SmartCut 1.0.0
Hold ⌘ in any app to see all its keyboard shortcuts. Let go and they're gone.


WHAT'S IN THIS FOLDER

  • SmartCut.app: the app
  • Install SmartCut.command: installs it (run this)
  • Read Me.txt: this file


BEFORE YOU START

  • Any Mac (Apple Silicon or Intel) running macOS 14 or later.


INSTALL

  1. Double-click "Install SmartCut.command".

     If macOS says it can't be opened ("Apple could not verify…"): click
     Done, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click
     "Open Anyway", then double-click the installer again.

     Or open Terminal, type  bash  followed by a space, drag
     "Install SmartCut.command" into the Terminal window, and press Return.

  2. The installer copies SmartCut into Applications and opens it.

  3. A welcome window asks for Accessibility access, which SmartCut needs to
     read other apps' menus and notice when you hold ⌘. Click Allow Access…,
     then turn on SmartCut in System Settings → Privacy & Security →
     Accessibility (on macOS 27 this list is called Device Control and Data
     Access). Come back and click Start.

  Prefer to do it by hand? Drag SmartCut into Applications and open it. The
  first time, macOS blocks it: go to System Settings → Privacy & Security
  and click "Open Anyway".


USING SmartCut

  • Hold ⌘ for a second in any app: its shortcuts appear, grouped by menu.
    Click one to run it. Let go of ⌘ and the panel disappears.

  • Tap ⌘ twice, or click the ⌘ icon in the menu bar, to keep the panel
    open. Type to find any command (even ones without a shortcut), use ↑ ↓
    to choose, ↩ to run it and ⎋ to close.

  • In a browser showing Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, Calendar or
    Drive, you see that app's own shortcuts first, with a switch to the
    browser's. Gmail's single-key shortcuts only work once "Keyboard
    shortcuts on" is chosen in Gmail's settings.

  • A ⚠ next to a shortcut means another app's global hotkey uses the same
    keys first, so that shortcut never reaches the app. Right-click the menu
    bar icon and choose Clash Finder… to see every global hotkey SmartCut can
    find, and the ones that clash.

  • Settings (right-click the menu-bar icon): how long to hold ⌘, apps to
    skip, the colour or black-and-white icon, and Launch at Login.


GOOD TO KNOW

  • SmartCut only reads menus and the ⌘ key. It doesn't record what you
    type or send anything anywhere.

  • After installing a newer copy, macOS may need SmartCut turned off and on
    again in Accessibility settings, because the app isn't signed with a
    paid Apple Developer ID.

  • To update: unzip a newer copy and run its installer. It replaces the
    old one and keeps your settings.

  • To uninstall: right-click the menu-bar icon, choose Quit SmartCut, and
    drag SmartCut from Applications to the Trash.

  • SmartCut is free and open source. It isn't from the App Store and isn't
    notarized by Apple, which is why macOS asks you to confirm it the
    first time.