One keystroke, and it is already there.
⌥Space drops Meta AI over whatever you are doing, from any app. It is the single habit that decides whether the desktop app earns its place and the single thing most likely to appear broken, because half the Mac launcher market wants those same two keys.
Independent guide not affiliated with Meta. Meta publishes no official shortcut list for the beta; this is what version 1.0 responds to on our Macs.
Quick Invoke, and why it is not the main window
Two different front doors, and using the wrong one for the job is why some people find the app fiddly. Quick Invoke is for a question you want answered without leaving anything.
It floats above everything
No app switch, no window to arrange. The document you were in keeps its place, and the overlay disappears when you are done.
Esc makes it vanish
Or click outside it. Nothing is lost the conversation is in your history if you want to pick it up in the main window later.
The main window is for longer work
Sidebar, full history, room to read. Open it from the Dock when you know the question will take more than one exchange. How the window works.
The app must be running
A global shortcut needs something to catch it. If you quit Meta AI, ⌥Space does nothing until you open it again. Launch habits.
Every shortcut worth knowing
One global shortcut, and a set of standard Mac conventions the app honours inside its own window. Nothing exotic to memorise.
| Shortcut | What it does | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| ⌥Space | Opens Quick Invoke over the app you are in | The only global one. Works from anywhere while the app is running and the one that gets claimed. |
| Esc | Dismisses Quick Invoke | Focus returns to what you were doing. Clicking outside does the same. |
| ↩ | Sends the message | The habit to build. Sending is the default action in the composer. |
| ⇧↩ | New line without sending | For multi-paragraph prompts pasting long text works too. |
| ⌘N | Starts a new conversation | Better than continuing an unrelated thread context from the old topic muddies answers. |
| ⌘, | Opens settings | Where the shortcut itself, launch at login and the dictation language live. |
| ⌘W | Closes the window | Does not quit the app. It keeps running in the menu bar, which is usually what you want. |
| ⌘Q | Quits Meta AI completely | The one that matters after granting a permission macOS only hands those out at launch. Why. |
| ⌘Space | Spotlight type “Meta AI”, press ↩ | macOS, not Meta. A reliable fallback while ⌥Space is contested. |
Meta has not published a shortcut reference for the 1.0 beta, and the in-app ones follow ordinary macOS conventions rather than anything custom. If a combination here does nothing on your Mac, check for a conflict before assuming it does not exist.
When ⌥ Space does nothing at all
macOS hands a global shortcut to whichever app registered it first, and then stays quiet about it. No error, no warning, no hint that two apps wanted the same keys just a keypress that seems to vanish.
Raycast, Alfred and most Spotlight replacements default to Option-Space or offer it prominently. If you run one of those, this is your answer, and the Meta AI app is working perfectly.
Diagnosing it takes ten seconds: quit the other launcher and press the keys again. If Meta AI appears, you have found your culprit. Then decide which app deserves the prime real estate the one you reach for twenty times a day and move the other to something else.
Reassigning on the Meta AI side is done in settings (⌘,). Whichever you change, the new combination takes effect immediately, but it is worth restarting the app if the old one keeps answering.
Confirm the app is running
Look for the menu bar icon. A global shortcut cannot reach an app that is not open start there before blaming anything else.
Quit your other launcher
Raycast, Alfred, or whatever owns your command bar. Then press ⌥Space again.
If Meta AI appears, you found it
Now choose: move the launcher, or move Meta AI. There is no way for both to keep the same keys.
Reassign in settings
⌘, in the main window. Pick something unclaimed candidates below.
Restart the app
⌘Q and reopen if the old combination still answers, or the new one does not.
Still nothing?
Then it is not a conflict. Work through the general checklist the app may not be running at all.
