This is the multi-page printable view of this section. .
Default layout
- 1: Navigation and selection
- 2: Mouse and scrolling
- 3: Editing, symbols and clipboard
- 4: Windows and apps
- 5: Function and media keys
A fresh install starts with the complete Capslock Classic V3 layout: 357 bindings, one for tapping Caps Lock and 356 for holding it with another key. Nothing has to be configured before it works. These pages list every binding. In the app, the Keyboard page shows the same layout, one plane at a time, and Hold-to-Reveal shows it while you type.
How to read the tables
⇪ means "hold Caps Lock". ⇪ H is: hold Caps Lock, press H. ⇪ ⌘ H is:
hold Caps Lock and Command, press H. Modifier glyphs follow the macOS order:
⌃ Control, ⌥ Option, ⇧ Shift, ⌘ Command.
In the default Classic Hyper mode only the left Command, Option, Control and Shift choose a plane. The right-side ones are what Capslock itself holds down for other apps; see Hyper mode.
The Caps Lock key
| Press | What happens |
|---|---|
| Tap Caps Lock | Escape, sent when you release the key |
| Hold Caps Lock | The Hyper layer: the keys below take on their mapped actions |
⇪ Esc | Turns real Caps Lock on or off |
⇪ Space | Sends ⌃Space, the macOS shortcut for switching input sources |
⇪ ⌘ Space | Sends ⌃⌘Space, which opens Emoji & Symbols |
A tap counts only if you release Caps Lock within one second and press no other key, mouse button, or scroll wheel in between. Modifiers you already hold travel with the Escape: hold Shift and tap Caps Lock to send ⇧Esc.
When real Caps Lock is switched on, every chord except ⇪ Esc types its
ordinary key. Press ⇪ Esc to switch Caps Lock off again.
The sixteen planes
The modifiers you hold with Caps Lock choose one of sixteen planes. Each modifier is a bit (Command 1, Option 2, Control 4, Shift 8), and the plane number is their sum. Matching is exact: a chord with an extra modifier never falls back to a plane with fewer.
| Plane | Hold with ⇪ | Name in the app | Default bindings |
|---|---|---|---|
| P0 | nothing | Navigation & Actions · Base | 88 |
| P1 | ⌘ | Selection & Quick Actions · Command | 64 |
| P2 | ⌥ | Mouse & Apps · Option | 43 |
| P3 | ⌥⌘ | Extended Selection · Command + Option | 13 |
| P4 | ⌃ | Windows & Spaces · Control | 17 |
| P8 | ⇧ | Apps & Scrolling · Shift | 30 |
| P9 | ⇧⌘ | Fast Scrolling · Command + Shift | 26 |
| P10 | ⌥⇧ | Fast Mouse · Option + Shift | 26 |
| P12 | ⌃⇧ | Scrolling · Control + Shift | 14 |
| P5, P6, P7, P11, P13, P14, P15 | other combinations | Custom | 5 each (keypad mouse buttons only) |
The seven "Custom" planes are free for your own bindings. Only the five keypad mouse buttons are bound there, so that a click keeps working whatever modifiers you hold.
Apps the layout opens
Twenty-three bindings open an app, among them Safari, iTerm, Visual Studio Code, Alfred, Codex and Claude. If an app is not installed, its key does nothing. The full list is in Windows and apps.
What the layout does not contain
- No Shell commands. App launches, sleep, and clipboard slots are built-in actions, so nothing in the default layout runs a script.
- No double-tap bindings and no per-app rules. Both are available for your own mappings.
⇪ Aand the number keys 1 to 5 have no binding on the base plane.
1 - Navigation and selection
The eight keys under your right hand, H J K L and U I O P, carry most of the layout. On the base plane they move the cursor; other planes turn them into selection, tab and app switching, Spaces, the mouse, and scrolling. The mouse and scroll planes are on Mouse and scrolling.
Move and select
| Key | ⇪ move | ⇪ ⌘ select | ⇪ ⌥ ⌘ extended selection |
|---|---|---|---|
| H | ← | ⇧← | ⌥⇧←, select a word left |
| J | ↓ | ⇧↓ | ⇧↓ three times |
| K | ↑ | ⇧↑ | ⇧↑ three times |
| L | → | ⇧→ | ⌥⇧→, select a word right |
| U | Page Up | ⇧Page Up | ⇧Page Up |
| I | Home | ⇧Home | End, then ⇧Home twice: select to the start of the line |
| O | End | ⇧End | Home, then ⇧End: select the whole line |
| P | Page Down | ⇧Page Down | ⇧Page Down |
⇪ I and ⇪ O send the Home and End keys, not ⌘← and ⌘→. Some Mac text
views scroll on Home and End instead of moving the cursor; where you want the
start or end of the line, rebind them in the editor.
Arrow keys keep working as usual. A single key such as ← repeats while you hold the chord, exactly like the real arrow key.
