Spotlight quick keys on Mac: run any action in three keystrokes
Since macOS Tahoe, Command-Space is no longer just a search box. It
runs actions: send a message, start a timer, make a note, run one of
your own shortcuts. Spotlight quick keys turn any of those actions
into a few letters you type: sm for Send Message, st to start a
timer, whatever you pick. They're the fastest built-in way to act
without the mouse, and most Mac users have never assigned one. Here is
how they work in macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 Golden Gate (Apple
documents the same feature in both), plus the starter set worth setting
up today.
What Spotlight actions are
An action is a verb Spotlight can run: an App Intent from an installed app, a system action, or a shortcut you made in the Shortcuts app. Apple's own list includes things like Send Email, Start FaceTime Call, Translate Text, Change Case, Remove Image Background, Random Number and Add File to Note. Third-party apps that support App Intents add their own, so your list depends on what you have installed.
To see them all, open Spotlight with ⌘Space and press ⌘3. Spotlight switches to actions only, grouped by app, and you can type to narrow the list.
The other three views are worth knowing, because together they make Spotlight a small launcher:
| Shortcut (inside Spotlight) | Shows |
|---|---|
| ⌘1 | Applications |
| ⌘2 | Files |
| ⌘3 | Actions (and your quick keys) |
| ⌘4 | Clipboard history |
| ⇥ after an app's name | Search inside that app |
| / | Filter the results |
| ↑ | Go back through your search history |
How to set up Spotlight quick keys
A quick key is a short string of letters that jumps straight to one action. To assign one:
- Press ⌘Space, then ⌘3.
- Type part of the action's name, for example "reminder".
- Next to the action, click Add quick keys.
- Type the letters you want, such as
ar, and press ↵.
From now on, ⌘Space, ar, ↵
runs it. To change one, click the quick key field next to the action,
edit it and press ↵.
You won't always need to do this by hand. Apple says Spotlight
assigns a suggested quick key automatically after you run an action
once, usually the first letters of its words (sm for Send Message).
Check what it picked in the ⌘3 list, and rename
anything that clashes with how you actually think.
Two rules keep them fast:
- Use letters you'd never type as a search.
nnbeatsnote, which will also match every file with "note" in the name. - Be consistent. A verb-first pattern (
n…for new,s…for send,t…for toggle) means you can guess a quick key you set up a month ago.
Filling in an action without the mouse
Most actions need an input, such as a message body, a recipient or a number. Once an action is selected, Spotlight shows its fields inline:
- ⇥ moves to the next field, ⇧⇥ back to the previous one.
- ↵ runs the action.
So "text Sam that I'm running late" becomes
⌘Space sm ↵, type the message,
⇥, pick Sam, ↵, without switching to
Messages first.
Some actions read what's selected. With files selected in Finder, an action like Move File or Combine Images picks them up; with text selected, a counting action counts words rather than files. If an action seems to ignore your input, check that the right thing was selected before you pressed ⌘Space.
Add your own actions with the Shortcuts app
This is where quick keys get properly useful. Any shortcut you build in the Shortcuts app is searchable from Spotlight, so it can have a quick key too. Apple's Shortcuts guide lists Spotlight as one of the ways to run a shortcut.
A few worth building:
- Open a set of URLs: your morning dashboard, one quick key.
- Set a Focus: for example, turn on Do Not Disturb for an hour before a call.
- Toggle a setting you flip daily, such as Dark Mode.
- Start a work session: open the apps you need, then run your layout.
If you have never built one, the guide to the Mac Shortcuts app walks through the editor and the automations that trigger themselves.
A starter set of quick keys
Assign these once and you'll use them daily. Check the exact action names in ⌘3, since they vary by app and macOS version.
| Quick key | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
sm | Send Message | Reply without switching apps |
ar | Add a reminder | Capture a task mid-thought |
nn | New note | Scratchpad from anywhere |
ne | New calendar event | Book it while it's in your head |
tt | Translate Text | A phrase translated, no browser tab |
cc | Change Case | Fix a paragraph pasted in capitals |
What Spotlight still doesn't do: find a window
Spotlight is excellent at nouns (apps, files, clipboard items) and now at verbs. It still can't take you to a specific open window. Type "Chrome" and ⌘1 will activate Chrome, meaning whichever of its five windows was in front last. The pull-request window you actually wanted is somewhere behind it.
That's the job Let's Switch does. The free version gives you ⌥⇥: hold it for a live preview of every open window, most recent first, across apps and monitors, and ⌥` to cycle the current app's windows. Pro adds an ⌥Space palette that fuzzy-finds any open window and, pressed again, launches any installed app. Pro is $9.99 once, with no subscription and no account, on up to 20 devices per key. It sits next to Spotlight rather than replacing it: ⌘Space for doing things, ⌥Space for getting back to the window you were doing them in.
If you want more than Spotlight's actions (extensions, snippets, scripted workflows), a full launcher is still worth it. The Spotlight alternatives comparison covers Raycast, Alfred and the rest honestly.
Frequently asked questions
Do Spotlight quick keys work in macOS 27? Yes. Apple's support guide for taking actions and assigning quick keys covers both macOS 27 Golden Gate and macOS Tahoe 26. macOS 27 also turns the Spotlight bar into "Search or Ask", where you can send a question to Siri, but typing a quick key still runs its action.
Why don't I see Add quick keys? It appears next to actions, not apps or files. Press ⌘3 first so the list only contains actions.
Can I give an app a quick key? Quick keys belong to actions. To open an app, Spotlight's normal search already works in two or three letters. For a true one-chord launch, see opening an app with a keyboard shortcut.
Where is clipboard history in Spotlight? Press ⌘Space, then ⌘4. The clipboard manager guide covers how long it keeps items and when a dedicated app is worth it.
Do quick keys need Apple Intelligence? Quick keys and actions are part of Spotlight itself. Some individual actions, such as those that use an Apple Intelligence model, only work on Macs that support it.