Tuna

Coming from Leader Key

Tuna keeps Leader Key’s nested, predictable key sequences in Combo Mode. The main change is that Combo Mode shares Tuna’s command system instead of being a separate set of shortcuts.

The Mental Model

In Leader Key In Tuna
Leader shortcut Combo Mode Activation trigger
Config outline Combo Mode Editor keymap
Group Combo group
Application, folder, URL, or command action A Tuna subject and action, or an external URL
Cheatsheet options Combo Mode Cheatsheet settings

A Combo Mode leaf is normally a Tuna command: a subject, an action, and sometimes a target. The same command can also be found in Fuzzy Mode, assigned a global hotkey, or used elsewhere in Tuna. Groups still provide the familiar layers of single-character keys.

Bring Over Your Keymap

Tuna can import Leader Key’s config.json:

  1. Open Settings → Combo Mode → Editor.
  2. Choose Import → Import JSON….
  3. Select your Leader Key config. Its default location is ~/Library/Application Support/Leader Key/config.json.
  4. Review the imported keymap and any message about entries Tuna could not convert.

Importing replaces the current Combo Mode keymap. Groups, applications, folders, URLs, and shell commands are converted; labels, keys, and icon paths are preserved where possible. Tuna reports a count if an entry cannot be converted.

Next, open Settings → Combo Mode → Settings and choose an activation style:

  • Hotkey style is the closest match to a normal Leader Key shortcut.
  • Double Press toggles Combo Mode by double-tapping a chosen modifier.
  • Modifier style runs a root action by holding the chosen modifier and pressing its key.

Double-press and modifier-style triggers may require macOS Input Monitoring permission. For the available keys and modifier behavior, see Keyboard Shortcuts.

Open One Group with Its Own Hotkey

You can jump directly into a group—for example, use Hyper+D to open a Dev group—without first entering Combo Mode and pressing D:

  1. Open Settings → Sources → Tuna and turn on Combo Groups. This exposes the groups in your Combo Mode keymap as Tuna items.
  2. Open Settings → Hotkeys. Under Custom Hotkeys, choose Add Hotkey.
  3. In the Subject column, find and select the group, such as Dev.
  4. Select Run as its action, then choose Add Hotkey.
  5. Record the shortcut in the new hotkey row.

Pressing that shortcut opens Combo Mode already inside the selected group, ready for the next key. This is a normal Tuna custom hotkey, so it is configured in Hotkeys, not on the group in the Combo Mode editor. Tuna supports Hyper shortcuts; see Hotkeys and Activation if you want to use Caps Lock or another physical key as Hyper.

A Practical Migration Order

  1. Import the existing keymap.
  2. Set the Combo Mode trigger and check your most-used paths.
  3. Add direct group hotkeys for the few groups you enter most often.
  4. Rebuild only the commands that Tuna reports it could not convert.

You do not need to redesign your keymap to start. Once it works, you can gradually replace shell commands with Tuna commands when using Tuna’s subjects, actions, or extensions is more convenient.

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