NB: Leader Key has been surpassed by Tuna

Tuna is a complete launcher – much more capable, and with Leader Key built in!

Leader Key will stay free and open source but my focus will be on Tuna going forward.

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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.

Install

Download

📦 Download latest version or

Homebrew

$ brew install leader-key

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

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"

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

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