Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Karabiner VS Synergy

Compare Karabiner VS Synergy and see what are their differences

Karabiner logo Karabiner

Karabiner, previously called KeyRemap4MacBook, is a very powerful keyboard remapper for Mac OS X.

Synergy logo Synergy

Cross-platform software for sharing your mouse and keyboard between multiple computers
  • Karabiner Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-06
  • Synergy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-05

Synergy is a software application developed by Symless. It is used for sharing a keyboard and mouse between multiple computers, and is useful in situations where several PCs are used together, with a monitor connected to each, but are to be controlled by one user. The user needs only one keyboard and mouse on the desk — similar to a KVM switch without the video.

Partly open source and partly closed source, the open source components are released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, which is free software. The first version of Synergy was created on May 13, 2001, by Chris Schoeneman and worked with the X Window System only. Synergy now supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like operating systems.

Once the program is installed, users can move the mouse "off" the side of their desktop on one computer, and the mouse pointer will appear on the desktop of another computer. Key presses will be delivered to whichever computer the mouse-pointer is located in. This makes it possible to control several machines as easily as if they were a single multi-monitor computer. The clipboard and even screensavers can be synchronized.

The program is implemented as a server which defines which screen-edges lead to which machines, and one or more clients, which connect to the server to offer the use of their desktops. The keyboard and mouse are connected to the server machine.

Karabiner videos

REVIEW: Should you play the Vetterli 71 Karabiner? [Hunt Gun Review #1]

More videos:

  • Review - Vim screencast #59: Karabiner Elements
  • Review - Evolution of the Karabiner 98k, From Prewar to Kriegsmodell

Synergy videos

Review - Synergy by Symless - Multi Machine Network Control Software

More videos:

  • Review - Symless Synergy Review - Mac (Keyboard & Mouse Sharing)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Karabiner and Synergy)
Automation
100 100%
0% 0
Mouse Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Note Taking
100 100%
0% 0
Remote PC Access
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Karabiner and Synergy

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Synergy Reviews

Top spacedesk Alternatives & Similar Software (2020)
Synergy is yet another software that lets you work on separate computers with the same input devices. It helps you save all the clutter caused by the cables of a traditional KVM. What’s more, it works even when the computers are working on separate operating systems. This feature makes it stand out from Spacedesk. For Synergy to function, you’ll need the systems to run on...

Social recommendations and mentions

Synergy might be a bit more popular than Karabiner. We know about 281 links to it since March 2021 and only 271 links to Karabiner. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Karabiner mentions (271)

  • Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?
    Besides the usual Firefox/Chrome, Spotify, etc I use the following: - Karabiner-Elements for key remapping, specifically, for making caps lock into ctrl/esc. I don't know of anything else that does this job. Everyone who remaps keys seems to use this. - Kitty as my terminal of choice. I spend most of my time logged in remotely to a server via ssh where I attach to a tmux session. Kitty was easy enough to... - Source: Hacker News / 5 days ago
  • Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?
    If I had to recommend 1 app/script that I use daily: https://github.com/banga/git-split-diffs) to disable things like "Apple + Q" -> nothing worse than going to close a single tab and then your whole app quits. Also able to re-map caps-lock into escape, ect `iterm2` for terminal (colored tabs are great; albeit I disable the hell out of many of the options like "clickable urls" ect) for cli, I try to gnu... - Source: Hacker News / 5 days ago
  • Ask HN: What if we wrote HTML with [brackets][/brackets]?
    I have been using Karabiner elements (https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org), they allow keyboard customization, I have switched the colon and semicolon key, by default without pressing shift, the key will output colon (:) , I find this useful as I type lot of colon daily. Maybe you can use this software to set "<" and ">" to be the default text output without using Shift. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Remote desktop from Windows to Mac, native keys and function
    In the settings of chrome remote desktop there is an option to not send modifier keys etc to the host system. I've also heard of https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/. Source: 7 months ago
  • DOS_deck: Play DOS games in the browser with full controller support
    Possible karbiner but I've never looked into doing specifically that, so I may be wrong https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
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Synergy mentions (281)

  • Hrvach/Deskhop: Fast Desktop Switching Device
    I use a software called Synergy. https://symless.com/synergy I have one keyboard and mouse connected to one "host" machine, and two machines connected as clients. Sometimes if the host machine bogs a bit (like running a build or something) then the clients will have some latency but I've used this setup for gaming and work for two years and it's been pretty good. My only complaint (about my personal setup, not the... - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Hrvach/Deskhop: Fast Desktop Switching Device
    I’ve been using a software solution for this for over a decade. It’s called Synergy (https://symless.com/synergy) and it is fast - switches instantly over wifi and also works across Windows/Mac/Linux. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Hrvach/Deskhop: Fast Desktop Switching Device
    Synergy works well for this purely in software. Unfortunately it's not free or open source, but it's relatively inexpensive. https://symless.com/synergy. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Help me create a seamless LAN with a WAP on the end of a switch
    I want to be able to do things like Synergy, Steam Link, Unified Remote, and Media Servers between any of these devices, with as little added latency as possible (especially important for steam link). Source: 6 months ago
  • Linux VNC viewer not displaying MacOS with multiple desktops (single monitor)
    i've got several fedora linux machines running and sharing their monitors via synergy (https://symless.com/synergy) , all controlled by the keyboard/mouse on the primary synergy server. Source: 7 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Karabiner and Synergy, you can also consider the following products

BTT Remote - A remote control for you Mac, using your iPhone or iPad

Barrier - Barrier is a cross-platform software for sharing your mouse and keyboard between multiple computers...

SharpKeys - SharpKeys is a utility that manages a Registry key that allows Windows to remap one key to any...

Input Director - Control multiple windows systems with one keyboard/mouse. Share a keyboard and mouse across multiple windows system.

Rectangle - Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.

ShareMouse - With its easy setup and high level of versatility, ShareMouse is a great tool if you're looking to use a single mouse and keyboard across multiple computers.