First Steps with Command Keys: Options, Profiles, and Macros

Command Keys is operated entirely through its options interface and hotkeys, and getting started means learning three things: where the options live, how profiles work, and how macros are activated.

Opening the Options Screen

The mod's main interface is the CommandKeys Options screen. Everything you configure — profiles, macros, ratelimits, and keybind counts — is reached from there. One setting worth knowing early is Macro MC Key Count, which controls how many keybinds are added to the Minecraft Controls screen. It accepts a whole number from 0 to 16. If you change it, the new value only takes effect after the game restarts.

If you leave the screen with unsaved changes, a prompt asks whether you really want to exit without saving. There is also a reload action that restores the configuration file and discards your edits; note that any macros currently running will be stopped when you do this.

Understanding Profiles

A profile is a container for macros and their settings. The screen offers an Edit Active Profile entry, along with actions to Activate this Profile, set a profile as the multiplayer default, or set it as the singleplayer default. The profile marked as the multiplayer default is the one used for multiplayer, and likewise for singleplayer. A default profile cannot be deleted.

Profiles can also be tied to specific places. The Link to this world/server action associates the current world or server with a profile, and the screen indicates when a link already exists. When you join a world or server that has a linked profile, that profile is activated automatically. If no link applies, the default profiles are used instead.

Switching profiles produces a confirmation naming the old and new profile. If the switch fails, an error is reported instead.

Activating Macros and Keybinds

Macros are triggered by keybinds. Each macro has a Minecraft keybind number assigned to it, and that value must be a whole number within the range Minecraft keybinds allow. You can activate a macro by pressing its keybind while in-game, or directly on the profile options screen when nothing is selected there. A keybind can also be set so it does nothing in-game but still works from that screen.

Two macros in the same profile cannot share the same Minecraft key; the screen flags this as a conflict. The Conflict Strategy setting decides what happens when a key is already used by Minecraft: the mod's keybind can fire first and then the other one, the mod's keybind can be cancelled, or the other keybind can be cancelled.

Macros behave differently depending on their activation mode. A macro can run once and stay active for as long as its keybind is held. It can fire when the keybind is released after being pressed. It can repeatedly switch on and off while the keybind is held, though this does not apply to mouse keybinds. There is also an alt keybind, used for cycling messages in reverse.

Messages, Delays, and Limits

Macros send messages or commands, and several settings shape how. Messages can be sent all at once, one per key-press in a cycle, chosen at random, or sent once and then repeated at a set interval. In cycle mode, two commas in a row let you send several messages from a single key-press. One mode types the first message into chat without sending it, and another opens a GUI so you can replace an edit placeholder in the first message.

Timing is measured in ticks. You can set a wait after the key-press before anything is sent, a wait after the previous message, and a delay between repeats. A repeat count of 0 means unlimited.

A length limit blocks messages that are too long, which helps avoid being kicked for sending oversized messages; changing that value does not change the limit the game itself enforces. A ratelimit caps how many activations are allowed within a set number of ticks, with options to apply it in singleplayer and to count blocked activations toward the limit. Exceeding it, or hitting the length limit, produces a message explaining what happened. If a placeholder fails to apply, the message is not sent at all.

Finally, you can choose whether sent messages and commands are added to chat history, whether they briefly appear as a pop-up above the hotbar, whether the global ratelimit applies, and whether active macros resume when their profile becomes active again.