I touch type at 90+ WPM. I can navigate Vim without looking at my hands. Yet until 2022, I still reached for my mouse dozens of times a day.
That changed when I discovered the macOS keyboard automation stack: skhd, Yabai, and Karabiner.
The Problem
Every time you reach for your mouse:
- Your hands leave the keyboard
- You switch cognitive contexts (hands → eyes → different hand position)
- You lose flow state
For coding, that's fine. But for window management? Launching apps? Navigating tabs? The mouse was slowing me down.
The Solution Stack
1. Karabiner — Keyboard Remapping
Karabiner lets you remap keys at the system level. My essentials:
- Caps Lock → Control — The most important remap. Vim uses Ctrl constantly.
- Hyper key — I map Caps Lock to Hyper (Ctrl + Shift + Option + Cmd). One key = four modifiers.
- Custom layers — Hold a key to switch to symbols layer.
{
"from": "caps_lock",
"to": [
{
"key_code": "left_control",
"modifiers": ["left_command", "left_option", "left_shift"]
}
]
}2. Yabai — Window Management
Yabai is a tiling window manager for macOS. It controls window positions programmatically.
# Split window vertically
alt - space : yabai -m window --toggle split
# Fullscreen
alt - f : yabai -m window --toggle zoom-fullscreen
# Move to space 1
cmd - 1 : yabai -m space --focus 1No more dragging windows. No more clicking maximize. Just keyboard commands.
3. skhd — Hotkey Daemon
skhd listens for key combinations and runs commands. Combined with Yabai:
# Create new space and move focused window
shift + cmd - n : yabai -m space --create && \
index="$(yabai -m query --spaces --display | jq '[-1].index')" && \
yabai -m window --space "${index}"
# Float/unfloat window
alt + shift - t : yabai -m window --toggle float && \
yabai -m window --grid 4:4:1:1:2:2
# Balance windows
shift + alt - 0 : yabai -m space --balanceMy Daily Workflow
| Action | Keys | What Happens |
|--------|------|--------------|
| New window | ⌘ + 1-9 | Focus space |
| Split | alt + space | Split vertical/horizontal |
| Fullscreen | alt + f | Zoom to fill |
| Move window | shift + alt + h/j/k/l | Swap north/south/east/west |
| Float | alt + shift + t | Toggle floating |
| Create space | shift + cmd + n | New workspace |
Why This Matters
The mouse is a precision tool. It's great for graphic design, video editing, or selecting text precisely.
But for navigation? It's slow.
With this setup, I can:
- Move windows without leaving the keyboard
- Create and manage 10 workspaces
- Float/unfloat windows instantly
- Run shell commands from anywhere
The Bigger Picture
This is part of a philosophy: keyboard-driven development.
It's not about being a keyboard purist. It's about flow. It's about keeping your hands where they need to be.
Once you build the muscle memory, you won't want to go back.