Zap

Zap is a native macOS utility for opening and switching to apps with global keyboard shortcuts.

It is built for people who keep their most-used apps in the Dock and want to reach them without moving their hands away from the keyboard. Zap can automatically map Dock apps to number shortcuts, and it also supports manually registered app shortcuts for anything that does not fit the Dock-based workflow.

Screenshots

What Zap does

Zap gives you two ways to launch or focus apps.

Automatic mode

Automatic mode reads the apps pinned to your macOS Dock and maps the first nine apps to number keys.

For example, if the Dock shortcut modifier is set to ⌥:

• ⌥1 opens or focuses the first pinned Dock app.
• ⌥2 opens or focuses the second pinned Dock app.
• The mapping continues through ⌥9.

You can choose the modifier keys used with the number shortcuts from Settings. Zap supports ⌘, ⌃, ⌥, and ⇧ combinations.

Manual mode

Manual mode lets you add apps directly and assign custom global shortcuts to them.

This is useful when:

• an app is not pinned to your Dock;
• you want a more memorable shortcut for a specific app;
• you want a shortcut that is separate from the automatic Dock order.

Manual shortcuts can be enabled, disabled, re-recorded, or removed at any time.

Finder shortcut

Zap includes an optional Finder shortcut.

When enabled, ⌥ plus the physical ₩ / ` key opens Finder using behavior similar to clicking Finder in the Dock. The displayed key follows your current input source:

• English input source: `
• Korean input source: ₩

The shortcut is based on the physical key, so it continues to work across Korean and English input states.

Menu bar and Dock behavior

By default, Zap runs as a menu bar app.

If you hide the menu bar icon, Zap switches to a regular Dock app so Settings is still reachable. Clicking the Dock icon opens the Settings window.

Settings

Zap has two main Settings modes.

Automatic

Use Automatic mode to:

• configure Dock app number shortcuts;
• enable or disable the Finder shortcut;
• refresh the Dock app list;
• review the current Dock app mapping.

Manual

Use Manual mode to:

• add an app shortcut;
• record a custom shortcut;
• enable or disable a shortcut;
• remove shortcuts you no longer need.

Automatic and Manual shortcuts can be used together. If a shortcut conflicts with another registered shortcut, Zap shows a registration error.

Privacy

Zap runs locally on your Mac.

It does not use a server, does not collect analytics, and does not send your app list or shortcut settings anywhere. App and shortcut settings are stored locally with UserDefaults.

Build and run

Requirements:

• macOS 13 or later
• Swift 5.10 or later
• Xcode Command Line Tools

Run tests:

swift test

Build and run the development app:

make dev-run

Build, sign, and verify the development app:

make dev-verify

Build, sign, and verify the production app:

make prod-verify

Install the production app to /Applications:

make prod-install

The development app bundle is created at /tmp/zap-bundles/dev/Zap dev.app. The production app bundle is created at /tmp/zap-bundles/prod/Zap.app.

Sparkle updates and release flow

Zap uses Sparkle 2.9.2 for automatic updates. Update archives referenced by the appcast are verified with Sparkle EdDSA signatures, while local app builds use a self-signed macOS code signing identity named zap.

Development and production builds use CODESIGN_IDENTITY ?= zap by default. Release-oriented targets inherit this through RELEASE_CODESIGN_IDENTITY ?= $(CODESIGN_IDENTITY).

Sparkle automatic checks are enabled, automatic installs are disabled, and Zap does not set SUUpdateCheckInterval. Sparkle therefore uses its default automatic check interval of once per day.

One-time local setup

Create the local self-signed signing certificate:

make create-local-certificate

Generate the Sparkle EdDSA key in Keychain:

make generate-eddsa-key

Because of Sparkle's official tool behavior, the private key is stored in Keychain using Sparkle's fixed label and service. Zap only customizes the Sparkle account name:

• label: Private key for signing Sparkle updates
• service: https://sparkle-project.org
• account: com.woosublee.Zap.sparkle.ed25519

The Sparkle EdDSA private key is not stored in this repository.

Verification

Check that the local signing certificate exists:

make check-local-certificate

Check that the Sparkle EdDSA private key exists in Keychain and matches the SUPublicEDKey committed in Info.plist:

make check-eddsa-key

The matching public key is configured in the app's Info.plist as SUPublicEDKey:

AHxDbDyUOqSlujzhZxsiHr89OwuBOgBiacMlFdCHTHs=

SUFeedURL points to the latest GitHub Release appcast asset:

https://github.com/woosublee/zap/releases/latest/download/appcast.xml

Generate release archive and appcast

Generate the Sparkle archive and appcast for a tagged release:

make appcast VERSION=0.1.3 BUILD_NUMBER=4 BUILD_TAG=v0.1.3

This creates ignored release artifacts:

• dist/Zap-0.1.3.zip
• dist/Zap-0.1.3.dmg
• dist/appcast.xml

Upload all three files to the GitHub Release matching v0.1.3. Sparkle reads appcast.xml from the latest GitHub Release asset URL configured in SUFeedURL; no GitHub Pages publishing is required.

Notes

• Dock shortcuts depend on the current pinned Dock app order.
• Global shortcuts may conflict with shortcuts registered by macOS or other apps.
• Manual shortcuts are local to the current macOS user account.
• Zap is currently distributed as a locally built macOS app bundle.