Leader Key.app - Enhanced

The *faster than your launcher* launcher - with enhanced features

An enhanced fork of the original Leader Key.app by @mikker, featuring improved validation UX, enhanced overlay detection, real-time feedback, and refined UI components.

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

Watch the original intro videos by @mikker:

The original videos showcase the core functionality that this enhanced fork builds upon.

Fork Enhancements

This enhanced version includes several improvements over the original:

🎯 Enhanced Validation UX

• Rich Error Feedback: Interactive tooltips with detailed error messages and actionable suggestions
• Validation Summary Panel: Comprehensive overview of all configuration issues with one-click navigation
• Severity-Based Indicators: Color-coded visual feedback (red for errors, orange for warnings) with appropriate icons
• Real-time Validation: Immediate feedback as you edit configurations

🔍 Improved Overlay Detection

• Enhanced detection algorithms for better app overlay recognition
• Improved reliability and responsiveness

⚡ Real-time Feedback & UI Improvements

• Instant configuration validation without modal dialogs
• Refined settings interface with better visual hierarchy
• Enhanced keyboard interaction and accessibility
• Improved sorting and organization of configuration elements

🛠 Development Improvements

• Comprehensive test coverage for validation systems
• Better error handling and resilience
• Clean, maintainable codebase architecture

📦 Download enhanced version

Installation

Option 1: Homebrew (Recommended)

brew tap arabshapt/leader-key-enhanced
brew install --cask leader-key-enhanced

Option 2: Direct Download Download the enhanced version from Google Drive.

Option 3: Build from Source Clone this repository and build using Xcode or the command line tools documented in CLAUDE.md.

Option 4: Original via Homebrew (installs the upstream version)

brew install --cask leader-key

Note: The original Homebrew formula installs the upstream version. For the enhanced features, use Option 1 above.

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)

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 + ,.

Attribution

This project is an enhanced fork of the original Leader Key.app created by @mikker. All original concepts, design, and core functionality are credited to the original author.

Original Project: https://github.com/mikker/LeaderKey.app
Original Author: @mikker
Fork Maintainer: @arabshapt

License

MIT - Same as the original project