Mac Key Repeat Tester

Use this interactive online tool to dial in your macOS key repeat by feel. Test speeds faster than System Settings allows, then copy the defaults write commands.

Try it: mac-key-repeat.zaymon.dev

What it does and why

System Settings caps key repeat at 30 ms with a shortest delay of 225 ms. The defaults write command can go faster, but changes only apply after you log out or restart, so finding the right values by trial and error means restarting again and again. This tool simulates key repeat in the browser so you can find timings that feel right first, then apply them with one restart.

Commands

Run these in Terminal with the values you picked (shown here with the tool's starting values), then log out and back in, or restart:

defaults write -g InitialKeyRepeat -int 12   # delay before repeating starts (180 ms)
defaults write -g KeyRepeat -int 2           # interval between repeats (30 ms)

# Optional: make letter keys repeat instead of showing the accent picker
defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false

Values

Both settings are whole numbers where each unit is 15 ms.

Value	Milliseconds	KeyRepeat	InitialKeyRepeat
1	15 ms	Terminal only	Terminal only
2	30 ms	System Settings minimum	Terminal only
3	45 ms		Terminal only
4	60 ms		Terminal only
5	75 ms		Terminal only
6	90 ms		Terminal only
7	105 ms		Terminal only
8	120 ms		Terminal only
9	135 ms		Terminal only
10	150 ms		Terminal only
11	165 ms		Terminal only
12	180 ms		Terminal only
13	195 ms		Terminal only
14	210 ms		Terminal only
15	225 ms		System Settings minimum
16	240 ms
17	255 ms
18	270 ms
19	285 ms
20	300 ms

Revert

Restore the macOS defaults, then log out or restart:

defaults delete -g KeyRepeat
defaults delete -g InitialKeyRepeat
defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool true

Development

This is a Next.js project. Run the development server:

npm run dev
# or
yarn dev

Open http://localhost:3000 with your browser to see the result.

Contributing

We appreciate your feedback, suggestions, and contributions to make this project even better! If you encounter any issues or have ideas for improvements, please don't hesitate to submit an Issue. Pull requests are welcome!