Sidekey 1.4.0 (custom layouts, Launch at Login)

Custom layouts

Choose Edit Layouts... in the Sidekey menu to change what your keys do.

• Change, move, remove and reset keys, and add a layout for any app with the + button under the app list; the − (minus) button removes one you added, after you confirm. Changes take effect at once and show on the iPad or iPhone when that app is in front. On a pinned layout, a key you changed, moved, removed or reset is refused until you unpin, bring the app to the front and pin again; keys you have not changed since pinning keep working. If you reset or remove a layout you added for an app, unpin it.
• Set a key's label, icon, colour and action. Actions are a keyboard shortcut (record it or enter it by hand; the editor warns when the shortcut is one macOS uses itself, such as Command-Space), a Windows shortcut, one of your Apple Shortcuts, or, for apps with several modes such as Citrix Viewer, a switch to another mode. Keys can also be set to need a press and hold.
• Custom keys cannot run shell commands or AppleScript themselves; an Apple Shortcut you choose runs whatever steps it contains. Built-in keys that run scripts can be replaced or removed, but not edited or moved.
• A key that lights with the app's state, such as Zoom's mute key or a Citrix mode key, stops lighting once you edit or move it.
• Layouts are saved in ~/Library/Application Support/Sidekey/Layouts/. You can edit the files by hand and choose Reload Layouts to pick up the changes. Every file is checked each time it loads. A file with a problem is refused whole and reported in the menu and in the editor, where you can delete it.

Launch at Login

• A Launch at Login item in the Sidekey menu starts Sidekey when you log in. It is off until you turn it on. Install Sidekey in Applications first. If macOS needs your approval, System Settings opens at Login Items; if macOS refuses, Sidekey shows why.

Fix

• Apple Shortcut keys now run the shortcuts tool directly instead of through a shell.

iPad and iPhone

1.4.0 needs no change to the iPad and iPhone app; custom layouts work with the version on the App Store.

Updating

Sidekey does not update itself. Quit Sidekey, download the new Sidekey.dmg and drag Sidekey to Applications again, replacing the old copy.

Sidekey 1.3.0 (Citrix Viewer, Pair Device)

Sidekey for Mac 1.3.0 adds a layout for Citrix Viewer, so your iPad can send Windows shortcuts into a Citrix session. Pairing is now called Pair Device.

Citrix Viewer

With a Citrix session in front, the iPad shows Windows keys and sends them into the session.

• Modes. Sidekey cannot see which Windows app is in front inside the session, so you choose a mode on the bottom row:
  • The row holds Windows, Outlook, Browser, VS Code and More.
  • More opens Word, Excel and Teams.
  • The lit key and the top of the screen show the current mode, and Sidekey remembers it when you switch away and back.
• Windows mode: Start, Ctrl+Alt+Del, File Explorer, Show Desktop, Lock, Switch App, Snap Left and Right, Close App and Undo.
• Hold keys: Lock, Close App and Teams' Leave need a press and hold.
• Sources: shortcuts come from Microsoft's published Windows shortcut lists for Windows, classic Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams and VS Code, and the shortcuts Chrome and Edge share.
• Requirements:
  • iPad build 5 or later (TestFlight build 5 for beta testers, or build it from source at v1.3.0). Earlier iPad builds cannot read the new Windows keys: they keep showing the previous layout while Citrix is in front, and refuse taps with "Layout changed. Tap again."
  • Citrix keyboard settings. In Citrix Viewer › Settings › Keyboard:
    • Send Control character using: Command (left) or Control.
    • Send Alt character using: Command (left)-Option.
    • Send Windows logo key using Command (right): on.
    • Send F1 - F12 keys with Option: on.

Also new

• Pair Device. The Sidekey menu now says Pair Device... and Forget Paired Devices (formerly Forget Paired iPads), and messages say "device" instead of "iPad". If a code is wrong, the message points to the Pair Device window.
• The iPad keeps looking for your Mac. iPad build 5 restarts its search if it stops, for example after the iPad was locked. Earlier builds could stay on "Reconnecting" until the app was force-quit and reopened.

Install or update

1. Quit Sidekey if it is running. Download Sidekey.dmg below, open it and drag Sidekey to Applications, replacing the old copy.
2. Open Sidekey from Applications. It lives in the menu bar.
3. If keys stop working after updating, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility, remove Sidekey with the minus button, add it back with the plus button and switch it on.
4. A paired iPad stays paired. For the Citrix layout, update the iPad app to build 5 or later: TestFlight build 5 for beta testers, or build it from source at v1.3.0.

