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hackfast

A modular, beginner-friendly guide for operating your machine with minimal interface friction. Everything is vimish. A distro for productivity.

Problem

Each app has its own set of commands. Pointing devices fragment attention. Context switching breaks flow.

Solution

Universal keybinds across every app. Vim navigation everywhere. Keyboard-first workflow.

Why macOS

This works for both macOS and Linux. The focus here is macOS because it balances usability with customization.

Why Not Omarchy?

Omarchy is a beautiful project. Nothing here is a criticism of it. Different tools for different needs.

That said, here's why hackfast exists:

  1. Platform: Omarchy is Linux. hackfast is macOS. If you're on a Mac, you stay on a Mac.
  2. Scope: Omarchy is a full OS distribution. hackfast is a workflow guide. One replaces your system, the other enhances it.
  3. Barrier to entry: Omarchy requires wiping your drive or dual-booting. hackfast requires brew install.
  4. Hardware integration: macOS has native support for Apple hardware — trackpad gestures, battery optimization, Retina displays, M-series chips. Linux support varies.
  5. Commercial software: macOS runs commercial apps natively — Adobe, Microsoft Office, Figma, Final Cut. Linux requires workarounds or alternatives.
  6. Reversibility: hackfast changes are symlinks and configs. Undo with stow -D. Switching OS is a larger commitment.
  7. Time investment: Installing and configuring a new OS takes hours to days. hackfast runs a bootstrap script.
  8. Existing ecosystem: If you already use iCloud, iMessage, AirDrop, Handoff — hackfast preserves that. Omarchy doesn't.
  9. Target audience: Omarchy is for people who want opinionated Linux. hackfast is for people who want keyboard-first macOS.
  10. Philosophy: Both follow Unix philosophy, but differently. hackfast is more strictly composable — small tools, plain text, pipes and scripts.

Best of Both Worlds

Want a real Unix environment? Run FreeBSD in a VM via UTM. SSH in from your terminal. Get the purity of Unix when you need it, macOS as your daily driver.

Motivation

Modern interfaces optimize for pointing devices. They fragment attention through small, frequent interactions.

During focused work, these interruptions matter. Reaching for a mouse, switching context, locating UI elements, or breaking hand position introduces friction between thought and execution.

This project started from a simple observation: flow breaks are often caused by interface mechanics, not by the work itself.

Background

The transition began with a split keyboard. That reduced physical friction. Learning Vim later reduced navigational friction.

The larger realization came afterward: if deep work depends on uninterrupted thought, then the interface must impose zero unnecessary transitions.

Keyboard-first tools already exist. Most applications already expose shortcuts. What was missing was a coherent, learnable system that ties everything together.

Goal

Provide a practical path to a keyboard-only workflow:

  • Minimal hand movement
  • Minimal thinking
  • Maximum speed
  • No dependency on a mouse or trackpad
  • Predictable, composable shortcuts
  • Fast to set up
  • Easy to learn incrementally

Keyboard-only does not mean rigid or extreme. It means removing friction wherever possible.

Result

After focused iteration and refinement, this repository emerged.