Using Caps Lock as Esc in Mac OS X

Question

How do I make Caps Lock work like Esc in Mac OS X?

Shastashastra

This seems like a standard task for a programmer who uses vim; hence my vote to re-open – Tonsil

An alternative is to map Caps Lock to Control (System Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys) and execute the escape sequence Ctrl + [ for esc. Useful for Vim. – Misappropriate

Native solution that works in macOS Sierra: https://mcmap.net/q/75056/-catch-and-change-keyboard-on-mac-sierra-to-emulate-neo2-keyboard-layout – Client

Native solution that works in macOS Sierra is the second best answer here (from @rkusa) – Atwitter

Related question on Ask Different: How can I remap Caps lock to both Escape and Control? – Bale

I don't quite understand this. If you map esc to caps lock, then how do you enable/disable caps lock if you actually want to type in something all uppercase? And if you're using caps lock for esc, is the caps lock light on until you hit escape a second time? This seems rather kludgy. – Russ

@Russ In almost 40 years I have never used Caps Lock other than by mistake, and only rarely needed long sequences of uppercase for other purposes than obnoxious humor. The light on the Caps Lock key does not light up if you remap it. – Perdue

Answer 1

Edit: As described in this answer, newer versions of MacOS now have native support for rebinding Caps Lock to Escape. Thus it is no longer necessary to install third-party software to achieve this.

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Here's my attempt at a comprehensive, visual walk-through answer (with links) of how to achieve this using Seil (formerly known as PCKeyboardHack).

1. First, go into the System Preferences, choose Keyboard, then the Keyboard Tab (first tab), and click Modifier Keys:

In the popup dialog set Caps Lock Key to No Action:

2) Now, click here to download Seil and install it:

3) After the installation you will have a new Application installed ( Mountain Lion and newer ) and if you are on an older OS you may have to check for a new System Preferences pane:

4) Check the box that says "Change Caps Lock" and enter "53" as the code for the escape key:

And you're done! If it doesn't work immediately, you may need to restart your machine.

Impressed? Want More Control?

You may also want to check out KeyRemap4MacBook which is actually the flagship keyboard remapping tool from pqrs.org - it's also free.

If you like these tools you can make a donation. I have no affiliation with them but I've been using these tools for a long time and have to say the guys over there have been doing an excellent job maintaining these, adding features and fixing bugs.

Here's a screenshot to show a few of the (hundreds of) pre-selectable options:

PQRS also has a great utility called NoEjectDelay that you can use in combination with KeyRemap4MacBook for reprogramming the Eject key. After a little tweaking I have mine set to toggle the AirPort Wifi.

These utilities offer unlimited flexibility when remapping the Mac keyboard. Have fun!

Pomelo

I'd like to clarify that I've been using PCKeyboardHack alone without KeyRemap4Macbook for almost 2 years to do exactly this. – Manus

Note that if you use an external keyboard, you should repeat step one (i.e., caps lock = no action) for each keyboard. I failed to do this step for my external keyboard, and as a result caps lock did not respond to very quick key presses due to accidental caps lock protection. superuser.com/questions/317900/eliminate-macbook-capslock-delay – Tonsil

good point @JeromyAnglim. Previously a PC user, I was at first surprised by this behavior, but then delighted. it is quite nice that one is able to remap different keyboards of the same machine differently! wow! :) – Pomelo

@Pomelo I believe Unix architecture was better designed to be interacted with by multiple users from the start, especially compared to old incarnations of Windows. – Prayerful

Great tutorial. I mapped Caps Lock to Esc for about a year. It was wildly efficient. One day, however, I was pairing with a senior developer. I told him I used Vim as my primary editor. Me too, he said. He opened his machine and we started working. When my turn came to edit the code, I fumbled and tripped all over because his Caps Lock wasn't mapped. I kept trying to go all the way up to Esc, but I'd hit Caps every once and a while and then my normal commands would change. He taught me that Ctrl-c will also drop you back into Visual mode. Do yourself a favor and start using Ctrl-c. – Ratan

(Learning more every day) CTRL-[ is actually the proper equivalent to ESC. #5030664 – Ratan

PCKeyboardHack has been renamed Seil: pqrs.org/macosx/keyremap4macbook/seil.html.en – Forenamed

@CoryKlein - if it is an issue with the Seil the author has always been very quick about releasing updates that work with the latest versions of OS X - actually on the website it mentions that it supports 10.10 already – Pomelo

