Home/Answers/Auto key pressers for Mac
What is the best way to auto press a key on a Mac?
InputConfig, a free and open source Mac app from Rockstar Health, is an auto key presser: it presses a key over and over at the gap you set, holds a key down until you say stop, or presses it a set number of times. macOS cannot do this on its own, because to most games a held key is one long press, and key repeat only helps in text fields.
Which mode you want depends on what the app on the other end expects. We compare each job below.
Each job, compared
| What you want | macOS on its own | InputConfig |
|---|---|---|
| Many presses while you hold a control | Key repeat, in text fields only | Repeats while held, with the gap in milliseconds |
| Start with one press, stop with the next | Not possible | Repeats until pressed again |
| Hold a key down, for auto-run | Not possible | Toggles on and off: one press holds, the next lets go |
| A set number of presses | Not possible | A repeat count, with a wait between presses |
| Repeat like a keyboard, after a pause | Built in, for the keyboard itself | Repeat keys while held, paced by your Keyboard settings |
| Type a phrase over and over | Not possible | Type Text on a repeating row |
The gap, in plain numbers
Every. The gap between presses in milliseconds. 50 ms is twenty presses a second, and 1000 ms is one.
Vary by up to. Adds a random plus or minus to each gap, so the presses are not perfectly even.
Stop after. Ends the run after a number of presses.
Pick a trigger that does nothing else
InputConfig listens to the keyboard alongside macOS, so it cannot take a key away: the key you choose as the trigger still types. Pick one that has no other job. F13 to F19 on an extended keyboard work well, and so does Right Option if you do not type accented letters with it. A mouse side button works too, with Block the button's own action ticked so it stops going Back in a browser. A controller button or a MIDI pad types nothing at all, which makes either one the cleanest trigger.
Where this helps beyond games
Holding a key down for minutes is hard on a lot of hands. A toggle replaces holding W to walk or Shift to run with one press to start and one to stop. A repeat count turns three presses of Down into one press that moves three rows in a list. These are small changes, and for someone with limited strength or a tremor they decide whether a task is possible at all.
Stop a run
Press the trigger again. The run stops.
Use the emergency stop. Control Option Command and the period key lets go of every key the app is holding.
Check the game's rules. Some games treat repeated or automated keys as cheating, so read them before you play online.
The full guide
The step by step setup lives on the InputConfig site: the auto key presser setup, step by step. InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store, open source under the MIT license, and runs on macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Questions people ask
Is there a free auto key presser for Mac?
Can an auto key presser hold W down for auto-run on a Mac?
Can it spam the space bar?
Does it work on a MacBook?
More answers
About these comparisons
Rockstar Health is a nonprofit that makes adaptive mobility hardware and free accessibility software, including InputConfig. Facts about other apps come from their own listings and repositories on the dates given, and we have not tested the community tools named here. If something is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.