klack-logo

klack is a lightweight, zero-configuration mechanical keyboard sound simulator for Linux. It runs seamlessly in the background, listens directly to your selected input devices, and is designed to be easily managed as a standard systemd user service.

The application is completely agnostic to the host windowing system or compositor, so will work the same whether you are on Wayland, X11, or running in a bare TTY.

This project started as a quick afternoon project after trying out Opera GX, and liking the typing sounds feature it includes. My original intent was just to implement it for fun as a personal project, but I decided others may find use for it, so cleaned it up and turned it into a proper application.

https://codeberg.org/ForeverZer0/klack

Installation

Ensure you have Zig >= 0.16.0 installed. Clone the repository and build using the release configuration:

git clone ssh://[email protected]/ForeverZer0/klack.git
cd klack
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseFast

You can optionally specify the maximum number of voices that can play simultaneously as a build option (default: 8). This value cannot be changed at runtime.

zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseSmall -Dmax_voices=16

The compiled binary will be available at zig-out/bin/klack.

Usage

klack - A mechanical keyboard sound simulator

USAGE:
    klack [OPTIONS]

OPTIONS:
    -s, --soundpack <PATH>   Path to a directory or .tar.gz archive containing sounds
    -d, --device <NAME>      Target device name (default: primary keyboard)
    -v, --volume <VOLUME>    Volume scaling from 0.0 to 1.0 (default: 1.0)
    -r, --repeat             Enable sound playback on key repeat events
    -b, --background         Run the process in the background (daemonize)
        --list-devices       List available input devices and exit
        --list-keys          List valid key names for custom sounds
        --list-buttons       List valid button names for custom sounds
    -h, --help               Print this help message and exit

EXAMPLES:
    klack --soundpack ~/.config/klack/mx-blues.tar.gz --background
    klack -s ./sounds/custom/ -v 0.7 --repeat
    klack --list-devices

Quick Examples

Run manually in the foreground with a specific sound archive:

klack --soundpack ~/.config/klack/typewriter.tar.gz

Run in the background with a lower volume and key-repeat sounds enabled:

klack -s ./sounds/custom/ -v 0.7 --repeat --background

Environment Variables

The following environment variables may also be used to provide default configuration for options not specified on the command-line, which always have precedence.

  • KLACK_SOUNDPACK
  • KLACK_DEVICE
  • KLACK_VOLUME
  • KLACK_REPEAT

LLM/AI Usage

  • No LLM or AI was used for any code within this project, and never will.
  • Google Gemini was used to generate the logo. Full credit goes to all the unnamed artists who had their work used for its training data.

Supported Zig versions

Zig 0.16+

Tested on the following:

  • 0.16.0
  • 0.17.0-dev.1397+4331ba0fb