@Pomelo I have filed an issue on the Seil github repo for this issue. I'm sure it will be resolved soon. – Chalmer

How do I swap the keys? That is, make Esc work as the Capslock? – Katricekatrina

@Ratan So mapping CL to ESC is only viable for those who work in VIM? Are there any other benefits for such remapping for other uses? – Goshorn

Is it possible to keep Caps-Lock working by using a key modifier ? For example Cmd-CapsLock toggles the CapsLock status. – Whiles

@Ratan CTRL-C defeats the purpose. You have to reach for the corner of your keyboard and put your fingers in an awkward position. – Erk

@ErwinRooijakkers that's a fair opinion, but CTRL + (some key) is so common in the many applications I use (tmux, emacs, bash) that I've just become used to it. My goal is to be as comfortable on a server (via ssh), or another person's keyboard as I am on my own. – Ratan

Would be great if you could also edit and mention at the top that this is now a native feature in macOS 10.12.1 per @rkusa's answer so that new users don't have to go download third party software – Loesch

to those confused by the links not working, seil has been deprecated for karabiner elements and the link is here pqrs.org/osx/karabiner – Sigrid

Answer 2

Since macOS 10.12.1 it is possible to remap Caps Lock to Esc natively (Apple > System Settings… > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Modifier Keys in macOS 13, or, before, System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Modifier Keys).

Bisson

Awesome! I found this after hearing the new MBP wouldn't have an escape key. Looks like Apple anticipated some backlash. – Uxmal

Running El Capitan 10.11.6 and this setting is already available. – Harman

Thank god for this; after Sierra broke Seil/Karabiner I thought I was doomed. – Intellectual

Oddly, i'm on 10.11.6 and don't have this option. I'm only allowed to remap esc to caps, ctrl, opt, or command. This is true for my WASD keyboards v2. – Herr

Is there any way to do this via the commandline? Perhaps in a method similar to these? github.com/herrbischoff/awesome-osx-command-line#keyboard – Duncan

This works in most cases, but not e.g. when trying to escape from editing a Facebook comment. There only the original Esc key works. – Decorticate

the thing that sucks about this is not having caps lock anymore. – Perot

also, i really wish they allowed left/right modifier keys to be remapped independently. – Perot

Now i know why Apple can confidentially make the touch bar for the new macbook and remove the Esc button. Goddamn it those smart a$$ !!!! – Gingergingerbread

If I enable this is there anyway to turn on caps lock after the fact? – Sacrilegious

Note that you will have to set this separately for each external/internal keyboard you are using. – Derry

Answer 3

I wasn't happy with any of the answers here, and went looking for a command-line solution.

In macOS Sierra 10.12, Apple introduced a new way for users to remap keys.

• No need to fiddle around with system GUIs
• No special privileges are required
• Completely customisable
• No need to install any 3rd-party crap like PCKeyboardHack / Seil / Karabiner / KeyRemap4MacBook / DoubleCommand / NoEjectDelay

If that sounds good to you, take a look at hidutil.

For example, to remap caps-lock to escape, refer to the key table and find that caps-lock has usage code 0x39 and escape has usage code 0x29. Put these codes or'd with the hex value 0x700000000 in the source and dest like this:

hidutil property --set '{"UserKeyMapping":[{"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x700000039,"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x700000029}]}'

You may add other mappings in the same command. Personally, I like to remap caps-lock to backspace, and remap backspace to delete:

hidutil property --set '{"UserKeyMapping":[{"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x700000039,"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x70000002A}, {"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x70000002A,"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x70000004C}]}'

To see the current mapping:

hidutil property --get "UserKeyMapping"

Your changes will be lost at system reboot. If you want them to persist, configure them in a launch agent. Here's mine:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<!-- Place in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ -->
<!-- launchctl load com.ldaws.CapslockBackspace.plist -->
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.ldaws.CapslockEsc</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
      <string>/usr/bin/hidutil</string>
      <string>property</string>
      <string>--set</string>
      <string>{"UserKeyMapping":[{"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x700000039,"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x70000002A},{"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x70000002A,"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x70000004C}]}</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
  </dict>
</plist>

I've placed this content into a file located at ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.ldaws.CapslockBackspace.plist and then executed:

launchctl load com.ldaws.CapslockBackspace.plist

Priory

+! this is the modern and right way to remap keys on macOS – Mauretania

Karabiner's issue with repeating keys caused me to look for a native solution for key remapping. This post and another in apple.stackexchange.com helped a great deal. – Messmate

