Assigning a Hotkey
Click any key on the keyboard to open the key editor. Fill in a label (e.g. Ctrl+Z), choose your modifiers and color category, add an optional description, then click Save. The key lights up with the category color and appears in the summary below.
To clear a key, open its editor and click Clear Key.
Key Editor Fields
- Label — The shortcut text shown on the key (e.g. Undo or ⌘Z).
- Modifiers — Check any combination of Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Cmd/Win, or Fn.
- Description — A note shown in the Hotkey Summary (e.g. Undo last action).
- Category — Color-coded group for organizing the summary panel. You can add custom categories from the legend.
Form Factor & Key Map
- Form Factor — Switch between Full (104-key), TKL (87-key), 60%, and split ergonomic layouts (ZSA Voyager, Moonlander, ErgoDox EZ).
- Key Map — Relabels keys for different keyboard layouts (QWERTY, AZERTY, Dvorak, Colemak). Stored hotkey IDs are position-based and stay intact when you switch.
Tabs
Use the + button above the summary to create multiple named maps — useful for separating contexts like On Foot, In Vehicle, or Menu. Each tab stores its own independent hotkey assignments.
- Rename — Double-click a tab name to open the rename dialog.
- Duplicate — In the rename dialog, click Duplicate to copy all hotkeys from the current tab into a new tab inserted immediately after it.
- Reorder — Drag a tab left or right to change its position.
- Delete — Open the rename dialog and click Delete Tab. A confirmation prompt will warn you before removing the tab and its hotkeys. The last remaining tab cannot be deleted.
Hotkey Summary Panel
- Search — Filter hotkeys in real time by action label, description, key, modifier, or category name. Matching keys stay lit on the keyboard while the rest dim, so you can spot them at a glance. Press Enter to jump to a matching key — press again to cycle through multiple matches — or Esc to clear.
- Drag categories — Grab a category header and drag it to a different column position.
- Copy Text / Copy Markdown — Export the current summary to your clipboard.
- Summary Settings (gear icon) — Toggle column overflow and set how many items fit per column before spilling.
Heat Map
Click Heat Map in the toolbar to overlay a density visualization on the keyboard. Keys are colored based on how clustered your assigned bindings are in that region of the keyboard — not just the key itself, but everything nearby.
- Blue (cool) — few or no assigned keys nearby. That area of the keyboard is lightly used.
- Green / Yellow — moderate density. A decent number of bindings are within reach.
- Red (hot) — high density. Many assigned keys are clustered in this region.
Use it to spot ergonomic hotspots — if one hand's region is entirely red, your bindings may be overloading that side. The color scale bar below the keyboard shows the full Sparse → Dense range. Heat Map turns off automatically when you switch back to the normal view.
Conflict Detection
KeyBindr automatically flags when the same action label is assigned to more than one key in the current tab. Conflicting keys get a dashed amber outline, and a banner above the summary lists each duplicated action with a count. Click any conflict to filter the summary to that action so you can see exactly which keys share it and fix the duplicate.
Modifier Layers
When your map uses more than one modifier combination, a Modifier layer bar appears above the keyboard with a chip for each combination present (e.g. No modifier, Ctrl, Ctrl + Shift). Click a chip to focus that layer — only bindings matching that exact modifier set stay lit on the keyboard and listed in the summary; everything else dims. It's a quick way to see what each modifier "layer" does, the way a programmable keyboard would. Click All to return to the full view.
Templates
Click Load Template in the toolbar to browse pre-built hotkey maps for popular apps and games. Hover (or keyboard-focus) any template to see a live mini-keyboard preview of its bindings, color-coded by category, before you load it. Loading a template replaces the current tab's assignments — export first if you want to keep them.
Export & Import
- Export — Downloads your entire map (all tabs) as a .json file. Save it to a cloud-synced folder to back it up across devices.
- Import — Loads a previously exported JSON file, replacing all current tabs and assignments.
Color Scheme & Theme
- Color Scheme — Choose from 5 keyboard palettes in the Style panel (paint bucket icon).
- Theme — Toggle Light, Dark, or System in the top-right corner of the header.
Keyboard Shortcuts
- Ctrl+Z — Undo last change.
- Ctrl+Shift+Z — Redo.
- Alt+E — Re-open the editor for the last key you edited.
- Escape — Close the open popover or modal.
- Enter — Save the open hotkey editor.
