Misleading keyboard shortcut labels on macOS: 'Alt' should be 'Option' (⌥)
Summary
In Claude Code's agent view (and elsewhere in the UI), keyboard shortcuts are labeled using Alt — but macOS keyboards do not have an Alt key. The corresponding key on Mac is labeled Option (⌥). This is confusing for macOS users who look at their keyboard for a key that doesn't exist.
Steps to reproduce
- Run Claude Code on macOS
- Open the agent view / any UI surface that displays a keyboard shortcut hint involving the Alt key
- Observe the hint reads
Alt+<key>instead ofOption+<key>(or⌥<key>)
Expected behavior
On macOS, shortcuts should be displayed using the platform-native key name:
Optionor⌥instead ofAlt- (Likewise:
Command/⌘instead ofCtrlwhere the shortcut actually maps to Cmd,Returninstead ofEnterwhere appropriate, etc.)
On Windows/Linux, Alt remains correct.
Actual behavior
Alt+<key> is shown on all platforms, including macOS, even though no Alt key exists on a Mac keyboard.
Suggested fix
Detect the platform at render time (e.g. process.platform === 'darwin') and swap the modifier label:
| Generic | macOS | Win/Linux |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Alt | ⌥ / Option | Alt |
| Ctrl | ⌘ / Command (if mapping to Cmd) or ⌃ / Control | Ctrl |
| Meta | ⌘ / Command | Win / Super |
A small helper that maps shortcut tokens to their platform-appropriate glyphs would centralize this and prevent future drift.
Environment
- Claude Code on macOS (Darwin)
- Affects: shortcut hints in the agent/terminal view
Why this matters
Beyond aesthetics, this is an accessibility and onboarding issue — new macOS users (especially those new to terminal tooling) will hunt for a non-existent key. Native key labels are a baseline expectation for any cross-platform CLI/desktop tool.
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