MacOS: Arbitrary keyboard shortcuts

I’ve had to configure this three times now, and I forget each time. So here’s how to do it:

• System Preferences; Security and Privacy; Privacy; Accessibility - add Automator to this list.
• Open Automator; create a new Service
• Set “Service receives” (dropdown at the top) to “No input” and make sure “in any application” is selected.
• Add the event type that you want - eg for my “Lock Screen” shortcut I choose “Activate Screensaver”. For “New Terminal” I have to use “Run AppleScript” instead.
• Once you’re finished, save the Service.
• Head back to System Preferences; Keyboard; Shortcuts. Under the “Services” option, add your desired key combination as the shortcut.

It should now work!

Code for starting a Terminal

I’m not sure where I got this, I’m quite sure I did not write it:

on run {input, parameters}
	tell application "Terminal"
		if it is running then
			do script ""
		end if
		activate
	end tell
end run

Note that for any AppleScript, you’ll probably get a security prompt the first time you use it in each application.