Keyboard Shortcuts & Accessibility
HyperWhisper relies on a handful of global shortcuts so you can control recording without leaving your current app. This page covers the default bindings, how to customize them, and what macOS permissions you need for auto-paste to work reliably.
Default Global Shortcuts
| Action | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle recording | ⌥Space | Starts/stops a transcription session and opens the recording dialog. |
| Cancel recording | Esc | Discards the active session without saving. |
| Change mode | ⇧⌥K | Cycles through available modes from anywhere. |
HyperWhisper keeps these handlers registered even when you quit to the menu bar, so they remain responsive system-wide.
Editing Shortcuts
- Open Settings → Shortcuts.
- Click the recorder control for any action, then press the new key combination.
- Conflicting assignments are flagged immediately; pick an unused combo if macOS rejects it.
- Use the Reset to Defaults link to revert all shortcuts in one step.
Troubleshooting Shortcuts
- Some key combinations (especially bare function keys) may be consumed by other apps or macOS. Pick modifiers like
⌥,⌃, or⇧to reduce conflicts. - If a shortcut stops responding, open the main window once—macOS occasionally pauses background apps from listening until they become active again.
Last updated on