Tabs, apps, windows and Spaces
| Key | ⇪ ⇧ | ⇪ ⌃ |
|---|---|---|
| H | Previous tab (⌃⇧Tab) | Space to the left (⌃←) |
| J | Next app (⌘Tab) | Windows of the current app (⌃↓) |
| K | Previous app (⇧⌘Tab) | Mission Control (⌃↑) |
| L | Next tab (⌃Tab) | Space to the right (⌃→) |
| U | Zoom out (⌥⌘−) | Full screen (⌃⌘F) |
| I | Previous window of the app (⇧⌘`) | Hide the app (⌘H) |
| O | Next window of the app (⌘`) | Mission Control (⌃↑) |
| P | Zoom in (⌥⌘=) | Open Apps (Launchpad) |
Spaces, App Exposé, and screen zoom follow the shortcuts set in macOS System Settings. If you changed or turned off one of those shortcuts, the chord sends the same keys but macOS does nothing with them.
More switching keys sit on the left hand: see Windows and apps.
2 - Mouse and scrolling
Capslock can drive the pointer from three places: the letter keys under your right hand, the arrow keys, and the numeric keypad. Movement and scrolling run smoothly for as long as you hold the chord. Mouse buttons are held while you hold the chord, so holding a click chord and moving drags.
On the letter keys
| Key | ⇪ ⌥ mouse | ⇪ ⌥ ⇧ fast mouse | ⇪ ⌃ ⇧ scroll | ⇪ ⇧ ⌘ fast scroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | Move left | Move left, fast | Scroll left | Scroll left, fast |
| J | Move down | Move down, fast | Scroll down | Scroll down, fast |
| K | Move up | Move up, fast | Scroll up | Scroll up, fast |
| L | Move right | Move right, fast | Scroll right | Scroll right, fast |
| U | Left click | Left click | Scroll right | Scroll right, fast |
| I | Right click | Right click | Scroll up | Scroll up, fast |
| O | Back button (4) | Back button (4) | Scroll down | Scroll down, fast |
| P | Forward button (5) | Forward button (5) | Scroll left | Scroll left, fast |
On the two scroll planes, U I O P scroll in the opposite direction to H J K L. Fast movement is twice the normal speed; fast scrolling is twice the normal scroll.
On the arrow keys
| Hold with an arrow | Effect |
|---|---|
⇪ | Move the pointer |
⇪ ⌘ | Move the pointer fast |
⇪ ⌥ | Move the pointer slowly |
⇪ ⇧ | Scroll in the arrow's direction |
⇪ ⌥ ⇧ | Scroll slowly |
⇪ ⇧ ⌘ | Scroll fast, in the opposite direction |
The reversed direction on ⇪ ⇧ ⌘ is carried over unchanged from the
Karabiner-Elements layout. Rebind the four arrows on that plane if you prefer
it to match.
Clicks on Return
| Chord | Click |
|---|---|
⇪ Return | Left click |
⇪ ⌘ Return | Right click |
⇪ ⌥ Return | Middle click |
⇪ ⇧ Return | Back button (4) |
⇪ ⌃ Return | Forward button (5) |
⇪ ⌃ ⇧ Return | Left click |
On the numeric keypad
With a numeric keypad, keys 1 to 9 move in eight directions, laid out like the keypad itself: 7 up-left, 8 up, 9 up-right, 4 left, 6 right, 1 down-left, 2 down, 3 down-right. Key 5 does nothing.
| Hold with keypad 1–9 | Effect |
|---|---|
⇪ | Move the pointer |
⇪ ⌘ | Move fast |
⇪ ⌥ | Move slowly |
⇪ ⇧ | Scroll |
⇪ ⌥ ⇧ | Scroll slowly |
⇪ ⇧ ⌘ | Scroll fast |
The keypad buttons work on all sixteen planes. Any modifier you hold is applied
to the click, so ⇪ ⌘ 0 on the keypad is a ⌘-click.
| Keypad key | Button |
|---|---|
| 0 | Left click |
| Enter | Right click |
| . | Middle click |
| − | Back button (4) |
| + | Forward button (5) |
On the base plane the remaining keypad keys scroll slowly: / and =
vertically, * and Clear horizontally.
3 - Editing, symbols and clipboard
Delete
N M , . sit below the navigation keys and delete in both directions.
| Key | ⇪ | ⇪ ⌘ | ⇪ ⌥ |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | Delete the previous word (⌥⌫) | Delete to the start of the line (⇧⌘←, then ⌫) | Delete to the start of the line (⌘⌫) |
| M | Delete the previous character (⌫) | Delete the previous word (⌥⌫) | Move the line down (⌥⇧↓) |
| , | Delete the next character (⌦) | Delete the next word (⌥⌦) | Move the line up (⌥⇧↑) |
| . | Delete the next word (⌥⌦) | Delete to the end of the line (⇧⌘→, then ⌫) | Delete to the start of the line (⌘⌫) |
⌥⇧↑ and ⌥⇧↓ move a line in editors that use those shortcuts, such as Visual Studio Code. Elsewhere they extend a selection.
