How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts on Hype Machine

Updated

Hype Machine supports a full set of keyboard shortcuts for playback, track navigation, volume, and search, so you can control the site without touching the mouse. The shortcuts work while Hype Machine is the active tab in your browser, and the site's own "Keyboard Shortcuts" menu (opened with ?) is the authoritative list. Below is what each key does and how to use it.

The full shortcut list

Action Keys
Show / hide the shortcuts menu ?
Next track n, j, b, →
Previous track p, k, z, ←
Play / pause space, x, c
Stop v
Heart (favorite) the track l, h, f
Focus the search bar /
Volume up / down + / -
Close popups esc

How to use them

  1. Open Hype Machine in your browser and start playing a track.
  2. Make sure the page has focus — click once on the page background if keys seem unresponsive. Shortcuts generally don't fire while you're typing in a text field.
  3. Press ? to bring up the on-screen shortcut menu. Press ? again (or esc) to hide it.
  4. Use space (or x / c) to pause and resume, and n / → to skip to the next track. v stops playback entirely rather than pausing.
  5. Press l, h, or f to heart the current track — this is the same action as clicking the heart icon, so it feeds into your favorites.
  6. Press / to jump the cursor into the search bar, type your query, and press Enter.
  7. Adjust loudness with + and - without leaving the page.
  8. If a popup or overlay is open, esc closes it.

Things to know before you rely on them

  • Multiple keys per action. Hype Machine maps several keys to the same function (for example, four different "next track" keys). Pick whichever is comfortable; there's no functional difference.
  • Focus matters. Because / focuses search and space controls playback, the shortcuts assume the page — not an input field — has focus. If a shortcut does nothing, click the page first.
  • Desktop notifications are separate. The site offers browser notifications when the track changes while Hype Machine is in the background; that's a permission prompt, not a keyboard shortcut, and you can allow or skip it independently.
  • The ? menu is the source of truth. If a key stops working after a site update, open the shortcuts menu to confirm the current mapping rather than assuming the list above is stale.

Quick reference for common tasks

  • Just want to skip a song you don't like? Press n.
  • Want to save a track for later? Press l.
  • Searching for an artist mid-playback? Press /, type, hit Enter — playback continues.
  • Need silence fast? Press v to stop, or hold - to drop the volume.