On M1 and M2 MacBooks, pressing the F4 key launches Spotlight search. If you’d rather have it open Launchpad — the full-screen grid of all your apps — you’re in for a small surprise: macOS doesn’t offer a straightforward way to rebind that hardware key. But there are two workable approaches, and it’s important to understand what each one actually changes.
Let’s walk through both methods, starting with the easy one.
First, an honest caveat about what can and can’t be remapped
The F4 key on Apple’s keyboards is a special-function key with behavior wired at a low level. The Keyboard Shortcuts panel in System Settings can reassign the software shortcut for Spotlight and Launchpad — but it cannot rewire what the physical F4 key itself does. Keep that distinction in mind as you choose a method below. Apple’s Mac User Guide documents the available keyboard customization options, and 9to5Mac has covered the quirks of function-key behavior on Apple silicon Macs.
Method 1: Reassign the shortcuts in System Settings (easy)
- Open System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts.
- Select Mission Control in the sidebar.
- Find the Spotlight-related shortcut currently tied to F4 and disable or reassign it so F4 is no longer claimed by Spotlight.
- Enable “Show Launchpad” and assign it a custom key combination you’ll remember.
- Close Settings. Your chosen combo now opens Launchpad, though the physical F4 key’s built-in behavior is unchanged.
This method is quick, reversible, and survives updates — but it does not literally turn the F4 key into a Launchpad key. If that’s what you want, read on.
Method 2: Remap at the hardware level with hidutil (advanced)
macOS includes a low-level tool called hidutil that can remap keys by their USB usage-page codes, applied through a LaunchAgent property list in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ so the mapping loads at every login and survives reboots. In principle, you create a plist (for example, com.local.KeyRemapping.plist) that runs hidutil property --set with a UserKeyMapping dictionary pairing the F4 key’s source code to the Launchpad key’s destination code, with RunAtLoad set to true — then restart your Mac.
A word of caution: this method depends on the exact numeric usage codes for the Spotlight and Launchpad functions, which vary and are easy to get wrong. Publishing or pasting incorrect codes can leave keys misbehaving. Unless you can confirm the correct codes from a trusted, up-to-date source for your exact macOS version, stick with Method 1. If you do proceed, back up the plist path first and keep a second admin account or SSH access handy in case a bad mapping locks you out of normal input.
If it still doesn’t work
If your custom shortcut doesn’t trigger Launchpad, check for conflicts — another app may already claim that combination. If you tried the hidutil route and keys behave oddly after a restart, delete the LaunchAgent plist from ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ and reboot to restore defaults. For quicker ways to reach your apps without any remapping, see our guides on quickly opening the installed apps list in macOS 26 and enabling face lighting during video calls on Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make the physical F4 key itself open Launchpad?
Not through System Settings alone — the GUI only reassigns software shortcuts. A hardware-level remap via hidutil and a LaunchAgent is the only route, and it requires the correct usage codes.
Will the remap survive macOS updates?
A LaunchAgent in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ with RunAtLoad persists across reboots and most updates. The System Settings shortcut method is unaffected by updates entirely.
The bottom line
For most people, reassigning shortcuts in System Settings is the sane answer — fast, safe, and reversible. Reserve the hidutil LaunchAgent approach for when you truly need the physical F4 key itself to behave differently, and only with verified key codes in hand.
