Hammerspoon vs Keyboard Maestro

Code-driven Lua engine. Every automation is a function you write against hs.* APIs, unlimited composability, version-controlled config, modal layers, and reactive event watches (Wi-Fi, USB, battery, screen, app). Steeper learning curve but no ceiling. Verified August 2026: ships universal and works on Tahoe 26.x after re-granting Accessibility.

Visual canvas with 300+ drag-and-drop actions and a macro recorder. Triggers cover hotkeys, typed strings, palettes, cron, folder/app/window, MIDI, and USB. No code needed for most workflows; embed code only when you want to. Verified August 2026: v11 universal binary remains current on Tahoe 26.x.

hs.window, hs.grid, hs.spaces and hs.screen give pixel-precise tiling, throw-to-display/space, and display-change reactors. Many users recreate tiling WMs (yabai-parity) entirely in Lua with animation control.

Window actions (Move/Resize, Manipulate Windows, Bring to Front) handle halves/thirds and app-specific geometry, plus Spaces awareness. Reliable for snap/placement palettes but less algorithmic than Hammerspoon's continuous layout reactors.

Watchers for Wi-Fi, USB, battery, Caffeinate, path, URL, pasteboard, and screen. hs.caffeinate.watcher, hs.wifi.watcher, hs.usb.watcher let the daemon react to hardware/network without polling.

Extensive built-in triggers including wireless network, USB device, MIDI, mounted volume, login, sleep, idle, and periodic (cron-like). Folder and application triggers are particularly ergonomic for non-programmers.

First week is debugging Lua in the console, reading hs.* docs, and handling nil-window edge cases. Community Spoons help, but there is no recorder. Reward arrives after that investment.

Install, grant Accessibility, record a macro or drag actions into a visual list. Seeing triggers and actions in plain English flattens the curve; the forum, wiki, and built-in help examples resolve most questions in minutes.

hs.pasteboard + hs.eventtap + string ops cover clipboard manipulation, but you build the UX yourself (choosers, alerts). No built-in clipboard history or OCR, add via Spoons or hand code.

First-class clipboard histories (named clipboards, persistent stacks), clipboard filters, text-token expansion, OCR actions, dictionary/variable pipeline, and regex tools. A standout reason non-programmers choose it.

MIT-licensed, community Spoons on GitHub, full Lua standard library, and the ability to require any Lua rock or call out to shell/Python/Node. If an API is missing you can write it.

Embed Execute Shell/AppleScript/JavaScript (including modern JavaScript for Automation), call Hammerspoon or Shortcuts from a macro, and share macros on the forum. Visual canvas sets the boundary, you cannot rewrite the engine itself.

Console reloads live but a nil window or race on rapid display wakes can throw Lua errors. Stability depends on the quality of your init.lua. Crash logs are Lua stacktraces, not GUI hints.

Visual debugger, macro groups with enable/disable, conflict resolution, and detailed Engine log. Failures surface as named actions with progress indication, making root cause faster to spot.

Free and MIT open source. Download via GitHub releases or Homebrew. No trial, no activation, community support via GitHub issues and Discourse.

US$36.00 new license, US$25 upgrade from v10, volume discounts available. One-time purchase, not a subscription; free minor updates through the 11.x line. 30-day-style trial available via Stairways.

1.0.0 cut April 2026 is the current release line; GitHub shows active PRs and 2026 commits. Universal binary, notarized. Accessibility re-grant required after major OS upgrades.

Commercial maintenance rhythm with documented 11.x patches into 2026. Universal notarized build tracks current macOS; larger installed base gives faster Tahoe compatibility confidence.