The *faster than your launcher* launcher

A riff on Raycast, @mxstbr's multi-key Karabiner setup, and Vim's <leader> key.

Watch the intro video on YouTube:

Yes, I only have that one thumbnail face.

Fork features walkthrough:

Install

📦 Download from GitHub Releases — grab the LeaderKey-X.X.dmg file

Installation:

1. Download the .dmg file from the latest release
2. Open the DMG and drag Leader Key to your Applications folder
3. First launch only: Right-click Leader Key.app → "Open" → click "Open" in the dialog
4. After that, open normally anytime

Note: This app is unsigned. macOS will show a security warning the first time — this is normal for apps distributed outside the Mac App Store. The right-click method bypasses Gatekeeper for this app only.

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Post-Install Setup

• Open the settings menu with the menu bar icon

• Choose your leader (Shortcut that will open the app)

  

• Add your shortcuts to the Config settings

Can't find the menu bar icon? Open settings directly from Terminal:

open "leaderkey://settings"

Why Leader Key?

Problems with traditional launchers:

1. Typing the name of the thing can be slow and give unpredictable results.
2. Global shortcuts have limited combinations.
3. Leader Key offers predictable, nested shortcuts -- like combos in a fighting game.

Example Shortcuts:

• leaderom → Launch Messages (open messages)
• leadermm → Mute audio (media mute)
• leaderwm → Maximize current window (window maximize)

URL Scheme

Leader Key supports URL scheme automation for integration with tools like Alfred, Raycast, shell scripts, and more.

Available URL Schemes

Configuration Management

# Reload configuration from disk
open "leaderkey://config-reload"

# Show config.json in Finder
open "leaderkey://config-reveal"

Window Control

# Show Leader Key window
open "leaderkey://activate"

# Hide Leader Key window
open "leaderkey://hide"

# Clear navigation state (return to root)
open "leaderkey://reset"

Settings & Info

# Open settings window
open "leaderkey://settings"

# Show about dialog
open "leaderkey://about"

Navigation

# Navigate through keys and execute actions
open "leaderkey://navigate?keys=a,b,c"

# Navigate without executing (preview mode)
open "leaderkey://navigate?keys=a,b,c&execute=false"

Optional arrow-key navigation

You can also navigate the menu with ↑ and ↓. Use → to enter groups and ← to go back, then press Enter to launch the selected item.

Example Use Cases

• Alfred/Raycast workflows: Trigger Leader Key shortcuts programmatically
• Shell scripts: Automate configuration reloads after editing config.json
• Keyboard maestro: Chain Leader Key actions with other automations
• External triggers: Open specific action sequences from other applications

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
↑ / ↓	Move selection up/down
→	Enter selected group
←	Go back to parent group
Enter	Execute selected item
Backspace	Return to root
Escape	Go back (or close if at root)
?	Show cheatsheet
⌘ ,	Open settings

Action Types

Leader Key supports these action types (configure in Settings → Config):

• Application — Launch any app
• URL — Open URLs or URL schemes (e.g., raycast://, slack://)
• Command — Run shell commands
• Folder — Open folders (optionally with a specific app)
• File — Open files (optionally with a specific app)
• Script — Run shell scripts with optional arguments

Modifier Keys

Configure in Settings → Advanced

Modifier	What it does
Sticky Mode	Hold while pressing an action to keep Leader Key open afterward
Group Sequences	Hold while pressing a group key to run ALL actions in that group at once

FAQ

What do I set as my Leader Key?

Any key can be your leader key, but only modifiers will not work.

Examples:

• F12
• ⌘ + space
• ⌘⌥ + space
• ⌘⌥⌃⇧ + L (hyper key)

Advanced examples:

Using Karabiner you can do more fancy things like:

• right ⌘ + left ⌘ at once (bound to F12) my personal favorite
• caps lock (bound to hyper when held, F12 when pressed)

See @mikker's config in the wiki for akimbo cmds example.

I disabled the menubar item, how can I get Leader Key back?

Activate Leader Key, then cmd + ,.

Command action is failing with "Command not found"

You need to make sure your shell environment is correctly set up for non-interactive mode, and exports the PATH variable.

For zsh make sure you have your PATH variable exported in ~/.zshenv

For bash make sure you have your PATH variable exported in ~/.bash_profile

License

MIT