Which replacement keys to choose
A good global shortcut is reachable with one hand, hard to hit by accident, and not already spoken for. These are the usual candidates, with who tends to own them.
| Combination | Verdict | Who usually has it |
|---|---|---|
| ⌥Space | The default, and the best of them if it is free | Raycast and Alfred both like it the most contested combination on macOS. |
| ⌃Space | Excellent alternative, same thumb reach | Sometimes an input-source switcher; easy to reclaim in Keyboard settings. |
| ⌘⇧Space | Safe and rarely claimed | Occasionally a screenshot or clipboard tool. Three keys, slightly slower. |
| ⌥A | Fine, if you can remember it | Usually free. Letter-based shortcuts are less muscle-memory-friendly than Space. |
| ⌘Space | Do not leave it alone | Spotlight. Taking it breaks the one shortcut every Mac user already knows. |
| F5 / function keys | Works, but reaches across the keyboard | Often dictation or media controls. Fine on a desktop keyboard, awkward on a laptop. |
Whatever you choose, give it a week before deciding it is wrong the value of a global shortcut is entirely in the muscle memory, and a combination you have to think about will not get used. How the app fits into a day.
Four ways to get to it, ranked
The shortcut is the point, but it only works when the app is already running. These are the other doors, in the order they are worth reaching for.
1. The shortcut
⌥Space from anywhere. Nothing else comes close once the habit forms under a second from thought to question.
2. The menu bar icon
Top-right, next to the clock. Same compact window, plus a route into settings. Useful while a shortcut conflict is unresolved.
3. Spotlight
⌘Space, type a few letters, ↩. Works even when Meta AI is not running, which the global shortcut cannot.
4. The Dock
Opens the full window with your history. The right choice when you know the question needs room, rather than a quick answer.
One setting is worth changing if you use it daily: launch at login, in settings under your avatar. A global shortcut that does nothing because the app is closed trains you out of pressing it, which is exactly how a useful tool becomes a forgotten icon. Conversely, if you only reach for Meta AI occasionally, leave it off and use Spotlight no point keeping something resident for twice-a-week use.
The menu bar icon can also be hidden if you prefer a clean bar; the shortcut and the Dock icon keep working without it. Both of those settings sit alongside the shortcut itself, so it is worth a single visit to ⌘, to set all three at once.
Shortcut questions
What is the Meta AI keyboard shortcut on Mac?
⌥Space Option and Space together opens Quick Invoke over whatever you are doing. It is the only global shortcut the app has, and the rest are ordinary Mac conventions inside its window. The full list.
Why does Option-Space do nothing?
Another app claimed it first Raycast, Alfred and several Spotlight replacements default to the same keys, and macOS gives the shortcut to whichever registered it first without telling anyone. How to confirm and fix it.
Can I change the shortcut?
Yes, in settings ⌘, in the main window, behind your avatar. ⌃Space and ⌘⇧Space are the safest replacements. Candidates compared.
Does the shortcut work if the app is closed?
No. Something has to be running to catch the keypress. If you use Meta AI daily, turn on launch at login; if you use it rarely, open it from Spotlight instead. Launch habits.
How do I close Quick Invoke?
Esc, or click anywhere outside it. Focus goes back to the app you were in, and the conversation stays in your history.
What is the difference between ⌘ W and ⌘ Q?
⌘W closes the window and leaves the app running in the menu bar. ⌘Q quits it entirely which is what you need after granting a macOS permission, because those are only applied at launch. More on that.
Is there a shortcut for dictation or window sharing?
Both are started from buttons in the composer in the 1.0 beta rather than from dedicated global keys. Dictation · Window sharing.
Can I use Option-Space for Meta AI and keep Raycast?
Not on the same combination one of the two has to move. Most people keep whichever they open more often on ⌥Space and give the other ⌃Space.
Do the shortcuts work in the browser version?
No global one does. A web page cannot register a system-wide shortcut, which is one of the three things the Mac app adds. App vs browser.
Does Meta publish an official shortcut list?
Not for the 1.0 beta. The table on this page is what the app responds to in our testing; if a release changes something, the in-app menus are the authority.
Train the thumb, keep the app.
Everything else about the desktop version is a bonus. If ⌥Space becomes reflex, it stays installed; if it does not, it will not.
Independent guide not affiliated with Meta. Meta publishes no shortcut reference for the beta; the in-app menus are always the final word.