ricka

It is definitely an Alfred issue. The issue is Alfred catches as soon as you press Ctrl down to trigger the "Search with default web search" option. This option is configurable on the Advanced tab of Alfred. However, even if you set this to blank (do nothing), Ctrl is still being caught, so that when I release quickly and send Escape, somehow Alfred is not catching it.

I'm using Caps Lock as Control via OSX preferences and I'm using Karabiner to make it so if I tap Left Control (or Caps Lock) and let go, it will instead send the Escape character. This works for every application, and sometimes for Alfred. If I type something random like "lakjflka", Alfred will display Search Google for "lakjflka". I can then tap Left Control (or Caps Lock) and Alfred will disappear just as if I'd pressed Escape. If I type a command (like "Restart"), and repeat, again, Alfred disappears no problem. If, however, I type an application (like Chrome) and press Left Control (or Caps Lock), Alfred disappears ever so briefly, but then pops right back up with the same command still in the box. If I eventually push the actual Escape key, Alfred will disappear. I've made a screen recording of this happening here: