Every time I wiped my keyboard, I ended up typing random stuff into whatever app was open. So I made a small Mac app that turns every key off while I clean.
Here is how it works:
Pick a time from 30 seconds to 10 minutes.
Press ⌃⌥⌘K, use the menu bar icon, or type keypause in Terminal.
Wipe your keyboard as much as you want. Your mouse and trackpad keep working.
When the time is up, your keys come back on their own.
It's free and open source. To install it, run
brew install --cask destucr/tap/keypause
It works on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later.
The little character you'll see in the app is Kip. Kip sleeps while your keys are off and cheers when they come back. I'd love to hear what you think, and what else you would want it to do.
This is so relatable — I've definitely typed a paragraph of gibberish into my editor while wiping my keyboard. The ⌃⌥⌘K shortcut plus a Homebrew cask makes it feel made for people like me, and keeping the trackpad alive while the keys are off is the right call. Nice one, Destu.
keeping the trackpad working while the keys are locked is a sensible detail
u can still change the timer without accidentally turning a keyboard wipe into a message
Cute!
I use the Clean Keyboard Raycast extension for this — one less app to install. 😉
Love how a tiny annoyance became a focused tool, and the auto-restoring timer plus the sleepy Kip mascot make cleaning feel safe and fun.
About Keypause on Product Hunt
“Turn off your Mac's keyboard while you clean it”
Keypause launched on Product Hunt on November 8th, 2026 and earned 88 upvotes and 10 comments, placing #13 on the daily leaderboard. Press one button. Wipe your keyboard. Done. A Mac menu bar app that locks every key while a sleepy keycap waits for sunrise.
Keypause was featured in Mac (103.9k followers), Productivity (665.4k followers) and Menu Bar Apps (12.3k followers) on Product Hunt. Together, these topics include over 193.1k products, making this a competitive space to launch in.
Who hunted Keypause?
Keypause was hunted by Destu Cikal. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
Want to see how Keypause stacked up against nearby launches in real time? Check out the live launch dashboard for upvote speed charts, proximity comparisons, and more analytics.
Destu Cikal
Hi everyone, I'm Destu, the maker of Keypause.
Every time I wiped my keyboard, I ended up typing random stuff into whatever app was open. So I made a small Mac app that turns every key off while I clean.
Here is how it works:
Pick a time from 30 seconds to 10 minutes.
Press ⌃⌥⌘K, use the menu bar icon, or type keypause in Terminal.
Wipe your keyboard as much as you want. Your mouse and trackpad keep working.
When the time is up, your keys come back on their own.
It's free and open source. To install it, run
It works on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later.
The little character you'll see in the app is Kip. Kip sleeps while your keys are off and cheers when they come back. I'd love to hear what you think, and what else you would want it to do.