Free fix

How to turn Caps Lock into a Hyper key on Mac

Hold Caps Lock and press T for the terminal, B for the browser — shortcuts no app already uses.

Short answer

macOS can remap Caps Lock to one modifier, not four. MacFixes makes it a Hyper key that holds ⌃⌥⇧⌘, and tapping it alone can still be Esc.

Free in MacFixes.

What macOS gives you

System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Modifier Keys lets you turn Caps Lock into Control, Option, Command or Escape, or switch it off. There’s no way to make it press all four modifiers at once.

How MacFixes fixes it

  1. 1
    Turn on the fix
    Open MacFixes Settings → Keyboard and turn on “Hyper key” (or type its name into Search for a fix).
  2. 2
    Allow Accessibility
    macOS asks for Accessibility permission so MacFixes can add the modifiers to the keys you press.
  3. 3
    Make shortcuts with it
    Hold Caps Lock and press a key in any app’s shortcut settings — MacFixes, Raycast, System Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts. It shows up as ⌃⌥⇧⌘ plus your key.
DownloadmacOS 14 Sonoma or later · free

What to put on the Hyper key

A Hyper key is most useful for the things macOS gives no shortcut at all. The Shortcuts app is the easiest place to find them: any shortcut you make there can be given a keyboard shortcut in its details, so hold Caps Lock and press a letter when it asks. Switching dark mode on and off is a good first one — macOS has no key for it, and it takes one Set Appearance action to build.

The Hyper key can also leave Shift out, so it holds ⌃⌥⌘ only. Then Caps Lock + Shift is a second set of shortcuts on the same letters: Caps Lock + T for one thing, Caps Lock + Shift + T for another.

Permissions, and turning it off

“Hyper key” needs macOS’s Accessibility permission. macOS asks you, and you allow it once.

  • Accessibility lets an app see and work the windows, menus and buttons of other apps, and click or type for you. You can see it, and take it back, in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

To stop using it, open MacFixes Settings → Keyboard and use the switch on the “Hyper key” row.

Questions

What does tapping Caps Lock do?

Esc by default. You can make a tap toggle Caps Lock as usual, or do nothing.

Can I get Caps Lock back?

Yes. Removing the fix puts Caps Lock back the way it was, including any remap you’d set in System Settings.

More fixes macOS doesn’t give you

Set up text shortcuts that work in every app›Type emoji by name›Snap windows›

One of 47 fixes and 10 apps in MacFixes. Every fix · Every app · Something else your Mac won’t do? Request it.

Turn Caps Lock into a Hyper key with MacFixes

MacFixes has 47 fixes for things macOS gets wrong or leaves out. Add only the ones you want. This one is free. macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

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