MKS: Mechanical Keyboard Simulator

Do you love the sweet sound of a mechanical keyboard with those Cherry MX Blue keys? Are your coworkers and family members sharpening their pitchforks and are getting ready to murder you just to stop the incessant clicking? Well, you are in luck! I have a program that will make them happy, keep you alive for a bit longer, AND will allow you to continue listening to that wonderful clicking sound you love so much. It’s called the Mechanical Keyboard Simulator, or MKS for short.

I wrote this shortly after getting a mechanical keyboard. The process of keyboard acquisition was one of both joy and sorrow. The joy of gloriously typing on that beautiful mechanical marvel, and the sorrow of having to listen to my wife type on that beautiful mechanical marvel.

Quickly I realized that the part that I like the best about the mechanical keyboard is actually the sound. There are some logical reasons behind it, it’s not just for the aesthetics. The sound is a form of feedback. On modern laptop keyboards there is so little feedback that every bit counts. The sound is like a reassurance. It’s your computer telling you, yes, you did indeed hit that key.

Thereafter it quickly occurred to me that it would be easy to simulate the sound, rather than having to actually mechanically reproduce it. I Googled a few apps, but all of them came short, so I decided to write my own. Here are some special features of my system-wide Mechanical Keyboard Simulator:

Adjustable Volume as a percentage of the system volume setting.
Separate keydown and keyup sounds to increase realism.
Multiple Sound Profiles.
Support for Modifier Keys.
Stereo and Mono Sound Profile.
Separate sound profiles for various keys.
Randomized pitch.

Give it a try, see what you think. I think you are going to love it, and since it works with headphones too, your family friends and coworkers are going to love it too. :)

Update

Upon user request I added a mouse simulator as well. I was very skeptical at first, but it's actually a wonderful secondary feedback. Give it a try.

Installation

Brew

Install brew.
Run:
```
 $ brew install --cask mks
```
Grant Accessibility permissions (see below).

Manual

Download the MKS.dmg from the releases tab above.
Open the MKS.dmg and drag MKS app to the Application folder on your dock.
Grant Accessibility permissions (see below).

Grant Accessibility permissions

To work the app needs Accessibilities permissions. To give the app permissions:
Open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility.
1. Click on the Padlock in the bottom left hand corner.
2. Drag the MKS app into the list. That’s all.
Now start MKS. It will add an icon to the System Bar. Play with the options and Enjoy!

License

I am releasing this app under the MIT license

x0054 / MKS