Alternatives
Your automation app, on Windows
Coming from a Mac, or from another tool? Here's how your favourite maps to KeyRoutines, honestly.
Keyboard Maestro
Keyboard Maestro for Windows: the closest thing is KeyRoutines
Keyboard Maestro is Mac-only and there's no Windows version. KeyRoutines is a Windows app that covers much of the same ground: you build routines from triggers, steps and conditions, start them with hotkeys, typed text, apps, devices, folders or schedules, and add waits, branches and loops without writing code. It doesn't have everything Keyboard Maestro has yet, notably palettes, clipboard history, a recorder and finding images on screen.
Apple Shortcuts
Apple Shortcuts for Windows: build routines with KeyRoutines
Apple's Shortcuts app only runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and other Apple devices, and there's no Windows version. KeyRoutines fills a similar role on a Windows PC: you chain steps into routines and run them yourself or automatically when an app opens, Wi-Fi changes, a device connects or a time comes. It's a desktop app, so there's no Siri, no phone and no location-based automation.
Hammerspoon
Hammerspoon for Windows: the same watchers, without Lua
Hammerspoon only runs on macOS, and there's no Windows port. On Windows, KeyRoutines covers the things most people put in their Hammerspoon config: hotkeys, window placement, and watchers for apps, Wi-Fi, USB devices, folders, sleep and wake. The big difference is that you build routines from blocks instead of writing Lua, so you trade some of Hammerspoon's unlimited flexibility for not having to maintain code.
BetterTouchTool
BetterTouchTool for Windows: what KeyRoutines covers, what it doesn't
BetterTouchTool only runs on macOS, and there's no Windows version. KeyRoutines covers its keyboard side on Windows: hotkeys and key sequences, mouse side buttons, window placement and chains of actions per app. It does not do trackpad or mouse gestures, floating menus or a clipboard manager in 1.0, so if gestures are what you miss most, it isn't the right fit.
Keysmith
Keysmith for Windows: KeyRoutines builds instead of records
Keysmith is a Mac-only app, so it won't run on Windows. KeyRoutines is a Windows app for the same kind of everyday automation, but it works differently: Keysmith creates macros by recording what you do, while KeyRoutines has you build routines from blocks such as Open app, Press keys and Type text. KeyRoutines 1.0 has no recorder.
Alfred
Alfred for Windows: launchers vs automation with KeyRoutines
Alfred is Mac-only. If what you miss is the search bar for launching apps and finding files, a Windows launcher such as PowerToys Run or PowerToys Command Palette is the better fit, not KeyRoutines. If what you miss is Alfred's Workflows, the hotkeys that chain actions together, KeyRoutines covers that side: hotkeys, typed snippets (Pro), file actions, web searches and scripts (Pro).
Automator
Automator for Windows: chain actions and watch folders
Automator is built into macOS and doesn't exist on Windows. KeyRoutines does the same kind of job on a Windows PC: you chain actions into a routine, and run it yourself, on a hotkey or schedule, or when files land in a folder. It's especially close for file jobs like moving, renaming, sorting and zipping; it doesn't have Automator's image and PDF actions or its Watch Me Do recorder.
IFTTT
IFTTT for your PC: local "if this, then that" on Windows
IFTTT connects online services in the cloud, so it can't see what happens on your Windows PC, like an app opening or a headset connecting. KeyRoutines is "if this, then that" for the PC itself: triggers for apps, windows, devices, files, Wi-Fi, power and schedules start routines that change things on the same PC. The two can work together, since a Pro routine can send a message to an IFTTT webhook.
Streamer.bot
Streamer.bot alternative: when KeyRoutines fits, and when it doesn't
Streamer.bot is a free Windows app built around live-streaming platforms: chat commands, channel point redemptions, follows and raids triggering actions. KeyRoutines isn't a replacement for that, since it has no Twitch, YouTube or Kick integration in 1.0. It fits the other half of streaming: one hotkey that opens your apps, switches OBS scenes, sets your audio devices, lights and windows, and starts the stream, and it works well next to Streamer.bot.
Tasker
Tasker for Windows: profiles and tasks for your PC
Tasker is an Android app, and there's no Windows version. If you like Tasker's profiles and tasks, KeyRoutines works on the same idea on a Windows PC: a trigger such as an app opening, a Wi-Fi network, the charger or a device connecting starts a routine of steps. Modes (Pro) even undo themselves when turned off, a bit like a Tasker profile's exit task.
Side-by-side comparisons
- KeyRoutines vs AutoHotkey: which Windows automation tool fits you?
- KeyRoutines vs Power Automate Desktop for personal automation
- KeyRoutines vs PowerToys: utilities or routines on Windows 11?
- KeyRoutines vs Stream Deck software as an automation layer
- KeyRoutines vs Windows Task Scheduler: when to use which
- KeyRoutines vs Pulover's Macro Creator and other recorders
- The best Windows automation apps in 2026, compared honestly
Build this routine in KeyRoutines
Free from the Microsoft Store for Windows 11 and 10. Pro is a one-time upgrade.