CheatSheet alternative

CheatSheet is gone. This is what replaced it.

CheatSheet, by Media Atelier, stopped working on macOS Sonoma and was discontinued. Keysi is a new app on the same public API: hold ⌘ to see the frontmost app's shortcuts, and click any row to run it. That part is free, with no time limit. Pro is an optional $14.99. macOS 14 or later.

The part CheatSheet did is free here, permanently. No time limit, no account, no card.

Download for macOS See what $14.99 adds

What actually happened to CheatSheet

Most people assume Apple removed or locked down the accessibility API CheatSheet used. It didn't. AXUIElementCreateApplication and the menu-bar AX attributes are still public, documented, and return correct data on current macOS. I checked against TextEdit, Safari, Finder, Xcode, VS Code, Slack and Figma (the last three are Electron).

Media Atelier's notice said CheatSheet no longer worked with Sonoma, and they discontinued it instead of updating it. The technique still works, which is why Keysi exists.

What you get back, and what's new

The core is the same: hold a modifier, the frontmost app's shortcuts appear grouped by menu, let go and they're gone. Plus:

Every row is clickable. As in CheatSheet, clicking a row runs it. Keysi reads the live menu tree, so it fires that exact menu action.
It warns you when macOS will take a shortcut. Keysi reads the system shortcuts and flags any app shortcut macOS will intercept first, so you're not left wondering why nothing happened.
It can teach, too. Coach mode notices when you pick a menu command with the mouse that has a shortcut, tells you once, and stops once you've learned it. CheatSheet never did this. Keylume, a separate paid app, nudges you in a similar way; Keysi adds Practice drills with spaced repetition, and its cheat sheet stays free with no time limit.

Differences worth knowing before you switch

You can't type to search while holding ⌘. Keysi can see keystrokes but not swallow them, so typing would reach the app underneath. A separate hotkey (⇧⌘K by default) opens the same content in a panel you can search.
Part of Keysi is paid. The cheat sheet, the thing CheatSheet did, is free, with no time limit, account or card. The $14.99 buys Keysi Pro, which is coaching: reminders when you use the mouse for something that has a shortcut, and drills for the ones you keep missing. If you only want CheatSheet back, you never pay.

"Won't this just die the same way?"

Fair question. The API CheatSheet used was never removed, so what broke it wasn't the API going away. Beyond that, a promise on a marketing page is worth nothing. Judge it on the changelog.

Not affiliated with Media Atelier

Keysi shares no code, name or icon with CheatSheet. I used CheatSheet every day and wanted it back, so I built a new app on the same public API.

Try it

Free, no account, no card. If it isn't what you lost, delete it. The overlay never expires. Every install starts with 14 days of Keysi Pro; after that the app drops to the free tier and keeps working. Pro refunds are 30 days, no questions asked.

Download for macOS See how it works