing gear	G	Left stick click	L3
Lower hook	E	D-pad Right	D-pad Right

Parachute, submersible and phone controls

Action	PC	Xbox	PlayStation
Open parachute	Left mouse	A	X
Parachute steering	W A S D	Left stick	Left stick
Parachute precision	Left Shift	LB and RB	L1 and R1
Release parachute	F	Y	Triangle
Parachute smoke	X	A (hold)	X (hold)
Submersible up	Left Shift	X	Square
Submersible down	Left Ctrl	A	X
Phone up	Mouse wheel button	D-pad Up	D-pad Up
Phone select	Enter	A	X
Phone back	Backspace	B	Circle