Click mode can leave keyboard dead with no labels visible (only fixed by opening Homerow with mouse)

[tylerlaprade]

Describe the bug

Sometimes after I try to use Homerow for clicking, I end up in a state where:

• No labels are shown on screen
• Every letter key just plays the invalid/warning sound
• Nothing I type reaches the focused app
• My Homerow activation shortcut also does nothing (keyboard is fully unusable for typing)

The only reliable fix I've found is opening Homerow with the mouse (via Finder). That clears it immediately.

This is different from #214, where labels stayed visible after Mission Control and Esc didn't dismiss them. Here there are no labels at all, and Esc / the activation hotkey don't get me out because letter keys never make it through.

I've only noticed this with click mode, not scroll mode. I'm on labels-only (search disabled). Menubar icon is off.

Not 100% sure of the trigger. It seems to happen somewhat regularly when using click mode; I don't think I've hit it from scroll. Possibly related to Mission Control auto-activate, but I've also hit it when intentionally activating click mode.

What I expect: if click mode fails or dismisses, keyboard input should be released. Or Esc / the activation shortcut should still be able to exit even if labels didn't draw.

Screenshots / video

(none yet — hard to record mid-incident since I can't type. Can try next time if useful.)

Steps to reproduce the bug

1. Use Homerow click mode (labels-only) as normal
2. Sometimes (not every time): labels don't appear, but keys start beeping and typing is dead
3. Esc and the Homerow hotkey don't recover
4. Open Homerow.app with the mouse → keyboard works again

Sorry this is fuzzy on repro — happy to test builds or collect more detail.

Environment

• Homerow 1.5.3
• macOS (Apple Silicon)
• Also running Hyperkey (Caps Lock → Hyper; quick-tap Escape) and Karabiner-Elements (no complex mods in my profile)