Stefan Keller
Keytones
Features
Keytones

For macOS

Keytones

Hear every keystroke — and tell upper from lowercase by ear. Fully customizable, from the menu bar.

Version 1.0 (July 21, 2026) · macOS 15.6 or later
Download on the Mac App Store Keytones - Distinct key sounds for uppercase, lowercase & more | Product Hunt Keytones - Distinct key sounds for uppercase, lowercase & more | Product Hunt
Keytones — shape every keystroke sound
Keytones — visual feedback controls
Keytones — per-app control
Keytones — settings

Customizable key sounds and visual feedback while typing for Mac

Keytones is a menu bar app that helps you type by providing auditory and visual feedback. Unlike most mechanical keyboards or typewriter simulators, Keytones distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase letters, allowing you to differentiate them by ear while typing. This feature makes it easier to notice a stray Caps Lock or a Shift key that you didn’t quite hit, preventing you from missing it until three sentences later.

You are free to shape how it all sounds. Adjust pitch, length, damping and volume for each key group, mix the built in sounds, or drag your own audio files in and let Keytones check every import for you.

There’s also a super-handy visual mode that lets you see the keystrokes out of the corner of your eye while you’re typing and looking at the keyboard. Every time you press a key, a soft light pulses at the bottom of the screen, and you can customize the color, size, position, and display yourself—with separate settings for uppercase and lowercase letters. This is handy if keyboard sounds would be distracting, for example in a room full of people, or for anyone whose audio output device has too much latency to make typing enjoyable.

Audio and visual feedback are linked to the currently active audio output device. You can set up the app so that visual feedback is turned off while key sounds play through your MacBook’s speakers, and so that the sound is muted and visual feedback is turned on as soon as you connect your headphones.

The everyday details are taken care of as well. You can turn off Keytones instantly with a triple tap of a modifier key of your choice, keep it out of the apps where it does not belong by blacklisting them (there is also a whitelist mode), and control it by voice through Siri or from the Shortcuts app. A low latency audio engine keeps your typing smooth and stays crackle free even when you swap headphones halfway through a sentence. And if you are not typing, no CPU cycles are wasted, avoiding battery drain.

macOS 15.6 or later, one time purchase, no subscription, on the Mac App Store.

Features

Type with confidence
Each key group has its own distinct sound, so you can tell uppercase from lowercase by ear and catch a stray Caps Lock before it wrecks your sentence.
Customize your sound
Adjust pitch, length, damping and volume per key group. Mix built-in sounds or drag in your own audio files — Keytones validates every import.
Visual feedback
A soft glowing border pulses along the bottom edge of your screen with each keystroke. Customize color, size, position and target display.
Per-app control
Exclude specific apps or restrict Keytones to an allow-list. Toggle it on or off for the active app straight from the menu bar.
Instant mute
Triple-tap Command, Option, Control or Shift to silence Keytones instantly — no menu needed.
Siri & Shortcuts
Enable, disable or toggle Keytones by voice command or from the Shortcuts app. Separate volume per audio output device, adjusted automatically.
Custom presets
Build, duplicate and rename your own sound presets. A low-latency audio engine keeps typing smooth and adapts to device changes without crackling.
100% private
Keytones only requests Accessibility access to detect key presses. It does not read, log or store any typed information.