How to Create Custom Shortcuts in macOS and Windows

Sometimes the fastest way to speed up a workflow isn't learning the default shortcut a piece of software ships with — it's building your own, either because the default doesn't exist, conflicts with something else you use constantly, or just doesn't fit your hands well. Both macOS and Windows support genuine customization at both the system level and the individual-application level, and it's more accessible than most people realize.

macOS: remapping shortcuts for a specific app

System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > App Shortcuts lets you assign or override a menu command's shortcut for any specific application, without needing third-party software. Click the plus button, choose the target application (or 'All Applications' for a system-wide override), type the menu command's exact name exactly as it appears in that app's menu (this has to match character-for-character, including ellipses), and then record the key combination you want. This is the cleanest way to fix an app whose default shortcut for a frequently used command is awkward or missing entirely, and it works for essentially any Mac app with a standard menu bar.

macOS: system-wide remaps and modifier key swaps

System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts also covers system-level shortcuts — Mission Control, Spotlight, screenshots, input source switching — each independently reassignable. Separately, System Settings > Keyboard > Modifier Keys lets you remap the function of the Caps Lock, Control, Option, and Command keys system-wide, which is worth knowing about specifically because Caps Lock is one of the most wasted keys on a modern keyboard for most people — remapping it to Control or Escape is a popular change among people who spend a lot of time in a terminal or a modal-editing tool like Vim, since it puts a frequently used key under a much more comfortable finger position. This same remap is also one of the most commonly recommended changes for reducing pinky strain — see the RSI and ergonomics post for why it matters beyond pure convenience.

macOS: text replacement as a lightweight custom shortcut

System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements isn't a keyboard shortcut in the traditional sense, but it functions like one for text expansion: type a short trigger string (like 'omw') and have it automatically expand to a full phrase ('On my way, be there in 10 minutes.') anywhere you type on the system, including in Word and any other app. For people who type the same boilerplate phrases repeatedly — email signoffs, addresses, common code snippets — this is a genuinely underused customization that saves real time with almost no setup cost.

macOS: launcher tools for a whole different level of customization

Beyond the built-in options, launcher and automation tools like Raycast let you build custom keyboard-triggered workflows that go well beyond simple key remapping — launching specific apps, running scripts, or chaining multiple actions behind a single custom hotkey. These tools are worth exploring once you've exhausted what the built-in Keyboard Shortcuts settings can do and want shortcuts that do more than trigger an existing menu command.

Windows: remapping keys without third-party software

Windows' native remapping options are more limited than macOS's out of the box, but Microsoft's own PowerToys utility (free, from Microsoft) fills the gap well and has become close to a standard tool for this. Its Keyboard Manager module lets you remap individual keys system-wide or create custom shortcuts that launch specific applications or trigger specific key combinations. It also includes a shortcut conflict checker that warns you if a remap collides with something Windows or an installed app already uses that combination for — worth paying attention to, since silent shortcut conflicts are one of the most confusing customization mistakes to debug after the fact.

Windows: app-specific shortcut customization

Unlike macOS's centralized App Shortcuts panel, Windows shortcut customization is generally handled per-application, inside that app's own settings. Photoshop, for instance, has an extensive built-in Keyboard Shortcuts editor (Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts) that lets you reassign nearly any tool or menu command, save named shortcut sets, and switch between them — genuinely useful if you want a different shortcut layout for, say, retouching work versus compositing work. Most serious creative and development tools on Windows offer something similar; check that app's Preferences or Settings menu for a 'Keyboard Shortcuts' or 'Keybindings' section.

Windows: PowerShell and terminal customization

For anyone working heavily in a terminal, PowerShell supports custom key bindings through the PSReadLine module, letting you remap common line-editing actions (history search, tab completion behavior, cursor movement) to whatever feels most natural, especially useful for anyone coming from a different shell's muscle memory and wanting Windows' terminal to match it more closely.

Testing a remap before committing to it fully

Whichever platform you're on, it's worth trialing a new remap for a few days in low-stakes conditions before fully committing muscle memory to it — for instance remapping Caps Lock during a weekend rather than mid-deadline, since the first day or two of any remap involves genuinely more mistakes (hitting the old key out of habit, or triggering the new binding accidentally) before it settles into being faster than the default. This mirrors the same spaced, low-pressure practice principle that applies to learning any new shortcut in the first place — a remap is, after all, just a new shortcut you're teaching yourself from scratch, with the added complication of having to simultaneously unlearn the old one.

A few principles worth following before you start remapping everything

• Don't override a shortcut you already have strong muscle memory for unless the new version is genuinely better — the cost of unlearning a habit is real and easy to underestimate.
• Check for conflicts before committing to a remap. A shortcut that silently does nothing (or, worse, does the wrong thing) because it collides with an existing binding is more frustrating than not having the shortcut at all.
• Keep custom shortcuts consistent across the apps you use most, where possible — if you remap 'find' to the same key combination in three different apps, that consistency itself saves cognitive load beyond just the raw keystrokes.
• Document your own remaps somewhere, even briefly. It's easy to forget what you changed six months later, especially after a system reset or a new machine.

Why this matters more if you switch between Mac and Windows

If you regularly move between the two operating systems, custom remapping is one of the more effective ways to reduce the friction covered in the Mac vs Windows differences post — for instance, remapping the physical Caps Lock key to function as an extra Control or Command key on whichever platform is less natural for your existing habits can meaningfully shrink the adjustment cost of switching machines. Start with the built-in macOS and Windows settings covered above before reaching for third-party tools — for most people, the native options cover the vast majority of what they actually need.