https://github.com/jaygooby/karabiner-elements-terminal-hud
Toggles a full-screen macOS terminal.app using Karabiner-Elements complex modifications
https://github.com/jaygooby/karabiner-elements-terminal-hud
Last synced: 4 months ago
JSON representation
Toggles a full-screen macOS terminal.app using Karabiner-Elements complex modifications
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/jaygooby/karabiner-elements-terminal-hud
- Owner: jaygooby
- Created: 2025-03-14T16:09:42.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-03-14T17:13:08.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-10-11T11:03:09.789Z (9 months ago)
- Size: 2.93 KB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# About
A fullscreen terminal toggle (like iTerm2 or Guake; RIP [Visor](https://visor.binaryage.com) & [TotalTerminal](https://totalterminal.binaryage.com)) using the built-in macOS `Terminal.app`.
Uses [Karabiner-Elements](https://github.com/pqrs-org/Karabiner-Elements) because I already use it.
# How to install
Choose [`Complex Modifications` in Karabiner Elements, then click the `Add your own rule` button](https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/docs/manual/configuration/add-your-own-complex-modifications/). Copy and paste this repo's [`show.json`](./show.json) then do it again for [`hide.json`](./hide.json).
Now when you press `Control`+`Space` on your keyboard, the terminal should toggle.
# Why
I got fed up with iTerm2 eating energy and don't use any of its advanced features other than the fullscreen toggle, so I thought I'd try it with the macOS native Terminal.app.
# Does it work?
It's OK! You still get Terminal showing up in the cmd-tab list of apps, which isn't a deal breaker for me, although it's a bit meh, because you can tab to it and it won't be fullscreen, but a quick `Control`+`Space` and you're fullscreen again.
Sometimes when you toggle, the `f` keypress seems detatched from its modifers, so Terminal shows you a search bar at the top. Slightly annoying :(
# Old stuff
The [`old-experiments`](./old-experiments) directory in the repo has various examples of me trying to launch using the shell, and then showing and hiding the terminal with Applescript until I worked out how to do it all with pure Karabiner-Elements commands.
If you want to mess around with the `osascript` calls you'll need to enable various permissions in macOS's System Settings, Privacy & Security - which you should get as OS pop-up warnings.