Karabiner-Elements
The keyboard remapper for macOS, with rules that can differ per keyboard and go far beyond swapping two keys.
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1 more ways to get Karabiner-Elements
Package managers
- Homebrew
brew install --cask karabiner-elements
About Karabiner-Elements
Karabiner-Elements remaps keys on macOS at a level the system's own settings cannot reach. Simple remapping is a dropdown, but the complex modifications system handles conditional rules: a key that acts as Control when held and Escape when tapped, a layer that turns HJKL into arrows, bindings that only apply in one application.
Because rules are attached to specific devices, an external keyboard and the built-in one can behave completely differently, which is the main reason people reach for it. Rules can be imported from a public collection or written as JSON.
Strengths
- Per-device rules, so a laptop keyboard and an external one can be mapped differently
- Complex modifications handle tap-versus-hold, layers and per-application rules
- Large public rule collection you can import in a click
- Supported all the way back to macOS 13 Ventura on both Intel and Apple silicon
Limitations
- macOS only
- Installs a driver extension and needs input monitoring permission, which some managed Macs block
- Complex modifications are written in JSON, which is fiddly by hand
- A major macOS release can require an update before it works again
Details
- Pricing
- Free · Free and open source, released into the public domain under the Unlicense. Donations are optional.
- License
- Unlicense
- Developer
- pqrs-org
- Platforms
- macOS
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Serious keyboard remapping on a Mac, especially with more than one keyboard
- Categories
- Keyboard shortcuts and automation
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Automation); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 2 sources on file.