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Tray & background behavior

Why the window hides, how to get it back, and what changed in the latest update.

3 min read
System tray
Keyshift AI
Window hidden — working in another app
Click tray icon
Show Keyshift AI
Pause typed triggers
Keyshift stays in the tray when you work elsewhere — click the icon to open again.

Keyshift needs to keep running in the background so global shortcuts (Ctrl+K, Ctrl+Shift+G, etc.) and the typed keyshift … trigger work in every app, even when the main window is closed.

  1. 1

    The app lives in your system tray (Windows, bottom-right) or menu bar (macOS, top-right). Click the Keyshift icon to bring the main window back any time.

  2. 2

    Clicking ✕ on the main window minimizes Keyshift to the tray — it does not quit the app. The first three times, an in-app card explains where the app went and points you to the tray icon.

  3. 3

    When the window minimizes, your shortcuts and typed triggers keep working everywhere.

  4. 4

    Prefer it to fully quit on ✕? Click the “Quit entirely” option in the farewell card, or set it permanently in Settings → System → When I close this window.

Click outside without losing the window

As of the latest update, Keyshift no longer auto-hides when you click into another app — the window stays put until you explicitly close it. If you preferred the old menu-bar-app feel, turn on Settings → Behavior → Hide when clicking elsewhere.

Tray menu

Right-click the tray icon for: Show Keyshift AI, Pause typed triggers (master on/off for keyshift and slash triggers), Run setup tour… (replays the interactive 3-step walkthrough), About, and Quit.

First-time users get a 30-second interactive tour the first time the main window opens — it teaches the keyshift trigger in a sandbox so you can practise without leaving the app. You can replay it any time from the tray menu or Settings → Help → Run tour.

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