Latest Raycast Update Makes It Easier to Create New Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac
Raycast , which is a more full-featured alternative to Spotlight Search on your Mac , has finally added “hyperkey” to its long list of features. The idea of a hyperkey is simple: you press one button, but your computer thinks you pressed multiple buttons. Raycast allows you to map the Hyper Key to all of your Mac’s modifier keys, meaning you can use it to press Command-Control-Option-Shift without having to learn any complicated finger yoga. Just press one button and your Mac will think all modifier keys are pressed at once. Why do you want to do this? Well, this means you can create completely new keyboard shortcuts that don’t interfere with the system defaults.
To get started, open Raycast and go to the app settings . If you don’t know how to get there, just press Command- (comma) while Raycast is open. Go to the Advanced tab and click the drop-down menu next to Hyper Key . This allows you to choose which button to map to the hyperkey. You can choose one of the following options:
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Caps Lock
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Control
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Shift
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Option
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Team
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Right control (note that this key is not available on some Mac keyboards)
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Right shift
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Correct option
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Right team
I chose Caps Lock because I almost never use this button. I then assigned Caps Lock-Tab as the shortcut to open Pioneer, the great new launcher app for your Mac .
The good thing is that the Hyper Key Raycast feature is available for free and you can also map it to system level shortcuts. In fact, I don’t use Hyper Key at all for any Raycast related activities.
Very few app shortcuts require all modifier keys to be used at once, making it ideal for setting up multiple shortcuts without getting in the way of others. With Hyper Key, you can even make common system tasks like taking screenshots much easier. For example, instead of pressing Command-Control-Shift-3 to copy a full-page screenshot to the clipboard, you can map it to Hyper Key Raycast to make Caps Lock-3 your shortcut instead. For a nerd like me, this opens up endless possibilities.
If you experience a binding conflict, you can also check out general Hyper Key troubleshooting tips on the company’s website .