Color per app
Give any app its own color. Zoom red, Xcode blue, OBS green. The whole keyboard switches when that app comes to the front.
[ PER-APP COLOR ]Your keys know which app you're in.
Tintkey lives in the menu bar. Switch to Zoom and the keyboard goes red. Open Xcode and it goes blue. Join a call or turn on a Focus and it changes again. When an app you chose gets a notification, the keys flash or breathe so you notice without looking at the screen.
Download for Mac .dmg
Version 0.2.1, 2.2 MB. macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon only. Notarized by Apple. Needs a QMK keyboard with VIA enabled.
Try it. Pick an app.
A live model of the real thing. Choose the frontmost app, or Meeting, and the keyboard changes color. Final Cut shows per-key colors. Type on your own keyboard to press keys.
Finder
Ready
- App
- Finder
- Rule
- None
- Color
- Keyboard's own
- Alert
- Flashing
Eight jobs.
One menu bar icon.
Per-key colors
Open Keys… for an app, click keys on a picture of your keyboard and color them. Needs Keychron firmware with Per Key RGB (V1 Max today). Anywhere else the board stays one color.
[ PER-KEY ]Locked color
Prefer one color all day? Lock it. It stays put whichever apps open or close, and notifications still show on top.
[ LOCKED ]Alert lights
Pick the apps that can light up the keyboard, each with its own color, flashing or breathing. Then your normal color comes back.
[ ALERTS ]Meeting mode
While any app is using your camera or microphone, the keyboard turns a color you choose, red by default. Camera and mic are separate switches. No permission needed.
[ MEETING ]Focus mode
Turn on a macOS Focus and the keyboard changes color. Work, Do Not Disturb and Sleep can each have their own. Optional Full Disk Access reads it; Shortcuts can tell Tintkey instead.
[ FOCUS ]Stays out of the way
It runs from the menu bar and can open at login. Color changes are live, never saved to your keyboard's memory, and your own lighting returns when you quit.
[ MENU BAR ]Updates itself
Choose Check for Updates… in the menu, or switch on automatic checks. Every update is signed, so only real releases install.
[ UPDATES ]How notifications work
Only the apps you add on the Notifications tab can light the keyboard. macOS doesn't let apps read other apps' notifications, so Tintkey watches the red badge counts on Dock icons instead. When a listed app's count goes up, the keys light up.
Add the apps you care about
On the Notifications tab, list Mail, Slack, Messages or any app. Each gets its own color and Flashing or Breathing style, or the defaults. It has a Notify switch and a Test button too. You also set how many blinks.
Allow Accessibility
Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, and switch on Tintkey. Reading Dock badges needs this permission. Per-app colors do not. An app has to show a Dock badge; a banner that leaves none can't be detected.
Watch the keys
The keyboard flashes or breathes in that app's color, then returns to normal. Alerts for the app already in front are skipped. Nothing about the message is read, only the count.
Other tools can trigger an alert too, with a link such as tintkey://alert?app=Slack&style=breathe.
Set up in three steps.
- 1
Plug in and detect
Connect over USB or the 2.4GHz dongle. Tintkey finds a VIA-enabled board on its own.
- 2
Pick an app, pick a color
Choose from your apps, set a color and a notification style. The preview above is how it will look.
- 3
Forget about it
Switch apps the way you already do. The lights change with you.
Wired or
2.4GHz. Same app.
USB-C cable
- Works when
- Your board is plugged in and VIA is enabled in its firmware.
- Setup
- Plug in. Nothing else.
- Best for
- The most dependable connection.
2.4GHz dongle
- Works when
- The dongle passes VIA through to your Mac. Most QMK wireless boards do, but it depends on the board.
- Setup
- Insert the dongle. If the VIA app can see your board through it, so can Tintkey.
- Best for
- Clean desks and laptop docks.
Bluetooth is not supported. macOS does not offer VIA's raw HID channel over Bluetooth.
Questions.
Does it work with a wired keyboard?
Yes. Any QMK keyboard with VIA enabled that you connect over USB. Tintkey talks to it the same way the VIA app does.
Does it work over a 2.4GHz dongle?
Yes, if the dongle passes VIA through to your Mac. If the VIA app can see your board through the dongle, so can Tintkey. Bluetooth is not supported.
Which keyboards are supported?
Natively: QMK firmware with VIA support and lighting controls (RGB Matrix, RGB Light or backlight), USB or a 2.4GHz dongle that passes VIA through. It was developed on a Keychron V1 Max. Per-key colors need Keychron firmware with Per Key RGB, see below.
Does it work with my Razer, Corsair, Glorious or other keyboard?
Not today. Tintkey controls QMK keyboards with VIA enabled. Support for more brands is planned, but nothing beyond VIA works yet.
Do I need to flash firmware?
No. Tintkey never flashes anything. A QMK board needs VIA enabled, which many already have.
Can I use two keyboards?
One at a time. Tintkey lists every keyboard it finds under General, Keyboard, and you switch between them. If two look the same, press Flash it to blink one and see which is which. Your choice is remembered by USB port.
Can it light individual keys?
Yes, on some keyboards. Each app can have its own key colors, set in the Keys… editor on a picture of your keyboard. It needs Keychron firmware with Per Key RGB, which today means the V1 Max in its 81-key layout. Tintkey checks whether your keyboard supports it and otherwise stays with one color for the whole board. Every key shows a color, so a single key can't be switched off. The demo's Final Cut shows the idea.
Will it wear out my keyboard's memory?
No. Color changes, per-key colors included, are sent as live settings and never saved to the keyboard. Your own lighting comes back when you leave the app or quit.
Can it flash the keys for notifications?
Yes, for the apps you add on the Notifications tab. Only those apps alert, each flashing or breathing in its own color. It detects Dock badges, so the app must show a badge on its Dock icon. It needs the Accessibility permission, and it reads only the count, never the content.
What does Meeting mode do, and can it get it wrong?
When any app is using the camera or microphone, the keyboard turns your meeting color, red by default. You can choose camera, microphone or both, and it needs no permission. It only knows that a device is in use, not by what, so dictation, Siri or a voice recorder count as the microphone. Turn Microphone off if that gets in the way. A meeting wins over a Focus color. It starts switched off.
How does Focus mode work?
With Focus mode on, the keyboard takes a color while a macOS Focus is on, and each Focus (Work, Do Not Disturb, Sleep and so on) can have its own. macOS only lets apps read Focus with Full Disk Access, which is optional. Without it, create a Shortcuts automation for each Focus that opens tintkey://focus?on=1&mode=Work when it turns on and tintkey://focus?on=0 when it turns off.
Does it update itself?
Yes. Choose Check for Updates… in the menu bar, or switch on automatic checks in General. Updates are signed. Version 0.1.0 has no updater, so if you have it, download 0.2.1 once by hand.
Do I need to keep VIA open?
No. Quit it while Tintkey runs so the two don't fight over the lighting.
Which permissions does it ask for?
Per-app colors and Meeting mode need none. Notification alerts need Accessibility so it can read Dock badge counts. Reading your Focus is optional and needs Full Disk Access. Nothing leaves your Mac.
Is the download safe to open?
The .dmg is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so macOS opens it without a warning.
Light it
up.
Download Tintkey.dmg
- Version
- 0.2.1
- Size
- 2.2 MB
- Requires
- macOS 13 or later
- Chip
- Apple silicon only
- Security
- Notarized by Apple
- Keyboard
- QMK with VIA
Open the .dmg, drag the app to Applications, launch it. The icon appears in your menu bar.