teclo

How to use your own keyboard sounds on a Mac

Updated

In Teclo, a custom sound pack is a folder of 16 WAV files: a press and a release for five ordinary-key variants, Space, Return and Delete. Put the folder in Teclo's sounds folder and it appears in the list under Imported.

The files

File Plays for
generic1-down.wav … generic5-down.wav An ordinary key going down. Each key always uses the same one of the five, so neighbouring keys sound slightly different.
generic1-up.wav … generic5-up.wav The same keys coming back up.
space-down.wav, space-up.wav Space.
enter-down.wav, enter-up.wav Return.
backspace-down.wav, backspace-up.wav Delete.

That is the same layout Teclo’s own packs use: you can see it in any of the sound pack pages, which play those 16 sounds in the browser.

The steps

  1. Record or export your sounds as WAV files, one per row of the table above. Keep the silence before each sound short: any gap at the start is heard as delay.
  2. Make a folder named after your pack, and put the files in it.
  3. In Teclo, open Options and click “Open custom sounds folder”. The folder opens in Finder; it is inside Teclo’s own data, at ~/Library/Containers/app.teclo.Teclo/Data/Library/Application Support/Teclo/Sounds.
  4. Move your pack’s folder into it.
  5. Open Teclo’s window again. Your pack appears under Imported.

How Mechvibes packs differ

Mechvibes packs come in two forms. Most bundled ones are a single audio file with a config.json that gives each key code a start time and length in that file, with the press and release in the same slice. Others ship one file per key. Teclo’s format is simpler and separates press from release, so a Mechvibes pack needs its sounds cut out and renamed before Teclo can play it.

Where sounds come from

Record your own keyboard, or use sounds whose licence lets you. Mechvibes’ community page lists 94 packs with no licence stated, so you cannot tell who recorded them or whether you may reuse them. Teclo’s own packs are synthesized by its sound engine, so there is no recording behind them to worry about.

If you would rather not make a pack, Teclo’s 16 built-in packs cover keyboards, a typewriter and sounds that are not keyboards at all.

Questions

Where does Teclo look for custom sounds?

In ~/Library/Containers/app.teclo.Teclo/Data/Library/Application Support/Teclo/Sounds. Options, Open custom sounds folder, opens it in Finder.

Can I use Mechvibes sound packs in Teclo?

Not directly. Mechvibes packs are an audio file plus a config.json that maps key codes to sounds; Teclo reads one WAV file per sound. You would export the sounds you want as WAV files named the way Teclo expects.

Can I use any recording I find?

Only recordings you have the right to use. Many community keyboard packs carry no licence, so their provenance is unclear.

Sources

Other facts on this page come from these pages, read on or before the date above.