skhd is a simple hotkey daemon for macOS. It is a stripped version of khd (no longer maintained) (although rewritten from scratch), that sacrifices the more advanced features in favour of increased responsiveness and performance. skhd is able to hotload its config file, meaning that hotkeys can be edited and updated live while skhd is running.
feature comparison between skhd and khd
| feature | skhd | khd |
|---|---|---|
| hotload config file | [x] | [ ] |
| hotkey passthrough | [x] | [x] |
| modal hotkey-system | [x] | [x] |
| use media-keys as hotkey | [x] | [ ] |
| application specific hotkey | [x] | [x] |
| modifier only hotkey | [ ] | [x] |
| caps-lock as hotkey | [ ] | [x] |
| mouse-buttons as hotkey | [ ] | [x] |
The first time skhd is ran, it will request access to the accessibility API.
After access has been granted, the application must be restarted.
Secure Keyboard Entry must be disabled for skhd to receive key-events.
Homebrew:
Requires xcode-8 command-line tools.
brew install koekeishiya/formulae/skhd
brew services start skhd
Source:
Requires xcode-8 command-line tools.
git clone https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd
make install # release version
make # debug version
make fast_profile # release version with profiling information
make profile # debug version with profiling information
-V | --verbose: Output debug information
skhd -V
-v | --version: Print version number to stdout
skhd -v
-c | --config: Specify location of config file
skhd -c ~/.skhdrc
-k | --key: Synthesize a keypress (same syntax as when defining a hotkey)
skhd -k "shift + alt - 7"
-t | --text: Synthesize a line of text
skhd -t "hello, worldシ"
skhd will load the configuration file $HOME/.skhdrc, unless otherwise specified.
A sample config is available here
A list of all built-in modifier and literal keywords can be found here
A hotkey is written according to the following rules:
hotkey = <mode> '<' <action> | <action>
mode = 'name of mode' | <mode> ',' <mode>
action = <keysym> '[' <proc_map_lst> ']' | <keysym> '->' '[' <proc_map_lst> ']'
<keysym> ':' <command> | <keysym> '->' ':' <command>
<keysym> ';' <mode> | <keysym> '->' ';' <mode>
keysym = <mod> '-' <key> | <key>
mod = 'modifier keyword' | <mod> '+' <mod>
key = <literal> | <keycode>
literal = 'single letter or built-in keyword'
keycode = 'apple keyboard kVK_<Key> values (0x3C)'
proc_map_lst = * <proc_map>
proc_map = <string> ':' <command>
string = '"' 'sequence of characters' '"'
command = command is executed through '$SHELL -c' and
follows valid shell syntax. if the $SHELL environment
variable is not set, it will default to '/bin/bash'.
when bash is used, the ';' delimeter can be specified
to chain commands.
to allow a command to extend into multiple lines,
prepend '\' at the end of the previous line.
an EOL character signifies the end of the bind.
-> = keypress is not consumed by skhd
A mode is declared according to the following rules:
mode_decl = '::' <name> '@' ':' <command> | '::' <name> ':' <command> |
'::' <name> '@' | '::' <name>
name = desired name for this mode,
@ = capture keypresses regardless of being bound to an action
command = command is executed through '$SHELL -c' and
follows valid shell syntax. if the $SHELL environment
variable is not set, it will default to '/bin/bash'.
when bash is used, the ';' delimeter can be specified
to chain commands.
to allow a command to extend into multiple lines,
prepend '\' at the end of the previous line.
an EOL character signifies the end of the bind.