Grid buttons that follow the app you're in

A Stream Deck alternative for Mac, using the iPhone you already have.

A Stream Deck is a grid of buttons that fire actions on your computer. If most of your buttons would be Mac keyboard shortcuts, the iPhone or iPad in your pocket can do that job. Control My Mac gives you a Grid of one-tap shortcut buttons that changes by itself when you switch apps, plus a trackpad and keyboard for everything else.

Download free for Mac

macOS 14+ · iOS/iPadOS 18+ · Free Mac app · No account

iPhone & iPad app: Download on theApp Store

How the Grid works

Four things make the Grid behave like a deck of shortcut keys, without buying another gadget for your desk.

One tap, one shortcut (or a few)

Each button sends a key combo to your Mac, like Shift-Command-4. A button can also send several combos back to back. Give it a short label so you know at a glance what it does.

Learns shortcuts from your Mac

Start recording on the phone, press the combo on your Mac's keyboard, and it's saved to the button. No hunting through menus for the right symbols. You can also enter a shortcut by hand.

Switches with the app in front

Save several Grids as profiles and assign each one to a Mac app. When that app comes to the front, its Grid appears on your phone. You can still switch profiles by hand whenever you want.

Your size, your order

Choose how many rows and columns you want, then drag buttons into the order that suits your thumb. On iPad the Grid gets bigger, with room for more buttons.

Two honest details. Learning a shortcut needs the Input Monitoring permission for Control My Mac on the Mac. It only listens while you're recording, and saves just the combo you pressed. If you'd rather not grant it, type the shortcut in manually. And the full Grid is part of the paid Full App: the free Essentials plan includes one Grid button, so you can try the idea before paying.

Example setups that work well

The Grid sends keyboard shortcuts, so the best setups are apps you already drive from the keyboard. A few realistic starting points.

Screenshots, in any app

Three buttons: Shift-Command-3 for the whole screen, Shift-Command-4 for a selection, Shift-Command-5 for the screenshot toolbar with its recording options. They work everywhere, so this makes a good default Grid.

Your browser

New tab (Command-T), reopen the tab you just closed (Shift-Command-T), reload (Command-R), jump to the address bar (Command-L). Assign it to Safari or Chrome and it shows up whenever the browser is in front.

Finder housekeeping

New folder (Shift-Command-N), Get Info (Command-I), Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), Move to Trash (Command-Delete). Sorting a downloads folder becomes tap, tap, tap.

Your editing or design app

Video, photo, audio and design apps have dozens of shortcuts. Record the ten you actually use (tools, markers, undo, export) into a Grid assigned to that app. Learning them straight from the Mac saves you looking them up.

One thing to keep in mind: an app's own shortcuts only work while that app is in front. That's exactly why the Grid follows the frontmost app, and why the launcher and window switching sit one tap away when you need to bring a different app forward first.

Control My Mac trackpad screen on iPhone, with modifier keys along the top and quick buttons for Tab, Spotlight, clipboard, Delete and Return along the bottom — The trackpad, with modifier keys and quick buttons.

App Launcher on iPhone listing running Mac apps and windows, such as Activity Monitor, Finder and Google Chrome, with a search field at the top — The Launcher: bring the right app forward, then use its Grid.

Control My Mac vs Stream Deck

As of September 2026, US prices, taken from Elgato's and Apple's own pages. Prices vary by region and change over time.

	Control My Mac	Stream Deck MK.2 (hardware)	Stream Deck Mobile
What it is	iPhone and iPad app, plus a free Mac companion app	USB-C desk controller with 15 LCD keys	iPhone, iPad and Android app that works with the Stream Deck desktop software
Price	Essentials free (includes one Grid button). Full App $3.99/month or $17.99 once	$149.99. The smaller Stream Deck Neo (8 keys) is $99.99	6 keys free. Pro is $2.99/month, $24.99/year or $49.99 lifetime
Buttons	A Grid with the rows and columns you choose	15 physical keys	6 free, up to 64 with Pro
What a button can do	Keyboard shortcuts, recorded from the Mac or entered by hand	Shortcuts plus a large library of plugins, profiles and icons	Actions and plugins from the Stream Deck software
Changes by app	Yes, assign a Grid to a Mac app	Yes, with Smart Profiles	Set up in the Stream Deck desktop app
Connection	Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, paired by QR code, no account	USB-C cable	Wi-Fi, with the Stream Deck app running on the computer
Computers	Mac (macOS 14 or later)	Mac and Windows	macOS 10.15+ or Windows 10+
Trackpad and keyboard too	Yes	No	No

Sources: Stream Deck MK.2, Stream Deck Neo, Stream Deck Mobile and its App Store page, Smart Profiles, and the Control My Mac App Store page. Checked September 2026.

When a real Stream Deck is better

Plenty of people should just buy the hardware. Here's when.

You want to press without looking

Physical keys sit in the same spot every day and you can find them by feel. There's no phone to pick up or unlock, and nothing else competes for the screen.

You stream or automate beyond shortcuts

Stream Deck plugins connect to apps directly. If you need actions that aren't keyboard shortcuts, like controlling streaming software through a plugin, the Grid can't do that.

You also use Windows

Stream Deck works with Mac and Windows. Control My Mac is Mac only.

You want dials or a pedal

Elgato makes models with dials and a touch strip, plus a foot pedal. A phone screen is flat glass, so it can't replace those.

And when Stream Deck Mobile is better

If you already own Stream Deck hardware and rely on its plugins, Stream Deck Mobile adds keys to the setup you know, and six of them are free. It also works with Windows and Android.

When Control My Mac fits better

You already have an iPhone or iPad and your buttons would mostly be Mac shortcuts.
You'd like a trackpad and keyboard in the same app, for the couch, a presentation or a Mac across the room.
You want buttons that switch with the app and learn shortcuts straight from the Mac.
You'd rather not add another device and cable to the desk.
You work one-handed. Every control is built to be reached with one finger. More on that in the one-handed guide.

Try the Grid on the phone you own

The Mac app is free. Start the 7-day free trial of Full App on iPhone or iPad to build full Grids. If you don't keep it, Essentials stays free with the trackpad, keyboard basics and one Grid button.