Clean your keys. Not your work.
CleanMacKeyboard locks every key with a single click, so a rogue crumb or a curious cat never deletes a line of code again.
From dusty keys to done in four steps
Open the menu bar
Click the keyboard icon that lives quietly in your menu bar — no dock window required.
Tap to lock
One click creates a system-level event tap that swallows every keystroke before it reaches any app.
Clean freely
Wipe, blow, or vacuum every crevice. A full-screen overlay confirms you're safely locked out.
Unlock and go
Hold the overlay, click the menu bar again, or hit your force-quit combo. You're back in an instant.
Good to know
Why does it need Accessibility permission?
macOS requires Accessibility access for any app using CGEventTap to intercept keyboard input — it's the same permission Karabiner-Elements and BetterTouchTool use. Without it, the keyboard can't be locked at all.
Can I still control volume while locked?
Yes. Media keys — volume, brightness, play/pause, and track skip — are whitelisted by default and pass straight through, even while the rest of the keyboard is locked.
What happens if the app crashes while locked?
Your force-quit combo is checked inside the event tap itself, so it works even if the app becomes unresponsive. macOS also auto-disables taps on timeout, which CleanMacKeyboard detects and unlocks from immediately.
Why isn't it on the Mac App Store?
CGEventTap is incompatible with the App Sandbox that the Mac App Store requires. Instead, CleanMacKeyboard ships as a Developer ID–signed, notarized DMG, verified directly by Apple.
Does it collect any data?
No. CleanMacKeyboard never requests network access — it can't phone home even if it wanted to. Your blocked-keystroke count lives only on your Mac, for your session.
Clean with confidence.
Free, 2.1 MB, and ready in the time it takes to grab a microfiber cloth.