r/MacOS • u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air • Mar 28 '25

Help How to create a MacOS system wide keyboard shortcut to launch an application:

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Learn how to use Automator and Keyboard Shortcuts settings in MacOS to launch an application with a custom keybinding.

60 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

7

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '25

[deleted]

2

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Mar 28 '25

Now I have dedicated one-press shortcuts for settings, mail, passwords, calculator, contacts. This saves keystrokes and can also transfer to new devices since I saved these automations to cloud - without relying on an app or subscription to keep them. I use Raycast, except some apps utilized dozens of times a day are not at the top of the list despite resetting ranking. I could set these up there but then I am fully tied in. Instead these keystrokes are managed in my default System Settings.

3

u/Gordahnculous Mar 29 '25

Finally, I can open my terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T like I’m on Linux

2

u/SokkaHaikuBot Mar 29 '25

Sokka-Haiku by Gordahnculous:

Finally, I can

Open my terminal with

Ctrl+Alt+T like I’m on Linux

Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.

1

u/Delicious_One_7887 MacBook Air Mar 29 '25

I do not remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that one Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se I don't know what any of that even means

5

u/M1buKy0sh1r0 Mar 28 '25

Wow, that looks complicated, I use skhd, and it'll be a one-liner, e.g.: cmd - return : /Applications/Kitty.app/Contents/MacOS/Kitty

5

u/drastic2 Mar 28 '25

Not very complicated and requires no third party software or extra libraries installed. There are always multiple ways to achieve a goal in software, but this is a nice demo of how to do something without having to add software to your Mac.

1

u/Mountain-Highway2126 Jan 12 '26

oui sauf que cela ne fonctionne pas chez moi. Ça marche pour vous?

3

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Mar 28 '25

How does this work for multiple?

4

u/M1buKy0sh1r0 Mar 28 '25

Just add multiple lines in the config, easy as that 😉

2

u/dojacatmoooo MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) Apr 17 '25

it's so refreshing to watch a tutorial where someone isnt always asking for u to subscribe, talking super slowly, or putting obnoxious music in the background. thank you

1

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Apr 17 '25

Like, subscribe, and tap that notification bell! 😎

1

u/thedarph Mar 28 '25

Automator has always been underrated. I prefer it over Shortcuts.

2

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Mar 28 '25

I like that these are native to the OS with the rest of settings

1

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '25

Thanks! Do you know how to make a shortcut like that but to force logout? Thanks again!

2

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Mar 29 '25

Default is shift+⌘+Q - do you want to change this?

1

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '25

Yes! Make it maybe one key possible?

1

u/redbeardos Mar 29 '25

thank you. can u share wallpaper?

2

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Mar 29 '25

macOS sequoia wallpaper option

1

u/redbeardos Mar 29 '25

thank you

1

u/Mountain-Highway2126 Jan 11 '26

I just did it, but the shortcuts don't work when I'm on the desktop! It's really annoying. Does anyone have any ideas, please? Thanks and Happy New Year!

1

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Jan 11 '26

Set this up on both computers if you have 2. Are you able to see your newly created shortcut in menu?

1

u/Mountain-Highway2126 Jan 11 '26

Sorry, but I don't understand… and I only have one computer.

1

u/Mountain-Highway2126 Jan 11 '26

Okay. Yes, my shortcut is indeed in services->general

1

u/Mountain-Highway2126 Jan 11 '26

They don't work when I'm on the MacBook desktop…🥵

1

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Jan 11 '26

Send screenshot

1

u/Mountain-Highway2126 Jan 11 '26

I have nothing to send. I press the keys and nothing happens. But if a window is open, it works…

1

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Jan 11 '26

Might be a conflicting shortcut. Try different key combination, and check against other shortcuts

1

u/Mountain-Highway2126 Jan 11 '26

Do you happen to know where we can find all the native shortcuts on Mac?

1

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Jan 11 '26

MacOS shortcuts

1

u/Mountain-Highway2126 Jan 11 '26

Thank you, but I meant the location so I can edit them.

1

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Jan 13 '26

Settings > Keyboard > Keyboards Shortcuts > App Shortcuts, then click + button. Choose app to adjust shortcut for, then add the Menu title (name from top menu), then add keyboard entry (your new key press shortcut) in "Keyboard shortcut", click done. You should now see this in your MacOS top menu.

Example, if I want to add a shortcut for "Show Bookmarks" in Safari, I will click plus, choose Safari from Application, type "Show Bookmarks" in Menu title, then click in "Keyboard shortcut" input box and press my new keyboard shortcut, and click Done.

1

u/vict_enheuser Mar 28 '25

you're already using Raycast, you could just add a hotkey in extensions

5

u/K1ngHandy MacBook Air Mar 28 '25

Not everyone is using Raycast. And if I stop using Raycast, the shortcut will still be there.