How to Set Up Hot Corners on a Mac

You want to trigger an action — like opening Mission Control or locking the screen — just by sliding your pointer into a corner of the display.

Why: Hot Corners assign an action to each of the four corners of your screen. Flick the pointer into a corner and the action fires, which is faster than reaching for a keyboard shortcut or menu.

Step 1: Open the Hot Corners settings

1. Open Apple menu > System Settings, then click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar (scroll down if needed).
2. Scroll to the bottom and click Hot Corners.

You’ll see four pop-up menus, one for each corner of the screen.

Step 2: Assign an action to a corner

1. Click the pop-up menu for the corner you want to use.
2. Choose an action, such as:
   • Mission Control — see all open windows
   • Notification Center — open the right-side panel
   • Launchpad or Apps — show your apps
   • Lock Screen — lock the Mac instantly
   • Quick Note — start a new note
   • Put Display to Sleep
   • Desktop or Screen Saver
3. Click Done.

Step 3 (optional): Require a modifier key

If you keep triggering a corner by accident, you can require a key to be held down.

1. With the pop-up menu open, press and hold Command, Shift, Option, or Control (or a combination).
2. While holding it, choose the action. The corner now fires only when you move there with that key pressed.
3. Click Done.

FAQ

How do I turn a Hot Corner off? Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners, set that corner’s pop-up menu to the dash (—), then click Done.

Why does my corner trigger by accident? Without a modifier key, any pass through the corner fires the action. Add a modifier key (Step 3) so it only triggers when you hold that key.

Can two corners do the same thing? Yes — there’s no rule against assigning the same action to more than one corner, though most people give each a different one.

Sources: Apple Support — Use hot corners on Mac