Productivity tip: Remapping caps lock to hyper key

#productivity #vscode #raycast #shortcuts

Here's a tip that has been a huge time-saver for me on MacOS. I only discovered it recently, but it's generally well-known among self-respecting Vim developers: remapping the Caps Lock ⇪ key.

What ?

Caps Lock ⇪ key is rarely used, so why not repurpose it?

The idea is to remap Caps Lock ⇪ to hyper key, meaning a key combination like cmd+option+ctrl+shift on Mac.

Why ?

This combination is generally never used by apps because it's too complex for users. But by mapping it to hyper key, we gain access to an entirely new layer of shortcuts.

By combining the ease of assigning shortcuts to a variety of commands with Raycast, I can now access my most-used apps super quickly.

Use cases

When I started, I've created over 20 shortcuts in less than an hour. Thanks to some mnemonic devices, there's no need to memorize them. Adopted in a flash !

I feel like I have superpowers now, accessing everything I need with just a few keystrokes.

CAPSLOCK + A Web browser (Arc)
CAPSLOCK + K Akiflow
CAPSLOCK + B Beeper
CAPSLOCK + C Visual Studio Code
CAPSLOCK + P Recent Projects (from VSCode)
CAPSLOCK + F Figma
CAPSLOCK + M Mail (Mimestream)
CAPSLOCK + N Notion
CAPSLOCK + , See my Schedule
CAPSLOCK + T Terminal
CAPSLOCK + L Linear
CAPSLOCK + V Clipboard History
CAPSLOCK + G GitHub
CAPSLOCK + W Kill a process
CAPSLOCK + S File Search by Raycast
CAPSLOCK + I Set Input audio device
CAPSLOCK + O Set Output audio device
CAPSLOCK + R Record my voice and paste transcription with superwhisper
CAPSLOCK + = Make current Window larger
CAPSLOCK + - Make current Window smaller
CAPSLOCK + ←/→/↓/↑ Move the active tab to a given direction

Inside VSCode:

CAPS + D Find previous occurrence (inverse of cmd+D)
CAPS + Enter Smart Select from the cursor
Shift + Enter Move current cursor to Smart Select

How ?

To remap Caps Lock, I use Hyperkey, which is free and made by Ryan Hanson. There might be other similar tools for Mac or Windows.

To install, download it directly from their site or use

brew install --cask hyperkey

It's a small change with a big impact for me. Give it a try !

Hope it helps,
Jules

Read the same article on my website

Top comments (8)

Wizard • Oct 21

Is there any way to do on windows?

David • Oct 22

Yes, windows “PowerToys” allows for key remapping. I’ve used it to remap CAPS lock to Escape. I use escape a LOT and have no use for caps.

Ben Borla • Oct 22

Uhmm. Good to know, but I'm sticking to my routines. :-)
Great idea though!

Bntstr • Oct 21

Thanks for this

leob • Oct 22 • Edited

I'm using another key mapping program, which works well too - but no way I'm remapping the CAPS LOCK key, lol - I'M USING THAT WAY TOO OFTEN, I REALLY NEED THAT KEY ! ;-)