How to add mechanical keyboard sounds to a Mac

Short answer: macOS does not have a setting that gives your keyboard the sound of a mechanical switch. I could not find one in System Settings that does it reliably, so the honest starting point is to know what the built-in options actually do.

What macOS gives you

Two places come up in guides, and neither is quite what most people want.

The first is System Settings > Sound, which has a “Play user interface sound effects” option. It controls interface sounds, and the guides I checked disagree about whether it affects typing clicks at all. Turn it on, type in a text box, and listen before you rely on it.

The second is Slow Keys, in System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard. Some guides say it can play a click for each key. It is an accessibility feature, and it works by adding a short delay before each key is accepted. Most people find that makes typing feel sluggish. It is worth knowing about if you need it, but it is not a typing sound.

If you want the sound of real switches on every key, you need an app.

Adding switch sounds with TapNoise

TapNoise is a menu bar app for macOS 14 and later. It plays a sound for each key you press, on the built-in keyboard or on any keyboard you plug in. It has 20 sounds in two groups. Ten are keyboard sounds: Thock, Creamy, Clicky, Silky, Hushed, Bumpy, Pillowy, Clunky, Chunky and Retro.

1. Download and open it. Get it from the download page. The app is signed by its maker but not notarized by Apple, so macOS asks you to confirm the first launch. Open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, and click Open Anyway next to TapNoise.
2. Allow Input Monitoring. TapNoise needs this to hear key presses. It is in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Input Monitoring. The Input Monitoring post explains what it allows.
3. Pick a sound. Open Settings, go to Sounds, and click a sound to use it. You can pin up to six to the menu bar for quick switching.
4. Turn on key release. In Settings > Keyboard, “Key release” plays a softer sound when a key comes back up, which is closer to a real switch.

The sound shelves need a license. TapNoise is a one-time purchase of US$7.99 plus tax, with no subscription, and every purchase has a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Tips that make it sound right

• Use the MacBook speakers if you use AirPods. Bluetooth adds its own delay, so the clicks can arrive late. The “Use MacBook speakers” option in General plays them through the built-in speakers instead.
• Try a quiet sound first. Hushed is described in the app as “Silent switches. Office-safe”, which suits a shared room. Clicky, by the same description, is the loud one: “Crisp blue switches. Loud and proud”.
• Mute for calls. “Quiet during calls” in General makes TapNoise go silent while Zoom, FaceTime or any other app is using your microphone.
• Give the press strength a try. On a MacBook with the motion sensor, “Harder press, louder sound” in Settings > Keyboard makes a firmer press sound louder. Apple silicon models with that sensor support it.

TapNoise does not change what your keyboard sends. It only plays a sound for each key position that goes down, and it never reads which letter was typed.

If you only want a click, macOS is fine with the built-in options. If you want every key to sound like a switch, TapNoise is the simplest route I know of.