# Karabiner-Elements v16.2.0

- Product: Karabiner-Elements (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/karabiner-elements)
- Vendor: pqrs.org
- Date: 2026-08-30
- Version: v16.2.0
- Original notes: https://github.com/pqrs-org/Karabiner-Elements/releases/tag/v16.2.0
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/karabiner-elements/releases/v16.2.0
- Labels: Platforms: macOS

What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog.

Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

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- **added** — Add the `Swap ISO layout-specific keys` configuration to Device tab
- **added** — Add filtering functionality to the Complex Modifications list
- **added** — Add support for buttons 6–8 on the ELECOM HUGE PLUS and DEFT trackballs
- **added** — Add appearance settings for the notification window
- **added** — Add `Capture Raw Input Events` and `Capture Raw Input Records` to EventViewer
- **added** — Add `--set-variables-from-stdin` option to karabiner_cli
- **added** — Add the `duration_milliseconds` option to `set_notification_message`
- **added** — Add the `Modify events for pointing devices by default` setting to Expert tab
- **added** — Add support for unbundled GUI apps in `frontmost_application_if` and `frontmost_application_unless`
- **added** — Add support for `notes` in complex modification rules
- **added** — Add support for accessibility.focused_ui_element.window_title_string variable in `variable_if`
- **added** — Add the event timestamp in EventViewer
- **changed** — Integrate the Multitouch Extension menu into the Karabiner-Elements menu
- **changed** — Complex Modifications import now supports JavaScript files and single-rule JSON files
- **changed** — Improve the handling of macOS sleep shortcuts to prevent key-up events from immediately waking the Mac
- **changed** — Consolidate the `karabiner_console_user_server`, Menu, and NotificationWindow components into a single app named Karabiner-Console-User-Server
- **fixed** — Fix CGEventTap leaks
- **fixed** — Fix an issue where the core service agent could rarely abort during termination
- **fixed** — Fix an issue where modifications could stop working for several seconds after waking from sleep on macOS
- **fixed** — Close Karabiner-EventViewer and the Settings window after an upgrade

- [📦 Download](https://github.com/pqrs-org/Karabiner-Elements/releases/download/v16.2.0/Karabiner-Elements-16.2.0.dmg)
- 📅 Release date
    - Aug 30, 2026
- 🔔 Important Notes
    - When upgrading from v15.9.0 or earlier, automatic startup of the Karabiner-Elements services will be disabled.
      After upgrading, open Karabiner-Elements.app to re-enable automatic startup.
- 💥 Breaking changes
    - Integrated the Multitouch Extension menu into the Karabiner-Elements menu.
      Open the Multitouch Extension settings from the Karabiner-Elements menu.
- ✨ New Features
    - Added the `Swap ISO layout-specific keys` configuration to Device tab.
    - Added filtering functionality to the Complex Modifications list.
    - Added support for buttons 6–8 on the ELECOM HUGE PLUS and DEFT trackballs. (Thanks to @z11i)
    - Added appearance settings for the notification window. (Thanks to @xianjianlf2)
    - Added `Capture Raw Input Events` and `Capture Raw Input Records` to EventViewer.
    - Added `--set-variables-from-stdin` option to karabiner_cli.
    - Added the `duration_milliseconds` option to `set_notification_message`. (Thanks to @xianjianlf2)
    - Added the `Modify events for pointing devices by default` setting to Expert tab. (Thanks to @xianjianlf2)
- 🐛 Bug Fixes
    - Fixed CGEventTap leaks (Thanks to @MrMage and @VitalyShein)
- ⚡️ Improvements
    - Complex Modifications import now supports JavaScript files and single-rule JSON files.
    - Improved the handling of macOS sleep shortcuts to prevent key-up events from immediately waking the Mac.
    - Fixed an issue where the core service agent could rarely abort during termination.
    - Fixed an issue where modifications could stop working for several seconds after waking from sleep on macOS.
    - Karabiner-EventViewer and the Settings window are now closed after an upgrade.
    - Added support for unbundled GUI apps in `frontmost_application_if` and `frontmost_application_unless`.
    - Added support for `notes` in complex modification rules.
    - `variable_if` now supports the following variable:
        - accessibility.focused_ui_element.window_title_string
    - Added the event timestamp in EventViewer.
    - The `karabiner_console_user_server`, Menu, and NotificationWindow components have been consolidated into a single app named Karabiner-Console-User-Server.
    - Refactored the C++ and Swift code for the Settings, EventViewer, and MultitouchExtension apps.