Roundup · 2026
The best keyboard shortcut tools for macOS
Viewers, remappers, and conflict detectors are three different jobs. Here's which tool to pick for each — including where the free options genuinely beat the paid ones.
“Keyboard shortcut tool” covers at least three different jobs: viewing shortcuts (cheat sheets), remapping keys, and detecting conflicts between apps. Most roundups blur them together; this one sorts each tool by the job it actually does, as of 2026.
HotkeyClash
Conflict detector Free, open source (GPL-2.0)The only tool that scans running apps, Karabiner/skhd configs, and macOS system shortcuts in one pass and shows where they collide, with definite/potential severity. Doesn’t show cheat sheets, doesn’t edit shortcuts — detection only.
Pick it when a shortcut stops working or you run 3+ hotkey-heavy apps. →
KeyClu
Shortcut viewer (cheat sheet) Free / donationHold ⌘ and get an overlay of the current app’s shortcuts. Lightweight and good at its job, but closed source and it can’t see global hotkeys or config-file bindings — so it can’t tell you why a shortcut is broken.
Pick it for learning a new app’s shortcuts without paying.
KeyCue
Shortcut viewer (cheat sheet, commercial) ~$25The polished veteran of shortcut overlays: themes, search, macro display for Keyboard Maestro. Two decades of maintenance from Ergonis. Still a viewer — conflicts between apps are out of scope.
Pick it if you want the most refined cheat sheet and don’t mind paying.
ShortcutDetective
Hotkey interceptor Free (abandoned)Told you which app intercepted a pressed key. Stuck at v1.0, no Apple Silicon build, crashes on current macOS. Listed here because people still search for it — don’t install it in 2026.
Karabiner-Elements
Keyboard remapper Free, open sourceThe deepest keyboard customization on macOS — remap anything, build hyper keys, write complex modification rules. Not a conflict tool; in busy setups it’s frequently a conflict *source*, which is why HotkeyClash parses its config.
Pick it to remap keys, not to diagnose them.
Raycast / Alfred
Launchers with global hotkeys Free tier / ~$40Not shortcut managers, but they register so many global hotkeys that they appear in nearly every conflict scan. Both have good built-in shortcut recorders for resolving clashes once you know about them.
Pick either — and scan after configuring it.
The short version
- A shortcut stopped working / apps fight over keys → HotkeyClash (free) — download
- You want to see available shortcuts while working → KeyClu (free) or KeyCue ($25) — how they differ from a detector
- You want to remap keys → Karabiner-Elements
- You found ShortcutDetective in an old forum thread → read this first
The categories compose: a typical power-user setup runs Karabiner for remapping, a launcher for global actions, a viewer for reference — and a conflict detector because the first three constantly step on each other.
Stop guessing which app stole your shortcut
One scan shows every conflict across your running apps, Karabiner, skhd, and macOS system shortcuts. Free, open source, no telemetry.
macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon & Intel · Free DMG download