Normal mode

Use Normal for everyday movement, clicking, scrolling, and dragging. Press Primary+E to enter and Esc or Q to return to Idle.

Primary means left Alt on Windows and Command on macOS by default. Normal uses configured keys; other keys still reach the current application.

Normal mode demonstrationKeyboard pointer movement, speed modifiers, scrolling, and common click operations.

Default keys

Normal default key groupsColours identify action types; blank keys are unassigned.

qwertyuiop

Capsasdfghjkl;'

Shiftzxcvbnm,.SlashRShift

CtrlPrimaryAltSpace

• Move
• Click
• Speed
• Scroll
• Hold / drag
• Application navigation
• Mode switch

Key	Action
H / J / K / L	Move the pointer left / down / up / right
Caps Lock / Left Shift	Precision / slow movement
V or B	Fast movement
M / ,	Scroll down / up
; / ' / Right Shift	Left / right / middle click
N + a click key	Hold a mouse button for dragging; tap N alone to release
T / Y / I / U	Home / End / Page Up / Page Down
G / F / Primary+G / Primary+F	Grid / UI Hint / Recursive Grid / Bisect
Primary+S	Move the pointer to the next display
Primary+D	Move the window under the pointer to the next display
Q / Esc	Return to Idle

No need to memorize everything

Press ? to show the available keys, then press it again to hide them. Capital letters are for readability; hold Shift only when a shortcut says Shift+.

Blind grid positioning

Once you know the grid positions, type cell keys to jump, then use H/J/K/L for small adjustments. You stay in Normal, with no grid drawn on screen.

Optional, off by default

This example uses four areas: 1 top left, 2 top right, 3 bottom left, and 4 bottom right. Type 2 → 3 to jump into the top-right area, then its bottom-left quarter.

Add this configuration to try it. First check that 1/2/3/4, Tab, Backspace, and Space have no other bindings. These keys are free in the shipped defaults.

[normal.targeting]
method = "grid"
grid_cols = 2
grid_rows = 2
keys = "1234"
max_depth = 3
reset_on = ["move", "click"]

Action	What happens
Keep typing cell keys	Narrow the area and jump to each smaller cell's center
Tab / Backspace	Go back one level, leaving the pointer where it is
Space	Start selecting from the whole screen again, without moving the pointer
Reach the last level	Stay there; you can still adjust, click, or go back

With this configuration, fine movement with H/J/K/L or a KeySteer click makes the next selection start from the whole screen. Use reset_on = [] to keep the area. Physical mouse actions and scrolling do not start over. Esc and click keys keep their usual actions.

To use an existing Grid or Recursive Grid layout, see Blind positioning configuration. Remove [normal.targeting] to turn it off; an empty table enables the default grid.

Pointer speed

Hold Caps Lock for precise movement, left Shift to slow down, or V / B to speed up. Release the key to return to the previous speed. These keys also affect scrolling.

Prefer tapping to holding?

Add these three lines to your existing [normal.bindings]. Tap to switch speed, then tap the same key again to return to normal speed. The current speed appears below the mode name.

f5 = "precision_toggle"
f6 = "slow_toggle"
f7 = "fast_toggle"

To change overall speed, open Normal → Behavior in Configuration & Simulator. When editing TOML, speed and multiplier settings go in [pointer]; see Full speed settings.

Dragging and holding

To drag a window or file, hold the left mouse button while leaving your fingers free to move:

1. Move the pointer onto a window title bar or the file to drag.
2. Hold ; for about half a second, then release it. The left mouse button stays down.
3. Use H/J/K/L to drag to the destination.
4. Tap N alone to release the button and finish.

You can also use N with a click key

Hold N, tap ;, then release N to keep the left button down. Pressing the click key before N works too. Use ' or right Shift for the right or middle button.

N can also keep other keys held, including several at once. Tapping N alone, switching back to Normal, or returning to Idle releases all keys and mouse buttons held this way.

To change the hold time, adjust:

[normal]
long_press_toggle_ms = 500 # Half a second; 0 disables long-press holding.
auto_release_ms = 0       # Manual release by default; try a delay such as 300 ms.

For example, with auto_release_ms = 300, hold a click key to keep the mouse button down, then drag while holding Ctrl. When movement stops for about 0.3 seconds, the mouse button releases; you still release Ctrl yourself. The modifier must pass through to the application. Buttons held through N, press, or toggle still need manual release. Both settings accept 0–60000 milliseconds.

Custom shortcuts

Open Configuration & Simulator, choose a key, and pick an action to try a binding. To edit TOML directly, merge these lines into your existing [normal.bindings]:

[normal.bindings]
"primary+space" = "left_click"
"primary+g" = "grid"
q = "idle"

This uses Primary+Space to click and Primary+G to open Grid. After saving, choose Reload Configuration from the tray or status menu.

Edit the existing key table

A new [normal.bindings] table replaces the whole default key table. Keep your movement, click, and exit keys too. Start from the complete default configuration.

In Grid and UI Hint, matching keys select labels first. Hold Primary to temporarily use Normal's pointer controls.

Unbound keys reach the application by default, so tools such as AHK and Quicker can still use them. If H moves the pointer but Alt+H has no binding, Alt+H still reaches the application. To also block other keys, set passthrough_unbound_keys = false in [normal]; the default is true.

