I religiously scour the Mac user forums and communities to find the latest tools and utilities, especially those in the realm of open-source software. Apps like Maccy and Swift have become a part of my daily routine, as they fill a gap that Apple is yet to address.
But every once in a while, I come across a hidden macOS feature that I have missed out on, alongside a healthy bunch of other users out there. Hot Corners is one of those obscure tools that most people have rarely ever used, but it can save you a few clicks and make use of a screen space that forever remains unused.
What are Hot corners?
As the name makes it abundantly clear, you can turn the screen corners into actionable areas. For example, with a click in the lower left corner, you can directly lock the screen, open Mission Control, or launch a quick note.
Apple lets you pick from ten shortcuts that can be assigned across the four corners of your Mac’s screen. You also have the flexibility to assign a modifier key. For example, you can either go with the Control or Option key as the trigger, and leave the Command button for other core system activities.
The setup process is fairly straightforward, and you just need to follow this path: Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners. It’s a lovely idea, but one that doesn’t offer much flexibility.
Apple only lets you pick between ten actions for Hot Corners by default, and there is no option to add a custom app, utility, or even a shortcut. Thankfully, the functional gulf left by Apple has been fulfilled by a fantastic open-source app.
What is SuperCorners?
Fittingly named SuperCorners, this free and open-source app adds a heck ton of flexibility to the built-in Hot Corners system in macOS, without overriding it. The app’s UI is a lot more fleshed out and easier to navigate, even for a first-time user, compared to how the system is implemented at a native level in macOS.
You get preset buttons in the Corners section of the app. All you need to do is click on any of the corners and pick from a scrolling list of actions. The app lets you pick from over 80 actions. From basic tasks like locking the screen and opening Launchpad to taking a partial screenshot and running a network speed test, the choices on offer are surface-level as well as granular.
Some of the options on the table will even have you skip native shortcuts, or seem to have been inspired by power apps such as RayCast or Alfred. My favorite is opening a specific website with a simple click in the upper left corner of the screen.
I have assigned this one to opening my news feed each morning for the Science journal. For the lower left corner, I have designated it for writing a new email in the Apple app. My daily workflow entails writing at least half a dozen emails each day, so this one definitely comes in handy.
On a similar note, the corresponding corner on the opposite edge of the screen has been assigned to creating a fresh calendar entry. Now, I don’t want to get over-ambitious, but if you are someone who swears by Apple Shortcuts, you can dedicate one – or all four corners – to launching a specific Shortcut.
Outcornering the mighty Apple
The best part about SuperCorners is that it goes beyond, well, corners. Just like corners, it follows a system of zones. To put it more accurately, these are the midpoints aligned with both the horizontal and vertical edges of the screen. In a nutshell, if you are running out of corners, you have mid-zones to go with them.
It may get a tad confusing when you set up these shortcuts for the first time. Taking the most obviously convenient route, I tried to pick actions that I would usually reach for with the cursor or my fingertips on the keyboard deck.
So, if I need to unlock the screen by reaching for the power button in the top-right corner of the keyboard deck, I assign the closest screen corner to the desktop lock shortcut. Likewise, for the app launchpad, I pick the zone closest to the dock, which is the lower edge of the screen.
When I need to record the on-screen activity, the top-center zone is the ideal place, as it’s close to the front camera. Your mileage might vary, depending on the kind of tools and utilities that are a part of your daily workflow.
The app also has a dedicated section called Actions, where all the quick commands tied to corners or zones can be checked out in a unified dashboard. Here, they are categorized across actions linked to the Finder, app activity, media playback, content capture, window management, and more.
I would, however, like to point out that this app won’t take your productivity to the next level overnight. It grows on you slowly, and as you get a hang of what each corner and edge zone does through muscle memory, you will feel the small gains in speed. And hopefully, some productive joy!
Another lovely aspect of the Supercorners is that it lives in the menu bar, which means you don’t have to launch the app each time you forget what a corner or zone is supposed to do. You can also choose to open the app’s main Settings page or quit it straight from the Menu bar.
What I am most hopeful about is that the app is an open-source initiative, which means it will only grow and add more capabilities with feedback from users as well as contributors willing to build on it. And with Apple opening access to its Foundations Models framework for developers, I am hoping SuperCorners will bring some on-device AI capabilities into the mix, as well.
