The Key companion app

Do you own a Stack Overflow macropad and wish that it would actually interact with the site?
This simple CLI app will grab text from your clipboard and use it to open the Stack Overflow search page whenever The Key is pressed.

Info

NAME
      macropad - The Key companion app

USAGE
      macropad [-dhvV] <search text>

DESCRIPTION
      Find the best answer to your technical issue with a click of a key.
      Simply copy an error message and hit The Key to view Stack Overflow search results for it in your default browser.

PARAMETERS
      <search text>   Search query (optional). Clipboard content will be used if parameter is omitted.

OPTIONS
  -d, --daemon        Wait for The Key to be pressed, then open Stack Overflow search results with query from your clipboard.
  -h, --help          Show this help message and exit.
  -v, --verbose       Print debug information.
  -V, --version       Print version information and exit.

Requirements

• Java 11 or later

Setup

The Key

You'll need to assign a custom hotkey ctrl+alt+1 to the Stack Overflow key. If you're on macOS or Windows, follow the official guide for information on how to flash custom configuration to the macropad. A guide for Linux users can be found here.

Note The app uses only the Stack Overflow key. You can assign any hotkeys to C and K keys and use them for other automations.

App

Download a release version

Get the latest release from here.

Try running the app:

java -jar macropad-0.1.0.jar --help

Build it yourself

# clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/dobicinaitis/stack-overflow-macropad
cd stack-overflow-macropad

# (optional) change the default hotkey
vim src/main/resources/application.yml

# build it
./gradlew clean build

# run it
java -jar build/libs/macropad-0.1.0.jar --help

Bring it all together

You have 2 options for letting the app know when to open Stack Overflow:

• Daemon mode
• Global shortcut

Daemon mode

Run the app with --daemon option. It will listen for hotkey keystrokes and open Stack Overflow whenever The Key is pressed.

java -jar macropad-0.1.0.jar --daemon

You can also add the app to your OS's application startup list to launch it automatically at login.

Ubuntu guide.

Global shortcut

Use tools provided by your OS to configure a keyboard shortcut that executes java -jar PATH_TO_APP_DIR/macropad-0.1.0.jar when ctrl+alt+1 is pressed.

Ubuntu guide.

Note This option is slower as it takes a bit for the JVM to start.

Alternatives

Not a fan of this app or Java? It's ok. Honestly, a solution to grab clipboard text and open a URL can be implemented in couple lines of code using most programming languages, so just give it a try using your favorite language.

TODO (if bored)

• Compile to a standalone executable
• Allow overriding the default hotkey using --hotkey option
• Package the app for multiple OSs
• Add a GUI for configuring and flashing The Key

joy++