Install a routine from the KeyRoutines Library safely
5 min read · Updated
Find a routine in the Library, read its "What it does" summary, then press Install in KeyRoutines. KeyRoutines opens, shows exactly what the routine can do on your PC, and adds it switched off, so nothing runs until you've looked it over and turned it on.
You don't need an account to install anything. You only need KeyRoutines, free from the Microsoft Store.
Find a routine
The Library has four categories:
- Gaming: game setups, launchers, overlays and voice chat
- Streaming: OBS scenes, going live, alerts and stream decks
- Work: meetings, focus, work apps and end-of-day routines
- System: audio, windows, power, files and everyday PC chores
Filter by category, sort by New or Popular, or search by name. Every routine you see has been approved by a QaemDev moderator, and only approved versions are ever shown or installed.
Read the routine's page
Each routine has its own page. Before you install, look at three things.
The description and screenshots. This is the author's own explanation of what it's for.
What it does. This part is read from the routine file itself, not from the author's description. It shows what starts the routine and each step in order. Names in quotes are the author's own labels for a step. If the description says "sets up OBS" but the steps also close your browser, this is where you'll see it.
What it can do on your PC. A plain list of permissions, such as:
- Launches: Discord, OBS Studio
- Closes: Slack
- Moves or resizes windows of: Discord
- Sends keys and clicks to: Discord
- Deletes files in: Downloads
- Runs a script
- Needs administrator rights
Lines that deserve extra care, like scripts and administrator rights, are marked with a warning.
The page also lists the routine's versions with dates and notes, the file's size and fingerprint, and the oldest KeyRoutines version it needs.
Install it
There are two ways.
Install in KeyRoutines (easiest)
Press Install in KeyRoutines. Your browser asks to open KeyRoutines; allow it. KeyRoutines downloads that exact version from the Library, checks the file matches what the Library approved, and shows its permission preview with Install and Cancel.
Or download the file
Use Download file to save the .krroutine (one routine) or .krpack (several routines) file. Open it from File Explorer and KeyRoutines shows the same permission preview. This is handy if you want to keep a copy or move it to another PC.
The permission preview
Whichever way you install, KeyRoutines shows its own preview before saving anything. It lists, in one plain line each, what the routine will do: the apps it launches, the apps it sends keys to, the folders where it creates, moves or deletes files, the scripts it runs, the websites it connects to. Anything that's only decided when the routine runs is shown in red as "chosen at run time". If the routine uses saved secrets, such as a token for a service, the preview names them and asks for your own values, because shared routines never carry anyone's secrets.
Press Install and the routine is added switched off. Open it, look at the steps, change the apps or hotkey to suit you, and turn it on when you're ready. Turning it on is your approval. If the routine's important settings are changed later, for example a new app it launches, it switches off again until you approve it once more.
Staying safe
Most routines in the Library do ordinary things: open apps, close apps, arrange windows, switch audio. A few habits keep you safe with the rest.
- Read "What it does", not just the description. It comes from the file itself.
- Be choosy about scripts and admin rights. A Run as administrator step always shows Windows' own prompt, but only accept it if you know why the routine needs it.
- Check file steps. KeyRoutines deletes to the Recycle Bin by default, as with Delete to Recycle Bin, and can undo a routine's recent file moves, but it's still worth knowing which folders a routine touches.
- Try it with Preview run first. It goes through the routine without changing anything and tells you what it would do.
- Keep the panic hotkey in mind. Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Backspace stops every routine at once (unless you've changed it).
- Report anything wrong. Every routine page has a Report button. Reported routines are reviewed first, and approved versions can be pulled at any time.
If something doesn't work
Shared routines are built on someone else's PC, so expect to adjust a few things: your apps, your monitors, your headset. Steps that can't find what they need fail with a plain reason in Run history. If you're stuck, check the how-to answers or ask support. Made something better? Share it back.