Test speeds faster than System Settings allows, right here in your browser. When it feels right, copy the commands. One restart, not ten.
Initial delay: 180 ms
Key repeat interval: 30 ms
Typing mode
When it feels right, run these in Terminal. They update as you move the sliders:
defaults write -g InitialKeyRepeat -int 12defaults write -g KeyRepeat -int 2Optional: make letter keys repeat instead of showing the accent picker:
defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool falseChanges apply after you log out or restart. Nothing here changes your Mac until you run the commands.
The sliders in System Settings > Keyboard cover most people. If you want it faster, the same two preferences can be set from Terminal with defaults write: KeyRepeat (the interval between repeats) and InitialKeyRepeat (the delay before repeating starts). Both are whole numbers where each unit is 15 ms. System Settings stops at KeyRepeat 2 (30 ms) and InitialKeyRepeat 15 (225 ms); Terminal goes all the way down to 1 (15 ms).
macOS only reads these preferences at login, so every guess costs a log out or restart. Most people try a value, find it too fast or too slow, and go around that loop several times. This page simulates the exact same timings in your browser: drag the sliders, hold a key in the box above, and feel the difference immediately. The commands update as you go, so once it feels right you copy them, run them, and restart once.
Restore the macOS defaults, then log out or restart:
defaults delete -g KeyRepeatdefaults delete -g InitialKeyRepeatdefaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool truemacOS only reads the key repeat preferences when you log in. After running the defaults write commands, log out and back in, or restart. Make sure you used the global domain (-g) and a whole number with -int. You can check the stored value with defaults read -g KeyRepeat.
Nothing breaks at low values: these are ordinary preferences and the revert commands above restore the defaults. The fastest this tool offers is KeyRepeat 1 (15 ms). Very short InitialKeyRepeat values make accidental repeats likely during normal typing, so try them in the box above first. If it feels too fast here, it will feel too fast on your Mac.
By default, holding a letter key shows the accent picker (press and hold) instead of repeating. Run defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false and log out to make letters repeat. Set it back to true to restore the accent picker.
KeyRepeat and InitialKeyRepeat are the same global preferences that the Keyboard sliders in System Settings write to, so you can check on your own Mac: move a slider, then run defaults read -g KeyRepeat. If the value changed, these commands apply to your macOS version.