Thanks for this, +1! I added some tangential notes to the Apple post which hopefully adds some value to us poor people who don't want an Esc key but not on Caps Lock. – Perdue

Great method for MacBooks that have problems with the built-in keyboard. Mine was causing issues with Keyboard Settings so I could not remap any keys there. – Thirtyeight

I was unable to make this work properly with the LoginHook method -- I guess maybe something after it executes selects my local keyboard settings for a Scandinavian keyboard? Anyhow, https://mcmap.net/q/75057/-launch-shell-script-on-login-in-mac-os-os-x notes that LoginHook is deprecated, and advocates using launchd instead. – Perdue

Per @tripleee's point about LoginHook being outdated, here's a gist to perform the remapping using launchd on user login: gist.github.com/liamdawson/8dba17715c452dad996932291193c353 – Volley

The linked Ask Different post above has a similar hook and some additional notes on how to find a suitable key if you don't want Caps Lock. (I too regret that I have taught my muscle memory to reach for Caps Lock on colleagues' keyboards.) – Perdue

This is also the only way I've found so far to map the Escape Key to toggle Caps Lock. Definitely the best solution. – Markusmarl

Answer 4

The only thing I know how to do is to map Caps Lock to Control, or Option, or Command. This can be done via the Keyboard & Mouse pane of System Preferences. Click on "Modifier Keys" on the bottom left and you'll be able to remap Caps Lock, Control, Option, and Command, to any of those.

@Craig: This suggests that Caps Lock can be used as a normal -- that is, non-toggle -- key. On my MacBook, since I have re-mapped Caps Lock to Control, the Caps Lock light never lights up. It simply acts like the Control key.

Rhoea

pretty pictures here: #163396 – Walburga

Sadly not with Logitech keyboards, so no escape key on CapsLock, no vim == me returning keyboard – Lope

@EnricRibas You have to select the specific keyboard you want to modify from the dropdown at the top of the dialog. – Forbes

Answer 5

It is now much easier to map the Caps Lock key to Esc with macOS Sierra.

1. Open System Preferences → Keyboard.

2. Click the Modifier Keys button in the bottom right-hand corner.

3. Click the drop down box next to the hardware key that you’d like to remap, and select Escape.

4. Click OK and close System Preferences.

https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/25/remap-escape-key-action-macbook-pro-macos-sierra-10-12-1-modifier-keys/

Antilogy

Answer 6

It's possible.

Solution 1

From an arcticle on TrueAffection.net.

• Download PCKeyboardHack and install it.
• Go to PCKeyboardHack in System Preferences.
• Enable ‘Change Caps Lock’ and set the keycode to 53.

Solution 2

This solution doesn't involve patching the keyboard driver, but gives you a Vim specific solution.

OS X supports mapping the Caps Lock key to a whole bunch of keys, but you have to do it 'by hand', editting .plist files. The process is described in this article. As addendum to that hint I suggest you first set Caps-Lock to None in the System Preferences, then you only need to change one value in the .plist file. Also, you can of course use the Property List Editor instead of going through the XML conversion steps.

The trick is to map the Caps Lock key to the Help key (code 6), which isn't on most keyboards. But if it is, it will be treated as the insert key, which you probably don't use anyway, since you ask about remapping your Caps Lock to prevent stretching your hands ;)

You can then map the Help and the Insert key to Esc in vim.

map  <Help> <Esc>
map! <Help> <Esc>
map  <Insert> <Esc>
map! <Insert> <Esc>

This will work for gvim (Vim.app). I didn't get it to work with vim in the Terminal and I haven't tested it with MacVim.

So, it's rather a complicated, half-baked solution or installing a third-party piece of hackery. Your pick ;)

Edit: Just noticed solution 3, if you're using MacVim you can use Ctrl, Option and Command as Esc. With the System Preferences it's trivial to map Caps Lock to one of those keys.

