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The Final Cut Pro control surface you already own.
Your iPad is a better edit controller than most of the hardware sold for the job — more keys, every one labelled, and it's already on your desk. KeyCut turns it into one.
What it does
KeyCut shows the Final Cut Pro keyboard on your iPad or iPhone, with every key colour-coded by what it does — editing in one colour, playback in another, tools in a third. On its own that makes it a reference you can glance at without covering the timeline.
Install the free Mac Helper and it becomes a control surface. Tap a key and the Helper fires that exact keystroke into Final Cut Pro. It watches which application is frontmost and switches the iPad to the matching keyboard by itself — so if you cut in Final Cut Pro and grade in DaVinci Resolve, the iPad follows you across without a setting change.
Nothing goes over the internet. The iPad finds the Mac using Bonjour and sends packets straight to it over your local Wi-Fi. No account, no cloud, no record of what you're cutting.
Every Final Cut Pro shortcut →
All 84 of them, grouped into 7 colour-coded categories, with a plain-English explanation of what each one actually does. Free, no sign-up, prints cleanly.
Free downloadMac Helper app →
The menu-bar app that receives taps from your iPad and fires them into your editor. Notarised by Apple, around 3 MB, no background service beyond the menu bar item.
How it compares to buying hardware
The honest version, because the trade-offs are real and you should know them before spending anything.
| KeyCut on iPad | Stream Deck XL | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free as a reference. £4.99 one-off for live control. | Around £200 for the hardware. |
| Keys visible at once | A full keyboard layout, around 60 keys. | 32 keys, or 15 on the standard model. |
| Labelling | Full command names plus a tap-for-description. | Small icons you configure yourself. |
| Switching editors | Automatic — follows whichever editor is frontmost. | Configure a profile per application. |
| Tactile feedback | None — it's glass. | Real keys you can find without looking. |
| Desk space | A device you already own. | An extra box and a USB cable. |
| Beyond editing | Editors only. | Streaming, OBS, lighting, anything. |
If you want tactile keys you can hit without looking down, or you're streaming as well as editing, buy the hardware — it's genuinely better at that. KeyCut is for the editor who wants the whole shortcut set visible and labelled while they learn it, without buying anything.
Setting it up
Install KeyCut
Free on the App Store for iPad and iPhone. It works standalone as a shortcut reference straight away.
Install the Mac Helper
Drag it to Applications. It appears in the menu bar and asks for accessibility permission, which is what lets it send keystrokes.
Same Wi-Fi, then tap
KeyCut finds the Mac automatically. Open Final Cut Pro, tap a key, and the shortcut fires.
All three editors, one app
KeyCut ships layouts and live control for Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve. You don't choose one at install — the Mac Helper detects which is frontmost and the iPad follows.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use an iPad as a control surface for Final Cut Pro?+
Yes. With KeyCut on the iPad and the free Mac Helper running on your Mac, tapping a key on the iPad fires the matching Final Cut Pro keyboard shortcut. The two find each other over your local Wi-Fi network using Bonjour. The iPad sits beside your keyboard showing every shortcut, colour-coded by category.
Does KeyCut need an internet connection?+
No. The iPad and Mac discover each other on your local network and talk directly. Nothing is sent to a server, there's no account, and the shortcut reference works entirely offline even without the Mac Helper installed.
How is this different from a Stream Deck?+
A Stream Deck is dedicated hardware with 6 to 32 physical keys, which is excellent for tactile, eyes-free triggering and does far more than video editing. KeyCut uses a device you already own, shows a full keyboard layout rather than a subset, labels every key with its real command name, and costs £4.99 once. It also switches between Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve automatically, where a Stream Deck needs a profile configured per application. The trade-off is that glass gives no tactile feedback.
Which editors does KeyCut support?+
Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, each with its own layout and live control. The Mac Helper detects which editor is frontmost and switches the iPad to the matching keyboard automatically, so moving between editors mid-session needs no setting change.
Is the Mac Helper free?+
Yes, and it always will be. It's a notarised download from this site rather than the Mac App Store, because sending real keystrokes into another application isn't something sandboxed apps are permitted to do.
What does the paid unlock get me?+
The shortcut reference, the colour-coded keyboard and every key description are free forever. The one-off £4.99 unlock — or £0.99 a month — enables live control, meaning taps on the iPad firing real keystrokes into your editor via the Mac Helper.
Try it before you spend anything.
The shortcut reference is free. Live control is £4.99 once, if you decide you want it.