SnapHotkey 1.0 — Instant App Switching with Global Hotkeys — SnapHotkey

After months of daily use and refinement, SnapHotkey 1.0 is ready.

What is SnapHotkey?

SnapHotkey is a macOS menu bar app with one job: let you press a key and immediately be in the app you want. No mouse, no Dock clicking, no Alt+Tab cycling through ten windows.

You assign a global hotkey to each app. Press it once to bring the app to front. Press it again to hide it.

Why build this?

The trigger was simple frustration. I work across five or six apps constantly — a code editor, terminal, browser, notes app, communication tools. Every context switch required a mouse click or a long Cmd+Tab hunt.

I wanted the Quake console experience: a key that instantly surfaces what I need and gets out of the way.

What’s in 1.0?

Global hotkeys for any app. Bind any key combination to any macOS application. Press from anywhere — the app comes to front immediately.

Left/right modifier distinction. Your Mac has two ⌘ keys, two ⇧ keys, two ⌥ keys. SnapHotkey treats them as separate keys, effectively doubling your available hotkey space.

Toggle visibility. Already in the target app? Press again to hide it and return to where you were. Perfect for chat apps and terminals.

Window cycling. Multiple windows of the same app? Keep pressing the hotkey to cycle through them.

Deep launching. Attach a file path or URL Scheme to any rule. Open Finder directly to a specific folder, launch a Chrome profile, or jump to an Obsidian vault — all from a single keystroke.

Menu bar only. SnapHotkey has no Dock icon. It sits silently in your menu bar, using essentially no CPU when idle.

Free and Pro

The free version supports up to 3 hotkey rules — enough to cover your most-used apps.

Pro ($9.99, one-time) removes the 3-rule limit and unlocks all features. There’s a 15-day full-featured trial so you can verify it fits your workflow before purchasing.

Download

SnapHotkey requires macOS 13 Ventura or later. You can download it from the Download page.