# Key bindings not working

**URL:** <https://community.capoapp.com/t/key-bindings-not-working/366>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [July 31, 2026, 5:49am UTC](https://community.capoapp.com/t/key-bindings-not-working/366 "2026-07-31T05:49:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Pierre-Marie\_Delvern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@Pierre-Marie\_Delvern](https://community.capoapp.com/u/Pierre-Marie_Delvern)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 5:49am UTC](https://community.capoapp.com/t/key-bindings-not-working/366/1 "2026-07-31T05:49:40Z")

</div>

Hi

I have some trouble with key bindings. It doesn’t seem to work.

I created a keybinding with spacebar to toggle play/pause. But nothing happens.

I have the system bip when I press the key.

I’ve tried this command in the terminal : sudo log stream --debug --predicate ‘subsystem==“com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl”’

and I get this:

```auto
Timestamp Thread Type Activity PID TTL
2026-07-31 07:44:00.637381+0200 0x6801b Debug 0x0 8055 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) \[com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher\] No commands for message: 
2026-07-31 07:44:00.768479+0200 0x6801b Debug 0x0 8055 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) \[com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher\] No commands for message: 
2026-07-31 07:44:01.395654+0200 0x6801b Debug 0x0 8055 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) \[com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher\] No commands for message: 
2026-07-31 07:44:01.545421+0200 0x6801b Debug 0x0 8055 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) \[com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher\] No commands for message: 
2026-07-31 07:44:01.742596+0200 0x6801b Debug 0x0 8055 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) \[com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher\] No commands for message: 
2026-07-31 07:44:01.860889+0200 0x6801b Debug 0x0 8055 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) \[com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher\] No commands for message: 
2026-07-31 07:44:01.996429+0200 0x6801b Debug 0x0 8055 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) \[com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher\] No commands for message: 
2026-07-31 07:44:02.103149+0200 0x6801b Debug 0x0 8055 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) \[com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher\] No commands for message: 

```

thanks for your help

pm

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![liscio](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex007/user_avatar/community.capoapp.com/liscio/32/3_2.png) [@liscio](https://community.capoapp.com/u/liscio)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://community.capoapp.com/t/key-bindings-not-working/366/2 "2026-07-31T13:02:07Z")

</div>

Pierre-Marie,

Three things:

1. Can you check if any of the other default keystrokes work? For example, the `M` key should place a marker, and the `K` key should place a chord.
2. If you create your own keystroke for another key (like `W` or `Q`), does that one work okay?
3. When you ran the terminal command, did you start the log before you launched Capo, or was Capo already running?

Thanks!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Pierre-Marie\_Delvern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@Pierre-Marie\_Delvern](https://community.capoapp.com/u/Pierre-Marie_Delvern)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://community.capoapp.com/t/key-bindings-not-working/366/3 "2026-07-31T13:25:14Z")

</div>

1 - K, M doesn’t work. But Ctrl+Cmd+L works or Cmd+[

2 - No, it doesn’t work (I also noticed that keyboard bindings are not saved if I quit the app)

3 - can’t remember, but I can retest both way

with the app already open:

```auto
> `Timestamp Thread Type Activity PID TTL`
> `2026-07-31 15:22:01.727528+0200 0xc522e Debug 0x0 11682 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:22:01.861392+0200 0xc522e Debug 0x0 11682 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:22:02.431515+0200 0xc522e Debug 0x0 11682 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:22:02.596455+0200 0xc522e Debug 0x0 11682 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:22:02.926696+0200 0xc522e Debug 0x0 11682 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:22:03.031625+0200 0xc522e Debug 0x0 11682 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:22:03.241163+0200 0xc522e Debug 0x0 11682 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:22:03.376459+0200 0xc522e Debug 0x0 11682 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message:` 

