What It Does
HyperCaps remaps caps lock to act as a Hyper Key — a single key that activates all four modifier keys at once. Hold caps lock and press any other key to send a shortcut that no application will ever conflict with.
caps lock alone does nothing. It sits silently until you combine it with another key, giving you a completely new layer of keyboard shortcuts.
Read my article: The Hyper Key Changed Everything.
How It Works
| You Press | macOS Receives |
|---|---|
| caps lock + E | shiftcontroloptioncommandE |
| caps lock + space | shiftcontroloptioncommandSpace |
| caps lock alone | Nothing (consumed silently) |
| shift + caps lock | Toggles Caps Lock on/off (with HUD) |
This means you can bind Hyper+T to open Terminal, Hyper+B to open your browser, or any other action — without worrying about clashing with existing shortcuts.
Caps Lock Toggle
Traditional Caps Lock isn’t gone. Hold shift and tap caps lock to toggle Caps Lock on and off. A centred HUD appears briefly to confirm the state.
Settings
Click the Caps Lock icon in the menu bar and choose Settings… to configure:
Hyper Key Modifiers
Choose which modifiers the Hyper Key sends. All four are enabled by default, but you can disable any combination. At least one must remain active.
| Modifier | Default |
|---|---|
| command | On |
| control | On |
| option | On |
| shift | On |
General
- Accessibility permission — status display and grant button
- Menu bar icon pill — optional grey background for stronger contrast on busy or wallpaper-tinted menu bars (off by default)
- Launch at Login — start automatically when you log in
Auto-updates are handled by Sparkle. Use the “Check for Updates…” menu item to check on demand; Sparkle’s prompt offers an “Automatically download and install updates in the future” checkbox the first time an update is available. HyperCaps checks for new versions automatically once a day in the background.
Permissions
- Accessibility — required to intercept keyboard events and inject modifier flags. macOS will prompt on first launch.
Permission status can be checked in Settings. If Caps Lock has been remapped to “No Action” in System Settings, HyperCaps will alert you and offer to open Keyboard Settings.
Important
macOS System Settings must have Caps Lock set to its default behaviour. If you have previously remapped Caps Lock to Escape, Control, or No Action in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Modifier Keys, reset it to “Caps Lock” before using HyperCaps.
Installation
Two formats on every release — both signed and notarised, pick whichever suits:
- Installer (
.pkg) — recommended for first-time installs. Double-click to run; macOS Installer places the app in/Applicationswithout quarantine or App Translocation. - Download (
.zip) — unzip and dragHyperCaps.appto your Applications folder.
On first launch, grant Accessibility permission when prompted.
Building from Source
HyperCaps uses Swift Package Manager. No Xcode project is required.
- Clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/PerpetualBeta/HyperCaps.git - Run
gmake build - Launch with
open .build/HyperCaps.app
Requirements
macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. Universal binary (Apple Silicon and Intel).