# Hyper key (/features/hyper-key)



Hold **Caps Lock** and Lumi stamps a modifier set — any combination of Control,
Shift, Command and Option — onto whatever you press next. It turns one of the
largest, least-used keys on the keyboard into a modifier nothing else on the
system claims, so combinations built on it never collide with an application's
own shortcuts.

It is **on by default**, because it is the reason the app exists, and quitting
Lumi always puts Caps Lock back to normal.

Needs the [Accessibility permission](/get-started/permissions) — it reads Caps
Lock and synthesises the modifiers.

<Screenshot name="hyper-pane" alt="The Hyper pane" />

## The modifier set [#the-modifier-set]

Pick any of ⇧ ⌃ ⌥ ⌘ in the Hyper pane. The default is &#x2A;*⌃⌥⌘** — Control,
Option and Command, no Shift.

Three reasons for that particular three:

* Together they are a modifier combination almost no application binds on its
  own, so `Caps Lock` + a letter is a private namespace.
* Leaving Shift out keeps Shift available *on top of* the Hyper set, so
  `Caps Lock` + <kbd>⇧</kbd> + a key is still a distinct combination you can
  bind.
* It is the chord Lumi's own hidden gestures use, so the muscle memory carries.

Whatever set you choose, a Hyper combination is bound in the
[Shortcuts](/features/shortcuts) pane like any other: record the trigger by
holding Caps Lock and pressing the key.

## Tapping Caps Lock [#tapping-caps-lock]

A hold is the Hyper key. A **tap** — pressed and released with nothing else — is
a separate choice:

| Choice                                             | What a tap does                                                                  |
| -------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Turn capitals on and off*&#x2A; &#x2A;(default)* | Caps Lock, the way the key is labelled. Gives back what remapping the hold took. |
| **Press Escape**                                   | Suits a keyboard where Caps Lock sits where Control used to.                     |
| **Nothing**                                        | Hold-only. A tap is inert.                                                       |

## Fn as a modifier [#fn-as-a-modifier]

The Hyper pane carries a second switch that has nothing to do with Caps Lock:
**Fn as a modifier**. With it on, holding the **Globe** key with a letter, a
digit or a punctuation key is a combination you can bind in
[Shortcuts](/features/shortcuts).

It is worth having for the same reason the Hyper key is: nothing is typed with
Fn held — `Fn`+`K` produces a plain `k` — so claiming the combination takes
nothing away from anything else.

Two limits, and both are macOS's rather than Lumi's:

* **Only Apple keyboards send Fn to macOS.** Most third-party boards keep the
  key to themselves, so nothing arrives to match against.
* **The function row and the navigation cluster are out.** `F1`–`F20`, the
  arrows, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Delete, Insert and Help all mean
  something to macOS *before* Lumi can see them, so binding one would stop
  working without warning. The sheet refuses those and says so; letters, digits
  and punctuation are fine.

macOS never registers an Fn combination for an application, so Lumi matches
these itself on the way past. That is why **Test** is greyed out for one —
there is no OS claim to make, so nothing another app could be holding.

### When no Fn shortcut fires [#when-no-fn-shortcut-fires]

Two settings outside Lumi can silence the whole feature, and the pane says so
when it finds them:

* **The Globe key is remapped.** Then Lumi never sees it. Put it back under
  **System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts… → Modifier Keys**.
* **The Globe key does something on its own** — changes the input source, opens
  the emoji picker, or starts dictation. Holding it with another key is
  unaffected, so your shortcuts still work; if the solo press is in the way, set
  it to **Do Nothing** under **System Settings → Keyboard**.

Like everything that reads the keyboard, this needs the
[Accessibility permission](/get-started/permissions).

## Getting the plain Caps Lock back [#getting-the-plain-caps-lock-back]

Two ways, depending on how complete you want the reversal:

* **Leave the tap on "Turn capitals on and off."** The hold is Hyper, a tap is
  still Caps Lock. This is the default and covers most people.
* **Turn the Hyper key off** in the Hyper pane. Caps Lock is entirely itself
  again.
* **Quit Lumi.** Caps Lock is restored on every quit, so nothing you do here is
  one-way.

macOS's own **System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts… → Modifier Keys**
remapping is separate from Lumi and unaffected either way.