Karabiner-Elements
Karabiner-Elements is a macOS keyboard customization utility for remapping keys, creating shortcuts, and tailoring input behavior for different devices.
What is Karabiner-Elements?
Karabiner-Elements is a macOS utility for customizing keyboard behavior and remapping keys. It helps users change simple key assignments, build more advanced shortcut rules, and adapt external or built-in keyboards to match personal workflows. The app is especially useful for programmers, power users, multilingual typists, and anyone who wants more control over function keys, modifier keys, or device-specific layouts. It supports multiple profiles, targeted rules for specific keyboards, and a large range of complex modifications such as sending different actions when a key is tapped, held, or pressed with other keys. Karabiner-Elements also supports extra keys that macOS may not recognize well on some PC keyboards, which makes it a practical tool for mixed Mac and non-Apple keyboard setups. It is published by Fumihiko Takayama and runs on macOS.
Key features
- Remap individual keys to other keys or modifier combinations
- Create advanced keyboard rules for taps, holds, simultaneous presses, and shortcuts
- Apply different modifications to specific keyboards only
- Switch between multiple profiles for different workflows or devices
- Turn function keys into media controls or other custom actions
- Use predefined community rules or create your own custom rules
- Support extra keys on some non-Apple keyboards that macOS does not handle well
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Safety overview
Status: Mostly safe
Karabiner-Elements is legitimate keyboard customization software, but it needs elevated access that is normal for its purpose. It may request Accessibility permission, background item access, and approval for a system extension so it can observe and modify keyboard input and provide virtual input devices. Because it works closely with system input, incorrect rules can interfere with shortcuts or typing until you change or disable them. Use it only if you want keyboard remapping features, and review imported rules before enabling them.
Recommendation: Keep Karabiner-Elements if you actively use custom key mappings, shortcut rules, or nonstandard keyboard layouts on your Mac. If you no longer use it, you can remove it, but your remaps, profiles, and related keyboard behavior will stop working until it is reinstalled or replaced.
Common paths
/Applications/Karabiner-Elements.app/Applications/Karabiner-EventViewer.app/Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-DriverKit-VirtualHIDDevice~/.config/karabiner
Support paths
/Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-DriverKit-VirtualHIDDevice~/.local/share/karabiner
Preference paths
~/Library/Preferences/org.pqrs.Karabiner-Elements.Settings.plist~/Library/Preferences/org.pqrs.Karabiner-EventViewer.plist~/Library/Preferences/org.pqrs.Karabiner-Menu.plist~/Library/Preferences/org.pqrs.Karabiner-MultitouchExtension.plist~/Library/Preferences/org.pqrs.Karabiner-Updater.plist
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