Goku then reads that edn format and generates the karabiner.json file for you. You write the code in this special format called “extensible data notation” (edn). Goku basically is a DSL where you can write a nice and condensed form of the same code you would otherwise wrangle up in your karabiner.json. So on an exaseperated whim, I went searching for a way to make it easier to deal with Karabiner and found the wonderful Goku.

Let’s just say json is not the most maintainable format for this kind of stuff.Īfter meddling with Karabiner for a few days, it was clearly getting unwieldy to maintain the json file. See the problem with Karabiner is that if you want to start doing the tricks I mention above, you pretty much have to start meddling directly with this file called karabiner.json. How do I do this?īefore you head to the races and start using Karabiner though there’s one caveat: This kind of usage in conjunction with Keyboard Maestro basically unleashes the power of your Mac.

Hold 's' + tap g -> google for something on the web Instead of moving my fingers all the way to the bottom right of my keyboard and aiming for the arrow keys what if I could just keep my fingers on my home row and navigate like so: While they don’t come with dedicated arrow keys you can emulate navigation in a pretty slick way (especiallly for us vim users). Where Karabiner will truly shine is when you want to do slightly more complex things: for example, take the case of navigation with 60% keyboards. You can do this pretty easily with Karabiner but it barely scratches the surface of Karabiner’s true power. So if I tap the Caps Lock key, it instead emulates hitting the Escape key. Karabiner intercepts every keystroke and allows you to send alternative signals.įor example, a common mod that a lot of programmers like to do is remap their Caps Lock key -> Escape. The easiest way I’ve found on the Mac to do this is using Karabiner. I liked these mods so much that I wanted to find a way to use these mods with any keyboard I use. I added a bunch of mods for the keyboard using the mechanical keyboard’s included software configurator. Given these constraints, you have to get a little creative with how you use a keyboard.

Karabiner osx