Getting Started
KeyCut is a colour-coded Final Cut Pro keyboard app for iPad and iPhone. It displays all FCP shortcuts organised by category — Editing, Playback, Marking, Tools, and more — each in a distinct colour so you can learn them faster. Use it as a reference guide, or pair it with the Mac Helper App to send shortcuts directly to FCP on your Mac.
Yes. KeyCut is free to download from the App Store. The Mac Helper App is also free. There are no in-app purchases required to use the core shortcut reference functionality.
KeyCut runs on any iPhone or iPad running iOS 16 / iPadOS 16 or later. For live shortcut input to Final Cut Pro, you also need a Mac running macOS 12 Monterey or later with the KeyCut Mac Helper App installed.
No. You can use KeyCut standalone as a shortcut reference and learning tool — tap any key to see a full description of what that shortcut does in Final Cut Pro. The Mac Helper App is only required if you want to tap keys in KeyCut and have them actually trigger in FCP on your Mac.
Mac Helper App
How to set up the Mac Helper App
Download and install the Mac Helper App
Get it from the download link on the KeyCut website. Open the downloaded file and drag KeyCut Helper into your Applications folder.
Launch the Helper and grant permissions
Open KeyCut Helper from Applications. macOS may ask for Accessibility permissions — these are required for the Helper to send keystrokes to Final Cut Pro. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and enable KeyCut Helper.
Connect your iPad or iPhone
Make sure your Mac and your iPhone/iPad are on the same Wi-Fi network. Open KeyCut on your device — it will automatically discover the Helper. A connection indicator in the app turns green when linked.
Open Final Cut Pro and start tapping
With FCP open and focused on your Mac, tap any key in KeyCut on your device. The shortcut fires instantly in FCP.
Make sure both your Mac and your iPad/iPhone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Some routers block device-to-device discovery (AP isolation) — if this is the case, try a different network or a personal hotspot. Also ensure the KeyCut Helper App is running on your Mac (look for its icon in the menu bar) and that Accessibility permissions have been granted in System Settings.
No. All communication between KeyCut and the Mac Helper happens entirely on your local network. No data is sent to any server or the internet.
macOS requires Accessibility access for any app that programmatically sends keystrokes to another application. The KeyCut Helper uses this only to forward your taps from the iPad/iPhone to Final Cut Pro — it does not read anything from your screen, files, or any other app.
Using KeyCut
Each colour represents a category of FCP shortcuts:
Orange — Editing (Libraries, Timeline, Viewer, Inspector, Effects…)
Pink/Purple — Tools (Select, Trim, Blade, Zoom, Hand…)
Green — Marking (Range Select, Set Start/End, Marker…)
Blue — Playback (Play/Pause, Stop, Forward, Reverse, Prev/Next Frame…)
Teal — Timecode (Neg Timecode, Pos Timecode, Default…)
Red — Command / Reject
Tap and hold any key to see a full description of what that shortcut does in Final Cut Pro. A popover appears with the shortcut name and a plain-English explanation of its function.
Yes. KeyCut offers both a dark studio theme and a bright high-contrast theme. Open the sidebar menu in the app to switch between themes.
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