# niw/HapticKey

A simple utility application to trigger haptic feedback when tapping Touch Bar.

Repository: https://github.com/niw/HapticKey
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/haptickey
Language: Objective-C
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: macos, touchbar, objective-c
Last push: 2025-06-17T07:23:32+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 35/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 27, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3194, "days_push": 442, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1671, forks 63 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:20.097732+00:00)

## What it is
HapticKey is a macOS utility application that triggers haptic feedback (trackpad vibration) when tapping the Touch Bar on MacBook Pro. It also optionally plays a sound effect or flashes the screen, improving usability of the flat Touch Bar, especially for keys like ESC.

## Use cases
- get haptic feedback when tapping ESC on the Touch Bar while using Vim
- make Touch Bar taps feel tactile via trackpad vibration
- add a sound or visual flash when touching the Touch Bar
- listen for Touch Bar tap events and trigger custom feedback
- improve Touch Bar usability on MacBooks without physical key feedback

## When to choose
- you use a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar and miss tactile feedback
- you frequently tap ESC or function keys on the Touch Bar (e.g., Vim users)
- you want a lightweight, open-source menu bar utility for Touch Bar feedback

## When to avoid
- your Mac has no Touch Bar (Touch Bar was removed from newer MacBooks)
- you need signed, notarized binaries without adjusting Security & Privacy settings
- you need feedback on arbitrary events without writing custom Objective-C code

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: maintenance
- function: gui, developer-tools
- domain: operating-systems, developer-tools, accessibility
- platform: -
- tags: touchbar, haptic-feedback, objective-c, menu-bar-utility, vim, macos, desktop

## Member repositories
- niw/HapticKey (main) score 35

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:20.097732+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:42:42.290398+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/niw/HapticKey (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:20.097732+00:00, sha d2c1bf06ed1b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.