```

with Capo launched after:

```auto
> `Timestamp Thread Type Activity PID TTL`
> `2026-07-31 15:24:37.071070+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoKeyboardMessageDispatcher] Installing keyboard event monitor`
> `2026-07-31 15:24:37.140215+0200 0xc7512 Info 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:First-Time Initialization] Performing first-time initialization`
> `2026-07-31 15:24:37.140256+0200 0xc7512 Info 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:First-Time Initialization] Migration needed. Performing migration.`
> `2026-07-31 15:24:37.144820+0200 0xc74d7 Error 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] Failed to execute first-time initialization. Error Domain=Parsing.PrintingError Code=1`
> `2026-07-31 15:24:37.145583+0200 0xc74d7 Error 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] Failed to load bindings. Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=260 UserInfo={NSFilePath=, NSURL=, NSUnderlyingError=0xbe2400180 {Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=2 "No such file or directory"}}`
> `2026-07-31 15:24:37.849297+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CoreMIDIMessageProvider] Successfully created MIDI client`
> `2026-07-31 15:24:37.937481+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CoreMIDIMessageProvider] Successfully created MIDI input port`
> `2026-07-31 15:24:42.080688+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:24:42.212449+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:24:42.482971+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:24:42.602586+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:24:42.710066+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:24:42.796838+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:24:42.932392+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message: `
> `2026-07-31 15:24:43.022687+0200 0xc74d7 Debug 0x0 11826 0 CapoMAS: (CapoRemoteControl) [com.supermegaultragroovy.capo.CapoRemoteControl:CapoRemoteCommandDispatcher] No commands for message:` 

```

thanks

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Pierre-Marie\_Delvern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@Pierre-Marie\_Delvern](https://community.capoapp.com/u/Pierre-Marie_Delvern)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://community.capoapp.com/t/key-bindings-not-working/366/4 "2026-07-31T13:29:57Z")

</div>

Ok. I tried to reinstall the app from the MAS and it seems to work fine now.

Sorry

-

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![liscio](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex007/user_avatar/community.capoapp.com/liscio/32/3_2.png) [@liscio](https://community.capoapp.com/u/liscio)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://community.capoapp.com/t/key-bindings-not-working/366/5 "2026-07-31T13:39:37Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> `Failed to execute first-time initialization.`

**There it is!** Capo encountered some kind of problem when it was trying to translate your old keyboard and MIDI mappings to the new system.

There’s an easy fix for this, but first I’d like some help from you so that I can prevent this from happening to others in the future. Please do the following:

#### 1. Capture your legacy playback commands

Run this command in the Terminal. It will use `pbcopy` to place the information on your clipboard.

```auto
defaults read com.supermegaultragroovy.capo3.mac CapoPlaybackCommands | pbcopy

```

#### 2. Send me the legacy playback commands

In your reply to this thread, just hit paste (command-V) and it will dump a bunch of text.

If you want to be extra safe, maybe paste them into a text file somewhere in case something goes wrong. We’re about to delete them…

#### 3. Delete the legacy playback commands

Make sure Capo isn’t running anymore. Then, at the terminal run this command:

```auto
defaults delete com.supermegaultragroovy.capo3.mac CapoPlaybackCommands

```

#### 4. Re-launch Capo and test

If the problem is actually resolved (it should be!), then your spacebar and other keyboard commands should work correctly.

Let me know how it goes.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![liscio](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex007/user_avatar/community.capoapp.com/liscio/32/3_2.png) [@liscio](https://community.capoapp.com/u/liscio)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://community.capoapp.com/t/key-bindings-not-working/366/6 "2026-07-31T13:57:07Z")

</div>

> [@Pierre-Marie\_Delvern](#):
>
> Ok. I tried to reinstall the app from the MAS and it seems to work fine now.
> 
> Sorry

No problem at all!

I’m glad to know that’s another solution that seems to work. I don’t know exactly _why_ it worked… But if I had to guess, you might have had a slightly older version of Capo installed, and re-installing got you a version where I already applied one fix for this issue.

Now you can go off and learn songs again with keyboard shortcuts working. Yay! 🙂
