# Keyboard sounds for Mac: Every keystroke, a satisfying click.

> Mechanical keyboard sounds for Mac: a real Cherry MX click for every key in any app, with volume control, stereo by key position and per-app mute.

A MacBook keyboard is quiet and a little flat. Mechanical keyboards are loud enough to annoy everyone around you. Keyboard sounds gives you the click and leaves the room alone.

Turn it on and every key you press plays a real recorded switch, through your headphones or speakers. Space, return and backspace each sound like themselves, and keys on the left sound from the left.

## What you get

- **Real switches.** Recorded Cherry MX Black keys with ABS keycaps, a different sound for space, return, backspace, the modifiers and the arrows.
- **Never a machine gun.** Each click varies slightly in pitch and level, the way a real keyboard does. Holding a key down doesn't repeat it.
- **Spatial.** Keys on the left of the keyboard sound from the left, keys on the right from the right. Best with headphones.
- **Your volume.** Its own level, separate from the Mac's, with a click to check it as you set it.
- **Per app.** Play everywhere except the apps you list, or only in the ones you pick: on in your editor, off in a game.
- **Quiet on calls.** Mutes itself while ctrlhq is transcribing a meeting, and password fields stay silent.
- **Instant.** Keys are heard on their own thread and mixed with a 5 ms audio buffer, so the click lands with the keypress.
- **Light.** The audio engine switches off after a minute without typing.

## How it works

1. Open the notch, then Settings › Keyboard Sounds.
2. Turn on Play a click for every key, and allow ctrlhq in Accessibility if macOS asks.
3. Set the volume, and add any apps that should stay quiet.

## FAQ

### Does ctrlhq record what I type?

No. It only hears which key went down, to pick the sound, and keeps nothing. Password fields are hidden from it by macOS altogether.

### Why does it need Accessibility?

macOS only lets an app hear key presses in other apps with Accessibility permission. ctrlhq's listener can't block or change a key.

### Can other people on a call hear it?

Not through your mic if you use headphones. ctrlhq also mutes the clicks while it's transcribing a meeting, and you can add Zoom or Meet to the quiet list.

### Does it work with an external keyboard?

Yes, any keyboard. It's the key press that makes the sound, whatever you type on.

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Part of ctrlhq, the productivity app in your Mac's notch: $24.99 once (launch price, regular $49.99), no subscription. Native, about 16 MB. Download: https://ctrlhq.app/download · All features: https://ctrlhq.app/features