Works in every app
A Windows keyboard hook hears each key press across your whole PC, in your editor, browser, chat and terminal. You don't need to switch to Clackwell to hear it.
Clackwell 1.0 for Windows is here
A little character for every keystroke.
Clackwell is a free keyboard sound app for Windows. It plays a mechanical switch sound each time you press a key, in every app on your PC. Twenty switches, four originals, and low-latency native audio.
press and hold the switch
Native audiolow latency
ButterLinear switch
0 keystrokessaved or sent
- 13mechanical switches
- 4Clackwell originals
- ~1msfrom key to speaker
- 3.6MBsingle portable file
Go on, type something.
This is the same sound engine the app uses, running in your browser. Press keys on your keyboard, or tap the board.
Clackwell
Last key Ready
Twenty-four sounds. Find the one that feels right.
Press and hold a card to hear the press, then let go to hear the return. The one you pick plays on the demo keyboard above.
Small app. Carefully made.
Clackwell runs quietly in the background and stays out of your way.
Low-latency native audio
Sounds play through a native audio stream that never sleeps, rather than the browser engine, so the click lands with your finger.
Clackwell~15–20 ms
Web Audio~50 ms
Feels natural
Several variants per key size and a touch of pitch drift, so repeated keys never sound robotic. Space and Enter sound bigger, like a real board.
Lives in your tray
Minimize or close the window and your sounds keep playing. Right click the tray icon to pause sounds or quit.
One small file
A 3.6 MB portable executable that uses the web runtime already built into Windows 11. Nothing to install.
Tune it to taste
Set the volume, turn natural pitch variation and key release sounds on or off, and choose whether Clackwell starts with Windows. Light and dark themes included.
Up and clacking in under a minute.
- 1
Download
Grab the portable
.exeand run it. No setup wizard and no account. - 2
Pick a switch
Press the cards in the sound studio until one feels right, then set the volume.
- 3
Type anywhere
Close the window. Clackwell keeps playing from the tray in every app you use.
Privacy
It hears keys, never words.
The keyboard hook passes only which physical key moved and how big it is. No typed text or key history is saved or sent anywhere, and Clackwell makes no network requests.
- Only the key code and its size reach the app
- Preferences saved locally as
settings.json - Every sound is synthesized on your PC, with no recordings
K
You press a keyin any app
KeyK · key
Keyboard hookcode + size only
< 1 ms
Native mixerstraight to your speakers
Questions, answered.
Is Clackwell free?
Yes. Download the executable and use it as long as you like.
Which versions of Windows does it support?
Windows 10 and 11. It uses a web runtime that comes with Windows 11 and is already on most Windows 10 machines.
Does it record what I type?
No. Only the physical key code and its size category reach the app, so it knows to play a spacebar sound rather than a letter. Nothing typed is saved or transmitted.
Windows says the file is unrecognized. Is that expected?
Yes. The build is unsigned, so Windows may warn you the first time. Choose More info, then Run anyway.
Why don't I hear sounds on the Windows login or UAC screen?
Windows blocks global keyboard input on secure desktops such as the login and User Account Control screens. Sounds resume as soon as you're back.
How do I quit it completely?
Right click the Clackwell icon in the notification tray and choose Quit Clackwell. Windows may tuck the icon into the tray overflow menu.
Make your keyboard sound the way it feels.
Free for Windows. One file, 3.6 MB. Enjoying it? You can help keep it that way.