typeclip

Types your clipboard into the focused text field as if a human were typing it — jittered rhythm, natural pauses, optional typos-and-corrections, and reproducible takes. Built for screen recordings and demo videos where pasted text looks fake.

Install

brew install cssllcio/tap/typeclip

Or from source (needs Xcode command-line tools):

git clone https://github.com/cssllcio/typeclip.git
cd typeclip && swift build -c release
sudo cp .build/release/typeclip /usr/local/bin/

First run: Accessibility permission

typeclip posts real keyboard events, which macOS gates behind the Accessibility permission. On first run you'll get the system prompt; enable the app hosting typeclip — your terminal (Terminal, iTerm2, …) — under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, then re-run.

Usage

Copy some text, then:

typeclip                 # 5s countdown — click into the target field, it types
typeclip -d 3 --wpm 85   # faster typist, shorter countdown
typeclip --seed 42       # same "performance" every take (seed prints on every run)
typeclip --typo-rate 0.02 --submit   # occasional corrected typos; Enter at the end
typeclip --app "TextEdit"            # focus TextEdit for you after the countdown
typeclip --text 'demo prompt' --dry-run   # inspect the keystroke timeline, type nothing

Recording workflow: start your screen recorder, run typeclip in an off-screen terminal, click into the on-camera field during the countdown, and let it perform. Every run prints its seed — if a take was good, --seed <that number> replays it keystroke-for-keystroke.

Flags

Safety

• Focus guard: typing halts the instant the frontmost app changes — click anywhere else or Cmd+Tab to abort a take (exit code 2).
• Preview: the countdown shows a preview of what's about to be typed.
• Oversize confirm: clipboards over 2,000 chars ask first (--yes to skip).

Exit codes: 0 done · 1 --app activation failure (no match, or app never became frontmost) · 2 focus-change halt · 3 Accessibility missing · 4 no text · 5 confirm declined.

Release verification recipe (maintainers)

Run before every tag — CI cannot exercise real keystrokes:

1. pbcopy < fixture.txt where fixture.txt contains 2+ lines and an emoji.
2. typeclip -d 3 --seed 42 --typo-rate 0.02 into TextEdit → text matches the clipboard exactly; rhythm looks human; typo corrections read naturally.
3. Re-run with the same seed → identical performance.
4. Start a run, Cmd+Tab away mid-take → halts immediately, exit 2, no strays.
5. typeclip --newline enter --submit --text $'line1\nline2' into TextEdit → two lines plus a final Enter.

License

MIT © CSS LLC