Layers

You already know that a single key can do two things — tap for one action, hold for another. Layers take that idea and apply it to your entire keyboard.

Hold a trigger key and every key on your keyboard changes what it does. Release the trigger and everything goes back to normal. It’s like having multiple keyboards stacked on top of each other, and you switch between them instantly.

You’ve actually been using layers your whole life. Every time you hold Shift, you’re on a different “layer” — one where A types a, and another where A types A. KeyPath just lets you create as many of these as you want.

You’re already using one

If you followed the Remapping guide and have Home Row Arrows installed, you’ve been using a layer without thinking about it:

  Base layer (normal):              Home Arrows layer (hold F):
  ┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐            ┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
  │ Y │ U │ I │ O │ P │            │   │PgU│ ↑ │PgD│   │
  ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤            ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
  │ H │ J │ K │ L │ ; │            │Hom│ ← │ ↓ │ → │End│
  └───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘            └───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘

Hold F → you’re on the arrows layer. Release F → you’re back on base. That’s all a layer is.

How layers work

Every layer is a complete keyboard layout. When you activate a layer, KeyPath looks up what each key should do on that layer. Keys you haven’t assigned on the layer fall through to the base layer — so your whole keyboard doesn’t go blank, only the keys you’ve defined change.

  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Layer: home-arrows                      │
  │  Only 8 keys defined — everything else   │
  │  falls through to base layer             │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘
                    ▲
                    │ hold F
                    │
  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Layer: base                             │
  │  Your normal keyboard — all keys active  │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘

This means you can define a layer with just the keys you care about. Letters you don’t remap still type normally.

The layers that ship with KeyPath

KeyPath includes several layer packs you can install from the Pack Gallery. Each one gives you a purpose-built layer activated by a trigger key.

Hold-activated layers (direct from base)

These activate by holding a single key on the base layer:

Layer	Trigger	What it does
Home Row Arrows	Hold F	Arrow keys, Home/End, Page Up/Down on IJKL

Leader-activated layers (hold Space, then a key)

These use a two-step activation: hold Space (the Leader key) to enter the navigation layer, then press another key to enter a specific sub-layer. This keeps the base layer clean — Space activates one hub, and from there you branch out.

Layer	Activation	What it does
Vim Navigation	Hold Space	Arrows on HJKL, copy/paste, undo, find
Numpad	Space + ;	Right hand becomes a number pad
Symbol	Space + S	Programming symbols under home row
Function	Space + F	F-keys on right hand, media on left
Window Snapping	Space + W	Tile windows to halves, corners, screens
Mission Control	Space + M	Expose, desktops, notification center

Installing a layer pack

Open the Pack Gallery
Find the layer pack you want (e.g., Numpad)
Click Install

The layer is immediately available. Hold the trigger keys to activate it.

See the Packs & Layers catalog for details on every available layer.

The overlay shows you where you are

The keyboard overlay updates in real time as you switch layers. When you hold a trigger key, the overlay shows the current layer’s key assignments — so you always know what each key does right now.

This is especially useful when you’re learning a new layer. Keep the overlay visible and glance at it while you build muscle memory.

Understanding the Leader key

Most layer packs use Space as the “Leader” — the gateway to all your layers. Here’s why:

Space is the biggest key on your keyboard. Easy to hold with either thumb.
Tap Space and it types a space. Normal typing isn’t affected.
Hold Space and you enter the navigation hub. From there, press another key to reach a specific layer.

  Tap Space → types a space (normal)

  Hold Space → navigation layer (arrows, copy, paste, undo)
  Hold Space + ; → numpad layer
  Hold Space + S → symbol layer
  Hold Space + F → function/media layer
  Hold Space + W → window snapping layer
  Hold Space + M → mission control layer

This two-step design means you only “use up” one key (Space) on the base layer, but you get access to six or more layers through it.

If you’d rather use a different key as your Leader, install the Leader Key pack — you can switch to Caps Lock, Tab, or Backtick.

Creating your own layer

The layer packs cover the most common use cases, but you can create custom layers too.

From the command line

# Create a layer
keypath layer create media

# Add keys to it
keypath rule add j --action '{"keystroke":{"key":"vold"}}' --layer media
keypath rule add k --action '{"keystroke":{"key":"volu"}}' --layer media
keypath rule add l --action '{"keystroke":{"key":"pp"}}' --layer media

# List your layers
keypath layer list

What makes a good custom layer?

The best layers share a few traits:

One clear purpose — “this layer is for window management” not “this layer has some stuff on it”
Muscle memory mapping — put related actions on keys that make spatial sense (arrows in a cluster, not scattered)
Few keys defined — only assign the keys you need. Everything else falls through to base, so you can still type normally

What’s next?

You now understand the three fundamentals: remapping a key, giving one key two jobs, and switching between entire layers. Everything else in KeyPath is a specific application of these ideas.

Home Row Mods — The most popular advanced technique. Your home row keys become modifiers when held — every shortcut stays under your fingers.

Packs & Layers — Browse the full catalog of installable layer packs.

Vim Navigation — The foundation layer pack. Hold Space for arrows, editing, and more.

Keyboard Concepts — Chords, tap-dance, sequences, Hyper key — the techniques that build on top of layers.