Type your clipboard into VDI and remote desktops where paste does not work.
Download for macOS

Features

• Real key presses through a virtual keyboard, so remote sessions accept them.
• Five speeds, from an average typist to an unrealistic 600 words per minute.
• Smart symbols: bullets, curly quotes, and dashes are typed as plain keys.
• New lines, not sends: line breaks are typed as Shift+Return, and a line break at the end is left out, so a copied command never runs by itself.
• Stops instantly when you press Esc, click, or switch apps.
• Your shortcut: Control+\ by default, or choose your own.
• Lightweight: about 6 MB, under 50 MB of memory, and no CPU while idle.

Use cases

• VDI and remote desktops where the clipboard is turned off.
• Virtual machine and server consoles, before guest tools are installed or through a web-based KVM.
• Forms and apps that block paste, such as confirm-password fields.
• Long codes: license keys, recovery keys, and one-time setup codes.
• Demos and recordings: natural, human-speed typing for tutorials and live coding.
• Accessibility: send prepared text when typing it by hand is hard.

Check your workplace's IT policy before using TypeThru on a managed computer or session.

Install

Requires macOS 13 or later.

1. Download the .dmg from Releases.
2. Drag TypeThru into Applications, then open it.
3. If macOS says it cannot verify TypeThru, go to System Settings › Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway.
4. Allow TypeThru in Accessibility when asked.
5. Choose Set Up and enter your password. This installs the virtual keyboard driver, which is included in the app.
6. If macOS asks, allow the Karabiner driver in System Settings.

No Terminal is needed; everything happens in the app and System Settings.

Upgrading from KeyTyper? Delete the old app and run Set Up once.

Use

1. Copy text on your Mac.
2. Click a text field in the remote session.
3. Press Control+\ (or your own shortcut).

Click the menu bar icon to change the speed or run a typing test. Open Settings there to change the shortcut, open TypeThru at login, or turn options off. Control alone is the safest shortcut, because other modifier keys also reach the remote session.

When a new version is out, the panel shows it with an Install button. TypeThru downloads it, checks that it is signed by TypeThru, replaces itself, and reopens. Accessibility stays allowed.

Troubleshooting

• Nothing appears: click the remote text field first, then try again.
• Characters are missing: choose a slower speed.
• Typing does not start after an update: turn TypeThru off and on in Accessibility.
• Set Up keeps asking: allow the Karabiner driver in System Settings.

Privacy

• TypeThru sends key presses. It never records what you type.
• No event tap and no Input Monitoring. It only checks whether Esc, the modifier keys, the shortcut key, or a mouse button is held down, and while typing, which app and window are in front.
• When you change the shortcut, Settings reads only the keys you press in it, until you choose one.
• The clipboard is read only when you ask it to type, and is never saved or logged.
• The only network access is checking GitHub for a new version, at most once a day. The request contains only the app name and version; GitHub sees your IP address, as with any website. Turn it off in Settings › Updates.
• An update is downloaded and installed only when you choose Install. TypeThru installs it only if it comes from TypeThru's GitHub releases, carries TypeThru's update signature, and is signed with the same certificate as the copy you have. Nothing is installed automatically.
• The virtual keyboard helper runs as root because the driver requires it. It accepts key presses only from your Mac account and cannot read keyboard input. Other apps running as you could also use it to send key presses, even without Accessibility permission, so uninstall TypeThru when you no longer need it.
• Setup and uninstall run as administrator only after you enter your password. First, TypeThru checks that its setup files are unchanged since download and that the driver is signed by its own developer. Setup never replaces a different driver version.

Report security issues through GitHub private vulnerability reporting.

Uninstall

Open Settings from the panel, choose Uninstall TypeThru…, then move the app to the Trash.

Build from source

make test && make build

Needs the Xcode Command Line Tools. See AGENTS.md for how it works, signing, and project rules.

License

MIT. The virtual keyboard driver, Karabiner-DriverKit-VirtualHIDDevice, is by pqrs.org under the Unlicense.