Fipple

Re solution 3: How do you use Ctrl, Option, or Command as Esc in MacVim? I can't find this setting in the preferences. – Retene

You map it in system preferences => keyboard. – Recitative

Where is the hint to which you allude? – Hue

Maletor - theres no where in there to tell macvim to use control as escape – Miscible

@MatthewSchinckel here is one such link: hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20060825072451882 – Easy

broken links in post – Templeton

Someone edited (and people approved) adding button images which does nothing for the post, but could have instead spent their time fixing the broken links :rollseyes: – Sato

Answer 7

Seil isn't yet available on macOS Sierra (10.12 beta). As such, I've been using Keyboard Maestro with these settings:

Credit to this github comment: https://github.com/tekezo/Seil/issues/68#issuecomment-230131664

Celik

I'm using github.com/tekezo/Karabiner-Elements (which works on Sierra). Working great so far, although I wish it did "Control_L to Control_L (+ when you type Control_L only, send Escape)" – Tactless

@Tactless Would you mind sharing the Karabiner JSON config you used? – Humdrum

{ "profiles": [ { "name": "Default profile", "selected": true, "simple_modifications": { "caps_lock": "escape" } } ] } – Tactless

Lots of examples here: github.com/tekezo/Karabiner-Elements/blob/master/usage/… – Tactless

Karabiner did the trick for me with atomkirk's JSON. Despite the screenshot above, the Keyboard Maestro UI is a shambles and I couldn't configure it. – Galoshes

For anyone looking to map multiple keystroke to single key on sierra, here's one way: superuser.com/questions/1142577/… – Teniers

Answer 8

Having tried several of these solutions, I have some notes:

DoubleCommand will not allow you to swap esc and caps-lock.

PCKeyboardHack will allow you to map capslock to escape, but does not have the capability to map escape to capslock. Recent versions will allow you to perform a complete swap by editing both keys.

This may or may not be sufficient for your needs (I know it is for mine).

Hutchinson

PCKeyboardHack does not let you map escape to capslock, but the companion app KeyRemap4MacBook does. It lets you map “Escape to CapsLock” and “Shift+Escape to CapsLock”. – Sybarite

Answer 9

In case you don't want to install a third-party app and you really only care about vim inside iTerm, the following works:

Remap CapsLock to Help as described here.

Short version: use plutil or similar to edit ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/.GlobalPreferences*.plist, it should look similar to this:

<key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst</key>
<integer>6</integer>
<key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc</key>
<integer>0</integer>

Restart! A simple log-out and log-in did not work for me.

In iTerm, add a new key mapping for Help: send hex code 0x1b, which corresponds to Escape.

I know this is not exactly what was asked for, but I assume the intent of many people looking for a solution like this is actually this more specialized variant.

Beatabeaten

Answer 10

With the latest Ventura update, System Settings changed.

You will find it on

System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Modifier Keys

Marilee

This doesn't distinguish between left and right buttons – Angilaangina

Answer 11

Open up Keyboard preferences and click modifier keys... you can change the caps lock key to control, option, escape, or command.

Bernal

None of which are "Esc", which the poster asked about. Likely for Vim usage. – Finalist

@RafiJacoby What's the difference between Esc and Escape? (serious question) – Bromeosin

Answer 12

In order to actually swap the escape key with the caps lock key (not just map one to the other) using both PCKeyboardHack and KeyRemap4MacBook, you have to follow the instructions in this thread, mapping the caps lock key to a keycode not used by the keyboard but accounted for by KeyRemap4MacBook (eg. 110). Then, in PCKeyboardHack, select the appropriate option that maps that keycode to escape (in the case of 110, it's "Application Key to Escape"). Here's what your KeyRemap4MacBook preferences should look like (provided you've selected the "show enabled only" checkbox).

I originally attempted to post this information as an edit to cwd's excellent answer, but it was rejected. I encourage anyone who wants to go the route that I describe to first read his/her response.

Messmate

Answer 13

Seil doesn't work on macOS Sierra yet, so I'm using Karabiner Elements, download from https://pqrs.org/latest/karabiner-elements-latest.dmg.

Either use the GUI or put the following into ~/.karabiner.d/configuration/karabiner.json:

{
  "profiles" : [
    {
      "name" : "Default profile",
      "selected" : true,
      "simple_modifications" : {
        "caps_lock" : "escape"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Dash

Note that Karabiner elements breaks the touchbar and fn key – Whiles

Answer 14

You can also use DoubleCommand to remap this, and other keys.

IIRC, it will map Caps Lock to Esc.

Hue

Actually, I had to write a patch to do this. It was for an older version, but I am still using it now: sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=65339&atid=510607 – Hue

Answer 15

Karabiner-Elements A powerful and stable keyboard customizer for macOS. (freeware)

https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/index.html

Worked for me for Mojave to change caps-lock to backspace

Famulus