How to Save and View Keyboard Shortcuts in Shortcut Keeper

Updated

Shortcut Keeper is a macOS app for storing the keyboard shortcuts you use across your apps so you can look them up instead of searching for them again. You save a shortcut by adding it to the app it belongs to, and you view your saved shortcuts either by opening the app or by clicking its menu bar icon, which shows the shortcuts for the app you're currently using. This works best if you're on macOS, willing to install from the Mac App Store, and want a lightweight reference tool rather than a shortcut remapper.

Saving a shortcut

The core action is simple: when you run into a shortcut you want to remember, add it to Shortcut Keeper under the relevant app.

  1. Notice the shortcut in the app you're using — for example, Shift-Command-T to reopen the last closed tab in Safari.
  2. Add it to Shortcut Keeper, filed under that app.
  3. Leave it there until you've memorized it.

The point is to break the loop the site describes: search for a shortcut, use it once, forget it, and start over. Saving it the first time means the next lookup takes a glance instead of a search.

Viewing your saved shortcuts

There are two ways to bring your shortcuts up:

  • Open the app and browse what you've saved, using filtering and layout options to organize the list.
  • Use the menu bar icon to check all the shortcuts you've saved for the app you're currently using — useful when you're mid-task in another app.

Shortcut Keeper also provides a keyboard shortcut of its own, Command-Option-K, to bring the app forward. It's designed to sit in the background while you work in other apps.

Who this fits

Shortcut Keeper is aimed at people who accumulate shortcuts faster than they memorize them. The site calls out a few situations in particular:

  • You use an app for the first time and need to learn many new shortcuts to get efficient.
  • You've moved to macOS from another OS and want to learn its hotkeys.
  • You keep re-searching the same shortcuts and want a single place to check them.

If you only need a handful of shortcuts, a note or a cheat sheet may be enough. Shortcut Keeper earns its place when the list grows across multiple apps and you want per-app lookup without leaving what you're doing.

What to know before installing

  • Platform: macOS. A separate Windows version is referenced on the site.
  • Distribution: Download on the Mac App Store, which the site describes as the easiest way to get the app and its free updates.
  • Pricing model: The site states "No subscriptions: buy once, use forever" and "No ads." No specific price is given on the page, so check the Mac App Store listing for the current figure.
  • Features listed: menu bar icon for quick access, dark theme, filtering and layout options, and a lightweight, intuitive design.

A practical routine

The habit that makes Shortcut Keeper useful is saving at the moment of friction. The next time you Google a shortcut or dig through an app's preferences, save it before you move on. Over a few weeks you build a per-app reference that the menu bar icon surfaces exactly when you're in that app — which is the difference between relearning a shortcut and simply checking it.