The location of the configuration file
Karabiner-Elements stores the user configuration as a json file located at ~/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json
However, there may be cases where you want to place the configuration file elsewhere, such as to automatically sync across multiple machines or to manage it under version control.
In such cases, You can move the karabiner.json configuration file to a different directory by using a symbolic link.
Warning
Ensure you create a symbolic link to the ~/.config/karabiner directory, not directly to the karabiner.json file.
Karabiner-Elements will fail to detect configuration file changes and reload the configuration if karabiner.json is a symbolic link.
Making symbolic link example
The following command allows you to move the karabiner.json file to ~/Dropbox/private. The same process is applies for any other directory.
mv ~/.config/karabiner ~/Dropbox/private
ln -s ~/Dropbox/private/karabiner ~/.config
After changing the actual location of karabiner.json, you need to restart karabiner_console_user_server using the following command.
Otherwise, it will not be able to automatically detect updates to karabiner.json.
launchctl kickstart -k gui/`id -u`/org.pqrs.karabiner.karabiner_console_user_server
Additional file access permissions
Normally, no additional configuration is needed even if you change the location of karabiner.json.
However, if you move the karabiner.json file to a location that requires special permissions, such as the Desktop or Downloads folder, you will need to grant access permissions to the following processes.
karabiner_grabberkarabiner_console_user_server
The most reliable way is to grant Full Disk Access to these processes.
To grant Full Disk Access to the these process,
nagivate to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access
and make sure the toggle next to karabiner_grabber and karabiner_console_user_server are set to the ON position.
If these entries are not listed, you can press the + button, navigate to Macintosh HD > Library > Application Support > org.pqrs > Karabiner-Elements > bin, and add them from there.
After turning them on, please restart macOS once to restart these processes.