What is a compose key?

A "compose" key is an input method used for complex characters. It allows you to press your compose key (I bind mine to right-alt on my mac keyboard), and then type something, for instance:

[Compose], +, 1 = 👍
[Compose], s, h, r, u, g = ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This repo contains my compose key setup but should easily allow you to create your own powerful compositions. The DefaultKeyBinding.dict file contains a tree of "composition". I entertain pull requests to add new shortcuts you feel are important to your day to day.

You can read more about it on the blog that inspired this setup.

Setting up a "Compose Key" in Mac OS X

git clone https://github.com/gnarf/osx-compose-key.git
./install.sh

You can also install it manually, if you prefer:

For all versions of OS X

mkdir -p ~/Library/KeyBindings
curl 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gnarf/osx-compose-key/master/DefaultKeyBinding.dict' -o ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict

Note: changes to ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict require quitting and restarting any apps you want to test them in.

For OS X 10.12 Sierra

Install Karabiner-Elements for remapping keys support, and download these files into the correct places:

brew cask install karabiner-elements
mkdir -p ~/.karabiner.d/configuration
curl 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gnarf/osx-compose-key/master/karabiner.json' -o ~/.karabiner.d/configuration/karabiner.json

In Karabiner-Elements under the Simple Modifications tab, click "Add item". Set the "From key" to "right_option" (or "right_command" if you use right alt) and "To key" to "non_us_backslash":

For OS X 10.11 and below

Install Karabiner for remapping keys support, and download these files into the correct places:

brew cask install karabiner
mkdir -p ~/Library/Application\ Support/Karabiner
curl 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gnarf/osx-compose-key/master/private.xml' -o ~/Library/Application\ Support/Karabiner/private.xml

In Karabiner, enable "Send § for Right Option" (or right command if you use right alt):