Mechanical keyboard sounds for macOS

Every key
goes thock.

KeyCream plays a real switch recording each time you press a key. It lives in your menu bar, it’s free, and it never sees what you type.

Download for Mac Hear the switches

macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel.

This keyboard is live. Type on yours to hear NovelKeys Cream, the pack KeyCream starts with.This keyboard is live. Tap a key to hear NovelKeys Cream, the pack KeyCream starts with.

Using KeyCream

Lives in your menu bar.

There’s no window and no Dock icon. Click the keycap at the top of your screen and everything is right there. Every choice is saved the moment you make it.

  • Volume. A slider and three presets, on top of your Mac’s own volume.
  • Sound Pack. Seven switches. A new pack plays the moment you pick it.
  • Output Device. Keep the clicks on your speakers while music plays in your headphones.
  • Sounds On. Turns the clicks off without quitting the app.
FinderFileEditViewWindowSun 1 Nov 10:41

Try the menu. Pick a pack to hear it.

How it works

From key press to click

01

macOS reports a key

A listen-only event tap tells KeyCream that a physical key went down, as a key code. Releasing a key is silent, and the repeats macOS sends while you hold one are skipped.

Scroll to step through, or press any key.

Sound packs

Seven switches to choose from.

Each pack is a recording of a real mechanical keyboard. Listen to them here, then switch any time from the menu bar.

  • Your own packKeyCream reads the Mechvibes format. The guide shows how to add one.

Details

Made to stay out of your way.

Private by design

macOS tells KeyCream which key went down, as a number. That number picks a sound, and then it’s gone.

It never does any of this:

  • Store your key presses
  • Turn them into text
  • Send your keys anywhere
  • Change or block a key
Read the privacy notes

Every key has its own sound

Letters, Space, Return, Delete, the modifiers and the function row each play their own recording.

Even volume

Every key is leveled when a pack loads, so no single key jumps out while you type.

Natural typing

Holding a key plays one click, not a burst, and fast typing overlaps instead of cutting off.

Built for every Mac

A universal app for Apple Silicon and Intel on macOS 14 or later. No Dock icon, and it opens at login.

In your language

KeyCream follows your Mac’s language, or you pick one in its settings.

  • English
  • Türkçe
  • Deutsch
  • Français
  • Español
  • Português
  • Русский
  • 日本語
  • 한국어
  • 简体中文
  • العربية
  • हिन्दी

Install

Up and running in a minute.

  1. Download and unzip

    Get the latest release from GitHub. It runs on macOS 14 or later.

  2. Move it to Applications

    Open it from there. If macOS won’t open it yet, click Open Anyway under Privacy & Security, or run the Terminal command.

  3. Allow keyboard access

    Turn on KeyCream under Privacy & Security, Input Monitoring. Sounds start within a few seconds.

Download for Mac

macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel.

Terminal
# If macOS blocks the first launch
% xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/KeyCream.app

# Or build it yourself, with Xcode 15.3 or later
% git clone https://github.com/halitsever/keycream.git
% cd keycream && ./build.sh
% open build/KeyCream.app

More help in the installation guide and building from source.

Questions

Something else? Open an issue on GitHub or read the troubleshooting guide.

Is KeyCream free?

Yes. KeyCream is free and open source under the MIT License, and so are the bundled sound packs from the Mechvibes project.

Can KeyCream see what I type?

No. macOS tells it which physical key went down, and that is only used to pick a sound. KeyCream never stores keys, never puts them together into text, and never sends them anywhere. The only thing it asks the internet is whether GitHub has a newer release.

Why does it need Input Monitoring?

macOS asks for this permission for any app that reacts to key presses made in other apps. KeyCream only listens. It cannot change, block or send keys.

Do the function keys click too?

Yes. F1 to F12, the brightness, media and volume keys and fn each play the sound of the key in the same spot.

Does it work on Intel Macs?

Yes. Every release is a universal app for Apple Silicon and Intel, running macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

It went quiet after an update. What happened?

macOS sometimes asks for Input Monitoring again after an app changes. Remove KeyCream from the Input Monitoring list, add it back, and the sounds return.