Software Alternatives & Reviews

Karabiner VS xcape

Compare Karabiner VS xcape and see what are their differences

Karabiner logo Karabiner

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

xcape logo xcape

Linux utility to configure modifier keys to act as other keys when pressed and released on their own.
  • Karabiner Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-06
  • xcape Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23

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

xcape videos

D’Ultimate XCape at Downtown East Carnival

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Karabiner and xcape)
Automation
89 89%
11% 11
Note Taking
87 87%
13% 13
Windows Tools
78 78%
22% 22
Window Manager
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Karabiner and xcape. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Karabiner seems to be a lot more popular than xcape. While we know about 269 links to Karabiner, we've tracked only 17 mentions of xcape. 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 (269)

  • 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 / 4 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: 6 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 / 6 months ago
  • Always paste without formatting on macOS
    Remap with Karabiner (https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/). I personally mapped right_command + v to it, but it's capable of a straight out remap. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • A collection of useful Mac Apps
    Karabiner-Elements - Price: Free Powerful and stable keyboard customizer for macOS. Source: 10 months ago
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xcape mentions (17)

  • Binding a single key on release AND binding that same key in another combination
    Don't know about i3, but you can achieve this in Linux/X11 using for example xcape: https://github.com/alols/xcape. Source: 12 months ago
  • Keyboard shortcut on key release
    I guess that xcape is what you're looking for. Source: over 1 year ago
  • How to assign Overview to meta ?
    You can use xcape (I assume xorg only; https://github.com/alols/xcape) to set any key including super/meta to trigger a custom keyboard shortcut on release. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Have you remapped CTRL and ESC, and if so, how?
    Caps Lock is both Control and Escape depending on whether you hold or tap it. I use xcape. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Have you remapped CTRL and ESC, and if so, how?
    My CapsLock is an Esc right now. I use to use xcape program which would allow my caps lock to act as Esc when pressed alone, but in combination with another key it would act as Ctrl, which was very useful. That program no longer works on Wayland compositors but I have lost the habit of using the key as Ctrl anyway. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

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

SteerMouse - Advanced driver for USB and Bluetooth mouses.

KeyExtender - KeyExtender is a keyboard remapping tool which not only allow you to customize keyboard keys, but...

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

Microsoft keyboard layout creator - Edit the windows keyboard layout.

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