iTerm2
Focus: terminal, mac and command line. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. Rated 4.7 (Hammerspoon: 4.6).
Mac AppFreemacOS
4.7Visit
Mac App
Hammerspoon
A powerful macOS automation tool you control with simple Lua scripts.
Rating
4.6 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Advanced
Works on
macOS, Offline
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Hammerspoon?
Hammerspoon is a free, open-source automation tool for macOS. Write short Lua scripts to move and resize windows, launch apps with hotkeys, react to Wi-Fi or USB changes and automate almost any part of your Mac, so the little repetitive tasks in your day run themselves.
Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.
Pros: what Hammerspoon does well
- Automates windows, hotkeys and system events
- Huge library of shared scripts called Spoons
- Free and open source
Cons: where it falls short
- Mac only
- Needs some comfort with code
Who Hammerspoon is for
Mac power users who want to automate their desktop.
Who can skip it
Anyone who doesn't want to write scripts.
Hammerspoon alternatives
Not sold on Hammerspoon? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Karabiner-Elements
Focus: keyboard remapping, shortcuts and hyper key. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. Rated 4.7 (Hammerspoon: 4.6).
Mac AppFreemacOS
4.7Visit
Coolify
Focus: self-hosting, deployment and hosting. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A web app, not a Mac app. Adds Web. Rated 4.7 (Hammerspoon: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.7Visit
fish shell
Focus: terminal, shell and command line. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A desktop app, not a Mac app. Adds Linux. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit
Kando
Focus: pie menu, launcher and shortcuts. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A desktop app, not a Mac app. Adds Windows and Linux. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.6Visit
Nushell
Focus: shell, command line and data pipelines. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A desktop app, not a Mac app. Adds Windows and Linux. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Free alternatives to Hammerspoon
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
Oh My Zsh
Focus: terminal, zsh and shell. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A desktop app, not a Mac app. Adds Linux. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit
Task
Focus: task runner, automation and build tool. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A desktop app, not a Mac app. Adds Windows and Linux. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
topgrade
Focus: updates, package manager and automation. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A desktop app, not a Mac app. Adds Windows and Linux. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Violentmonkey
Focus: userscripts, browser extension and customisation. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A browser extension, not a Mac app. Adds Chrome and Firefox. Same 4.6 rating.
Browser ExtensionFreeChrome, Firefox
4.6Visit
Dasel
Focus: json, yaml and data conversion. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A desktop app, not a Mac app. Adds Windows and Linux. Rated 4.5 (Hammerspoon: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
Kanata
Focus: keyboard remapping, shortcuts and ergonomics. Shares open source and github with Hammerspoon. A desktop app, not a Mac app. Adds Windows and Linux. Rated 4.5 (Hammerspoon: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
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