Make HOME and END keys go to the beginning and ending of a line in macOS.

2025-02-05

This method changes the behavior like this:

Key	Old behavior	New behavior
HOME	Beginning of document	Beginning of line
END	End of document	End of line
SHIFT + HOME	Select to beginning of document	Select to beginning of line
SHIFT + END	Select to end of document	Select to end of line

How to change it

Create or edit this file:

~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict

Add this code:

{
    "\UF729"  = moveToBeginningOfLine:;
    "\UF72B"  = moveToEndOfLine:;
    "$\UF729" = moveToBeginningOfLineAndModifySelection:;
    "$\UF72B" = moveToEndOfLineAndModifySelection:;
}

Save the file. I needed to logout and login again to apply the changes.

Compatibility

I tested this on MacOS Ventura and it works in Apple Pages and iaWriter. Be careful when remapping keys. The wrong settings can make your computer not working properly anymore!