Keyboard Shortcuts

Cap Desktop supports keyboard shortcuts to speed up your recording workflow. You can start, stop, and control recordings without clicking any buttons, making it easy to capture your screen while staying in your flow.

Customizable shortcuts — The shortcuts listed below are the suggested default bindings. You can customize all keyboard shortcuts in Settings > Shortcuts. The hotkey store initializes empty, so you may need to configure your preferred shortcuts on first use.

Recording Shortcuts

Action	macOS	Windows
Start / Stop Recording	Cmd + Shift + 2	Ctrl + Shift + 2
Pause / Resume Recording	Cmd + Shift + 3	Ctrl + Shift + 3
Restart Recording	Cmd + Shift + 4	Ctrl + Shift + 4

App Shortcuts

Action	macOS	Windows
Open Cap	Cmd + Shift + 1	Ctrl + Shift + 1
Open Preferences	Cmd + ,	Ctrl + ,

How Global Shortcuts Work

Cap's keyboard shortcuts are global, meaning they work even when Cap is not the focused application. You can be working in any app, press the shortcut, and Cap will respond. This is especially useful for:

• Starting a recording while already in the app you want to demonstrate
• Stopping a recording without switching away from what you are showing

macOS Accessibility Permission

On macOS, global keyboard shortcuts require Accessibility permission. If shortcuts are not working:

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility.
2. Check that Cap is listed and enabled.
3. If Cap is not listed, click the + button and add it from your Applications folder.
4. Restart Cap after granting the permission.

Windows

On Windows, global shortcuts work out of the box without any additional permissions.

Shortcut Conflicts

If a Cap shortcut conflicts with another application's shortcut, the behavior depends on your operating system and which app has priority. Common conflicts include:

• Screenshot tools - macOS and Windows have built-in screenshot shortcuts that may overlap. If you experience conflicts, you can adjust the other application's shortcuts.
• Other recording software - If you have other screen recording tools installed, their shortcuts may conflict with Cap's.

If you find that a shortcut is not triggering Cap, check whether another application is intercepting it first.

Tips for Using Shortcuts

• Memorize Start/Stop. The most important shortcut is Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + 2 for starting and stopping recordings. This single shortcut handles the most common workflow.

• Pre-configure before recording. Set up your screen selection, camera, and microphone before using the keyboard shortcut to start. The shortcut uses your current configuration.

• Use Pause for cleanup. If you need to handle a notification, check something private, or take a break, use the pause shortcut (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + 3) instead of stopping and starting a new recording.