Symbols
Symbols that need Shift move onto unshifted chords. These bindings type the characters of a US keyboard layout.
| Key | ⇪ | ⇪ ⌘ | ⇪ ⌥ |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | _ | Zoom out (⌘−) | |
| = | + | Zoom in (⌘=) | |
| [ | ( | { | < |
| ] | ) | } | > |
| ; | : | ! | |
| ' | = | = | |
| \ | Toggle comment (⌘/) | ||
| / | Toggle comment (⌘/) |
⇪ ; then ⇪ ' types :=; ⇪ ⌘ ; then ⇪ ' types !=.
Five more clipboards
The top-row digits 6 to 0 are five clipboard slots.
| Chord | Effect |
|---|---|
⇪ ⌘ 6 … ⇪ ⌘ 0 | Copy the selection (⌘C) and save it in slot 6 … 0 |
⇪ 6 … ⇪ 0 | Put slot 6 … 0 on the clipboard and paste it (⌘V) |
A slot keeps everything that was copied, not only text, so images and rich text survive. Pasting from a slot replaces what was on the system clipboard. Slots are encrypted on disk with a key kept in your Keychain, and their contents are never written to the log.
Terminal and editor keys
| Key | ⇪ | ⇪ ⌘ |
|---|---|---|
| D | ⌃D, end of input | Look up the selected word (⌃⌘D) |
| Z | ⌃Z, suspend | F5 |
| X | ⌃R, search command history | ⌃F5 |
| V | ⌃V | |
| B | ⌃B | |
| C | Open Codex | Open Claude |
⇪ X sends ⌃R, not ⌃X, and ⇪ C opens an app rather than sending ⌃C.
F5 and ⌃F5 start debugging and run without debugging in Visual Studio Code.
4 - Windows and apps
Window control
Tab, Q, W, A and S sit under the left hand, so you can switch and close while the right hand stays on the mouse or the navigation keys.
| Key | ⇪ | ⇪ ⌘ | ⇪ ⌥ | ⇪ ⌃ | ⇪ ⇧ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tab | Next app (⌘Tab) | Previous app (⇧⌘Tab) | Space to the right (⌃→) | Next tab (⌃Tab) | |
| Q | Quit the app (⌘Q) | Quit the app (⌘Q) | Lock the screen (⌃⌘Q) | Log out (⇧⌘Q) | |
| W | Close the window or tab (⌘W) | Close (⌘W) | Sleep the display | Sleep the Mac | |
| A | Mission Control (⌃↑) | Show the desktop (F11) | Open Apps (Launchpad) | ||
| S | Next tab (⌃Tab) | Previous tab (⌃⇧Tab) | Next window of the app (⌘`) | Previous window of the app (⇧⌘`) |
⇪ A on its own has no binding. Sleep the display and Sleep the Mac are
built-in actions that run immediately; in the Playground's Safe Practice mode
they are only previewed.
Open apps
E, R, T, Y, F and G open apps, three per key. An app that is not installed is skipped: the key does nothing until you install it.
| Key | ⇪ | ⇪ ⌘ | ⇪ ⌥ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | Safari | Finder | |
| R | iTerm | Preview | Terminal |
| T | Visual Studio Code | Typora | Notes |
| Y | Siri | Karabiner-Elements | Amphetamine |
| F | Alfred | Dash | Dictionary |
| G | IntelliJ IDEA | Google Chrome | Calendar |
| C | Codex | Claude |
⇪ ⌃ P, ⇪ ⌃ A and ⇪ F4 open Apps (Launchpad on older macOS).
Apps are matched by bundle ID, not by name or path, so they open wherever they are installed. To open a different app, pick the key in the keyboard editor and choose Open app.
5 - Function and media keys
The function row
| Key | ⇪ | ⇪ ⌘ |
|---|---|---|
| F1 | Brightness down | ⌃1, switch to desktop 1 |
| F2 | Brightness up | ⌃2, switch to desktop 2 |
| F3 | Mission Control (⌃↑) | ⌃3, switch to desktop 3 |
| F4 | Open Apps (Launchpad) | |
| F5 | Keyboard light down | |
| F6 | Keyboard light up | |
| F7 | Previous track | |
| F8 | Play or pause | |
| F9 | Next track | |
| F10 | Mute | |
| F11 | Volume down | |
| F12 | Volume up | |
| F13 | Screenshot of the screen to the clipboard (⌃⇧⌘3) | Screenshot of the screen to a file (⇧⌘3) |
| F14 | Screenshot and recording toolbar (⇧⌘5) | ⇧⌘6 |
| F15 | Play or pause | |
| ` | Screenshot of an area to the clipboard (⌃⇧⌘4) | Screenshot of an area to a file (⇧⌘4) |
These chords need the key to arrive as a real F-key. If the top row of your keyboard controls brightness and volume by default, hold fn as well, or turn on "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" in System Settings. ⌃1 to ⌃3 switch desktops only when those shortcuts are enabled in System Settings.
Fine adjustment
The editing cluster above the arrow keys sends ⇧⌥ with a media key, which macOS treats as a quarter step.
| Key | ⇪ |
|---|---|
| Insert (Help) | Brightness up, quarter step |
| ⌦ Forward Delete | Brightness down, quarter step |
| Home | Keyboard light up, quarter step |
| End | Keyboard light down, quarter step |
| Page Up | Volume up, quarter step |
| Page Down | Volume down, quarter step |