Hot corners on Mac: set up the one corner that earns its place
Set up hot corners in System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Hot Corners. Pick an action for a corner, such as Desktop, Lock Screen, Notification Center or Quick Note, then click Done. Hold Command, Option, Control or Shift while you pick, and that corner only fires with the key held down. One corner is usually enough.
By Rick van den Broek- Updated
- macOS 27 Golden Gate
- 3 min read
Other ways
- Open the pane from RaycastCommand+SpaceHot Corners
- Hold while picking an action: the corner then needs itCommand
- Mission Control without a cornerSwipe up with three fingers
- Desktop without a cornerSpread your thumb and three fingers apart
Hot corners are the most underrated setting on a Mac and the easiest one to overdo. Four corners, a dozen actions, and suddenly every stray flick of the pointer opens something.
The rule: a corner has to earn its place. Most don’t.
How to set them up
Open the settings pane:
System SettingsDesktop & DockHot CornersThe Hot Corners button sits near the bottom of Desktop & Dock. Click it and you get four pop-up menus, one per corner. Pick an action, or a dash for nothing, then click Done.
On macOS Monterey 12 or earlier, the same button lives in System Preferences under Mission Control.
💡 Tip: From Raycast, the pane name is enough:
Command+SpaceHot CornersThe one corner we keep
The Setup Kit uses exactly one: bottom-left, set to Desktop.
The reason is files. With your app filling the screen, the Desktop sits underneath it. Take a screenshot, flick into the corner, and the windows slide aside. Grab the screenshot, flick back into the corner while you’re still holding it, and drop it into its folder.
No other way of showing the desktop works mid-drag, because your hand is busy holding the file. That’s what makes this corner worth having. The keyboard and trackpad versions are in show desktop on Mac.
Which actions deserve a corner
| Action | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Desktop | Yes. The one corner that does something no shortcut can: work while you drag. |
| Lock Screen | Yes, with a modifier key. Without one, you lock yourself out mid-sentence. |
| Quick Note | Apple’s default for the bottom-right. Keep it only if you actually use Quick Note. |
| Mission Control | Skip it. Swiping up with three fingers is faster and never fires by accident. |
| Notification Center | Skip it. Notifications should reach you less often, not one flick away. |
| Apps | Skip it. Your launcher opens any app faster with Command+Space. |
“Apps” is the newer name for what used to be Launchpad. Since macOS Tahoe 26, the corner opens the apps view in Spotlight.
Mission Control on a trackpad gesture instead of a corner:
System SettingsTrackpadMore GesturesMission ControlAdd a modifier key so corners never fire by accident
This is the trick almost nobody knows.
While a corner’s pop-up menu is open, press and hold Command, Option, Control or Shift, or a combination, then choose the action. The menu item now shows the modifier, and the corner only fires while you hold that key.
Put Lock Screen behind Command and you get a lock you can throw the pointer at, which never triggers while you’re just moving the mouse. The keyboard way to lock is in the Mac lock screen shortcut.
One corner, then stop
Every corner you add is one more place the pointer can’t rest. Corners near the menu bar get hit while you aim for menus. Corners near the Dock get hit while you aim for apps.
Start with bottom-left on Desktop. Live with it for a week. Add a second corner only when you catch yourself wanting it, and put a modifier on it.
Four corners are available. One is enough.
Keep going
Keep the cheat sheet one click away
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