Tap your MacBook
to control it.
Six taps, no hardware.
The sensor is already in your Mac.
Left tap zone, left of the trackpad. Left side, speakers
Double-tap left of the trackpad and the output mutes. Again to bring it back.
Right tap zone, right of the trackpad. Right side, microphone
Same gesture on the right mutes the mic, wherever the call is.
- Left, 2 tapsMute speakers
- Right, 2 tapsMute microphone
- Any other slotYours to assign
Six slots, yours to map
One, two or three taps a side. Apps, Shortcuts, volume, playback, sleep.
Typing doesn’t count
The bar rises while you type. A tap has to be louder than the last second.
Lives in the menu bar
No dock icon, no window. Settings is one click away.
Any shortcut you already use
Record a combo once, like CleanShot’s, and a tap presses it.
9:41- No microphone
- No telemetry
- No key logging
- No account
Get it running.
Drag it across, clear one flag, tap.
Download and drag across
Open the disk image and drag TapMac onto Applications.
Clear the quarantine flag
macOS will say TapMac is damaged. It is signed by me rather than by Apple. Run this once, then open it:
it’s not damaged, promise
Tap twice beside the trackpad
A hand appears in the menu bar. Play some audio, then two firm taps on the left.
One small price.
TapMac for Mac
$4.99 one-time
- One payment, no subscription
- One key covers three Macs, and you can move it
- Your key arrives by email, starting
TAPMAC- - Settings stay on the machine
Secure checkout by Polar.
What it needs Apple silicon
An M1 or later MacBook on macOS 14 Sonoma or newer. The sensor lives in the top case, so Intel Macs, Mini, Studio and iMac have nothing to read.
desktops don’t have the sensor. sorry, iMac
FAQ
Before you ask.
Does anything leave my Mac?
No. No microphone, no analytics, no key logging. The one connection the app ever makes is checking your licence key with Polar, when you enter it and again at launch.
Will this damage the MacBook?
No more than typing. It is two fingertip taps on the top case, not a slap. The sensor is the same IMU the machine already uses.
How does it tell a tap from typing?
It asks how loud, not how hard. A 10 ms average is compared to a 1 s average of the same signal, so the bar rises while you type. Taps within half a second of a key press are dropped, and a burst of four or more is thrown away.
Does it need Accessibility to mute?
No. Mute and volume talk to CoreAudio. Accessibility is needed only for keyboard shortcuts and media keys. Detection itself asks for nothing.
Taps are not detected.
Open the log from the menu. If tapping produces no lines, switch Sensitivity to High. Tap the top case beside the trackpad. It transmits better than near the hinge.
One side works and the other does not.
Expected on some chassis: the sensor sits left of centre, so the far side lands weaker. Switch to High. If left and right come out reversed, turn on Sides are backwards.
How do I point a tap at CleanShot?
Settings, pick a slot, choose Press Keyboard Shortcut, record ⌘⇧3. Grant Accessibility when asked. Do not pick Screenshot to Clipboard: that is macOS screencapture, not CleanShot.
Can I move it to a new Mac?
Yes. One key covers three Macs, and you can move it between machines from your Polar purchases page.
How do I remove it?
Quit it from the menu bar, turn off Launch at Login, and drag /Applications/TapMac.app to the Trash. defaults delete app.tapmac forgets its settings.