Ready-to-Use Mac Keyboard Automation Starter Pack

Theory helps, but a working config makes the system real.

Below is a starter Goku config, a shared setup checklist, and a list of Keyboard Maestro macro ideas. Take what fits, ignore what does not.

A practical order for getting started: wire up the config structure first, then define one or two modes, then add Keyboard Maestro actions once the remapping layer feels stable. Remove anything you have not used after a week -- the system should shrink to what you actually use.

Starter Goku config

This config defines three simlayers -- w for opening apps, t for templates, and s for screenshots.

{
  :profiles {:default {:default true}}
 
  :templates {
    :km "osascript -e 'tell application \"Keyboard Maestro Engine\" to do script \"%s\"'"
    :open "open \"%s\""
  }
 
  :simlayers {
    :w-mode {:key :w}
    :t-mode {:key :t}
    :s-mode {:key :s}
  }
 
  :main [
    {:des "w-mode: open apps"
     :rules [:w-mode
       [:c [:open "-a Google Chrome"]]
       [:v [:open "-a Visual Studio Code"]]
       [:o [:open "-a Obsidian"]]
       [:k [:open "-a Keyboard Maestro"]]
     ]}
 
    {:des "t-mode: templates and helper actions"
     :rules [:t-mode
       [:0 [:km "Open Templates"]]
     ]}
 
    {:des "s-mode: screenshot helpers"
     :rules [:s-mode
       [:c [:km "Take Screenshot"]]
       [:o [:km "OCR Selected Text"]]
     ]}
  ]
}

Swap in your own app names and Keyboard Maestro macro names. The structure stays the same.

Shared setup checklist

Use this if you want multiple macOS user accounts to share the same keyboard automation source files.

Shared folder

Create /Users/Shared/keyboard
Put karabiner.edn there
Put Keyboard Maestro sync file there if you want shared macros
Confirm folder permissions allow both accounts to read and update the files

Per user account

Install Karabiner-Elements
Install Goku
Grant the required macOS permissions for keyboard remapping tools
Create ~/.config if needed
Symlink ~/.config/karabiner.edn to /Users/Shared/keyboard/karabiner.edn
Run goku
Confirm ~/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json is generated locally
Confirm the remaps actually work

Keyboard Maestro

Open Keyboard Maestro on account A and create a sync file in the shared folder
Open Keyboard Maestro on account B and point it to the existing shared sync file
Export anything important before switching an account to a shared sync file

Maintenance

Edit the shared karabiner.edn
Re-run goku in each account that needs updated output
Remove old or unused mappings regularly
Keep the shared folder backed up

Keyboard Maestro macro ideas

App and workspace setup

Open editor
Open browser
Open notes app
Open chat app
Open terminal
Open editor + browser in a split layout
Open a full writing setup
Open a full coding setup

Search and navigation

Focus app search
Focus find-in-file
Focus global command palette
Jump to a notes template folder
Open a launcher surface

Repeated text and generation

Insert current date
Insert timestamp
Insert short date ID
Clean up grammar of selected text
Insert a repeated template block

Capture and utility actions

Take screenshot
OCR selected text
Copy OCR result to clipboard
Save a quick note
Trigger a clipboard history action

A few design rules worth keeping in mind

Start with actions you already repeat often, not actions you imagine doing
Group related things together so the macro list stays readable
Keep your most-used actions on the simplest triggers
Delete macros you have not used in a month -- they add noise
Be cautious with anything that quits apps, closes windows, or runs commands without confirmation

Keep it small at first

Resist the temptation to configure everything at once.

Wire up one mode, use it for a week, remove what you skip. The configs that last are the ones that grew from actual habits — not the ones that tried to predict them.

Starter Goku config

Shared setup checklist

Keyboard Maestro macro ideas

Keep it small at first

Further reading