How to disable Mac shortcuts while gaming

Cmd Q quits the game

One slip of the left hand and the game closes, with the unsaved progress. Two fixes:

• Move the shortcut. Open System Settings, then Keyboard, then Keyboard Shortcuts, then App Shortcuts. Click the plus button, choose the game under Application, type the exact menu title (for example Quit Game Name, copied from the game's app menu), and press a different key combination such as Option Command Q. Cmd Q no longer quits that game.
• Ask for a second press. Stop Cmd Q quitting by accident covers the options that work in every app. Still Dock's Stop Cmd Q quitting makes the shortcut wait for a hold or a second press, only in the apps you choose.

The menu title has to match exactly, including the game's name. This works for any game that has a normal macOS menu bar. A game that draws its own menus has nothing to rename.

Cmd O opens a dialog

In most games Cmd O is only the shortcut for the Open command in the File menu, so it does nothing until a dialog appears. If a dialog keeps popping up, use the same App Shortcuts trick: add the game, type the menu title Open... exactly as the File menu shows it, and give it another combination.

Cmd ` switches windows

Cmd and the key above Tab cycles through the windows of the app you are in. It is a system shortcut, so it can be switched off. In System Settings choose Keyboard, then Keyboard Shortcuts, then Keyboard, and untick Move focus to next window. It is off for every app until you tick it again, which is fine for a game and annoying the rest of the day.

Cmd Tab leaves the game

This is the one System Settings cannot touch. There is no switch for the app switcher in Keyboard Shortcuts, and macOS offers no per-app version. What stops it is an app that watches the keys: Still Dock's Stop Cmd Tab switching apps can be turned on everywhere or just for the games you pick, so the shortcut does nothing while they are in front. It needs the direct download of Still Dock, because the Mac App Store rules do not allow it. See how to disable Cmd Tab on a Mac.

Cmd W closes a window

The same two routes apply. Rename the Close menu shortcut in App Shortcuts, or let an app ask first. More in how to disable Cmd W.

What does not help

• Game Mode. macOS Game Mode gives the game more of the processor and graphics chip. It does not change any shortcut.
• Full screen. A full screen game still receives Cmd Tab and Cmd Q.

Common questions

Can I turn off every Command shortcut at once?

No. macOS has no global switch. Each shortcut is a separate setting or has to be handled by an app.

Will the changes affect my other apps?

App Shortcuts are per app, so renaming Quit for one game leaves every other app alone. Unticking Move focus to next window is global.

How do I put a shortcut back?

Delete the entry in App Shortcuts, or tick Move focus to next window again. Nothing else changes.