Temporary text input

To type while using Normal:

1. Press \ to start typing.
2. Type normally; application shortcuts such as Ctrl/Cmd+A/C/V work too.
3. Press Enter, \, or Esc to return to Normal.

Enter only returns to Normal by default

It does not insert a newline or submit to the application. Use an example below to change [text_input.bindings] for multiline text, IME candidates, or submitting before returning. Holding Q while typing does not open Quick Switch.

Default: Enter returns

[text_input.bindings]
'enter \ esc' = "normal"

Keep Enter in the app

[text_input.bindings]
'\ esc' = "normal"

Submit, then return

[text_input.bindings]
'\ esc' = "normal"
enter = ["send enter", "normal"]

To temporarily move the pointer while typing, use right Ctrl: hold it, move with H/J/K/L, then release it to resume typing.

[text_input]
temporary_mode = "normal"
temporary_mode_keys = ["right_ctrl"]

Finishing temporary control also ends continuous movement and held keys. Choose a key that does not take over your editing shortcuts. With inherits = ["normal"], letters such as HJKL perform pointer actions, which gets in the way of typing.

Edit text from the home row (optional)

You can enable these chords to move your fingers less. They are off by default so your application's shortcuts stay available.

Chord	Action
Primary+H/J/K/L	Left / down / up / right arrow
Primary+U/I/O	Backspace / Delete / Insert
Primary+T/Y	Home / End

Pick the lines you need from the full example and add them to your existing [text_input.bindings]. Ctrl and Shift variants can extend selections. If Primary is already Ctrl, skip Ctrl+Primary combinations. Explicit full chords take priority over temporary pointer controls, and holding a chord repeats it as usual in the application.

Full editing-key example (copy only the bindings you need)

# Optional Text Input editing keys; choose modifiers distinct from Primary.
# Explicit bindings replace the default table, so keep the return keys.
[text_input.bindings]
'enter \ esc' = "normal"
"primary+h" = "arrow_left"
"primary+j" = "arrow_down"
"primary+k" = "arrow_up"
"primary+l" = "arrow_right"
"primary+u" = "backspace"
"primary+i" = "delete"
"primary+o" = "insert"
"primary+t" = "home"
"primary+y" = "end"
"shift+primary+h" = "send shift+arrow_left"
"shift+primary+j" = "send shift+arrow_down"
"shift+primary+k" = "send shift+arrow_up"
"shift+primary+l" = "send shift+arrow_right"
"shift+primary+u" = "send shift+backspace"
"shift+primary+i" = "send shift+delete"
"shift+primary+o" = "send shift+insert"
"shift+primary+t" = "send shift+home"
"shift+primary+y" = "send shift+end"
"ctrl+primary+h" = "send ctrl+arrow_left"
"ctrl+primary+j" = "send ctrl+arrow_down"
"ctrl+primary+k" = "send ctrl+arrow_up"
"ctrl+primary+l" = "send ctrl+arrow_right"
"ctrl+primary+u" = "send ctrl+backspace"
"ctrl+primary+i" = "send ctrl+delete"
"ctrl+primary+o" = "send ctrl+insert"
"ctrl+primary+t" = "send ctrl+home"
"ctrl+primary+y" = "send ctrl+end"
"ctrl+shift+primary+h" = "send ctrl+shift+arrow_left"
"ctrl+shift+primary+j" = "send ctrl+shift+arrow_down"
"ctrl+shift+primary+k" = "send ctrl+shift+arrow_up"
"ctrl+shift+primary+l" = "send ctrl+shift+arrow_right"
"ctrl+shift+primary+u" = "send ctrl+shift+backspace"
"ctrl+shift+primary+i" = "send ctrl+shift+delete"
"ctrl+shift+primary+o" = "send ctrl+shift+insert"
"ctrl+shift+primary+t" = "send ctrl+shift+home"
"ctrl+shift+primary+y" = "send ctrl+shift+end"

Mode badge style and position

The “Normal” label beside the pointer reminds you which mode is active. You can rename it, change its color, size, and position, or hide it.

In Configuration & Simulator, open Global settings → Mode badge to edit it with a live preview. Drag the orange anchor to position it, or use arrow keys for small adjustments. Hold Shift to move by 10 at a time.

To edit TOML directly, merge settings into the existing tables with the same names:

[mode_indicator.modes.normal]
enabled = true   # false hides the badge.
text = "Normal" # Use any name you like.

[mode_indicator.ui]
indicator_offset = [-12, 18] # 12 left and 18 down.
font_size = 13
background_color = "#0A1338FF"
text_color = "#E8EEFFFF"
border_radius = 6
padding_x = 8
padding_y = 4

[mode_indicator.modes.text_input]
enabled = false # Hidden while typing by default; true shows it.

indicator_offset = [X, Y] places the label's top-right corner. Positive X moves right, negative left; positive Y moves down, negative up. Near a display edge, the label moves back into view. Both values accept integers from -32768 to 32767.

Global styling affects every mode. To change only Normal, use [mode_indicator.modes.normal.ui]. Remove an individual setting or reset it in the editor to use the global value again. Text Input can use its own .ui table too.

Older position, indicator_x_offset, and indicator_y_offset fields are retired; use indicator_offset = [X, Y] instead.