Requires macOS 13 or later. Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Known limits

• Not encrypted yet. Traffic between the iPad and the Mac is not encrypted yet. Use Sidekey over USB or on a network you trust. See the 1.1.0 notes for details. Encryption is planned.
• Untested Citrix keys. Tried in a live session so far: switching between all modes, Start, Ctrl+Alt+Del, File Explorer, Show Desktop, Snap Left and Right, Switch App, Close App, Undo, Outlook's New Email and Forward, and the Browser keys. The rest, including Lock, the other Outlook keys (such as Delete, Ctrl+D) and the Word, Excel, Teams and VS Code keys, have not been tried yet. If a key does the wrong thing, please open an issue.
• Task View is left out. Win+Tab would be sent as right Command + Tab, which macOS takes for its own app switcher.
• New Email uses classic Outlook's shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+M). New Outlook uses Ctrl+N, which no key sends yet.
• AutoSum may clash with macOS Zoom. Excel's AutoSum is sent as Command + Option + =, which conflicts with macOS zoom shortcuts if those are turned on.
• Do Not Disturb. The key runs a shortcut named Toggle Focus, which you create in the Shortcuts app.
• Zoom meeting state is built from Zoom's documented menus and has not yet been tested in a live meeting.

SHA-256: 2be1609cedd7da451e46a22001193c0926cd011231ca572818e5939f44763839

Sidekey 1.2.0 (layouts for popular apps)

Sidekey for Mac 1.2.0 adds 18 new layouts for widely used Mac apps and AI coding tools, and full layouts for Safari and Chrome.

New layouts

• AI coding: Cursor, Antigravity and OpenCode. Cursor's keys include Accept All, Reject All, Model and Mode.
• Apple apps: Finder, Mail, Messages, Notes, Calendar, Music and Photos.
• Microsoft: Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, alongside the existing Word layout. Teams' End Call key needs a press and hold.
• Chat and media: Slack, Spotify, Notion and ChatGPT.
• Browsers: Safari and Chrome each get their own full 15-key layout in place of the shared 5-key browser layout. Arc keeps the shared one.

Shortcuts are taken from each app's own menus or published documentation. The Outlook, Slack, Spotify, Notion and ChatGPT layouts, most of the Excel and Teams keys, Cursor's Accept All, Reject All, Model, Mode, Mode Menu and Add to Chat keys, Antigravity's Agent Panel key and OpenCode's Stop key come from each vendor's published shortcuts. Not every key has been tried in its app yet. Notion and ChatGPT publish only a few shortcuts, so their decks are partly empty. If a key does the wrong thing, please open an issue.

Install or update

1. Quit Sidekey if it is running. Download Sidekey.dmg below, open it and drag Sidekey to Applications, replacing the old copy.
2. Open Sidekey from Applications. It lives in the menu bar.
3. If keys stop working after updating, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility, remove Sidekey with the minus button, add it back with the plus button and switch it on.
4. An iPad already paired with 1.1.0 stays paired. The new layouts come from the Mac, so the iPad app needs no update.

Requires macOS 13 or later. Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Known limits

• Traffic between the iPad and the Mac is not encrypted yet. Use Sidekey over USB or on a network you trust. See the 1.1.0 notes for details. Encryption is planned.
• With iPad build 3, the Delete key is labelled DELETE instead of ⌫, for example on Cursor's Reject All key. TestFlight build 4 shows ⌫.
• The Do Not Disturb key runs a shortcut named Toggle Focus, which you create in the Shortcuts app.
• Zoom meeting state (mic, camera, sharing, recording) is built from Zoom's documented menus and not yet tested in a live meeting.

SHA-256: 8f16ab4b87c1d68c15bfcc3c03ca380702c3ee43b8425598423e73c9322f87bd

Sidekey 1.1.0 (security fix: pairing)

Sidekey for Mac 1.1.0 fixes a serious security problem in 1.0.0 and adds pairing. If you installed 1.0.0, replace it with this version.

Security fix

Sidekey 1.0.0 accepted connections from any device that could reach the Mac over a network and ran the action that device sent, including shell commands. It has been withdrawn. In 1.1.0:

• Pairing: a Mac accepts an iPad only after you pair them with a 6-digit code shown on the Mac. Until then the iPad receives only the Mac's name and a pairing request, and its taps are refused.
• Only built-in actions: a tap names a key, and the Mac runs that key's action from its own built-in layout. It never runs an action sent over the network.
• Not encrypted yet: Traffic between the iPad and the Mac is not encrypted yet. Someone who can watch or tamper with your network could read what Sidekey sends (app names, window titles, the keys you tap and both device names). If they capture the one-time pairing exchange or interfere with a live connection, they could also press your Mac's built-in keys, for example to open Terminal or lock the Mac, until you choose Forget Paired iPads on the Mac. Use Sidekey over USB or on a network you trust. Encryption is planned.

Also new

• Microsoft Word layout: New, Open, Save, Print, Find, Bold, Italic, Underline, Link, Center, Comment, Track Changes, Undo, Redo and Focus.
• VS Code: the Git Stage All key, which could not work, is replaced by Source Control.
• Removed the "Open Settings..." menu item, which did nothing.

Install or update

1. Quit Sidekey 1.0.0 if it is running. Download Sidekey.dmg below, open it and drag Sidekey to Applications, replacing the old copy.
2. Open Sidekey from Applications. It lives in the menu bar.
3. If macOS asks, switch Sidekey on in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility. If keys stop working after updating, remove Sidekey there with the minus button, add it back with the plus button and switch it on.
4. Choose Pair iPad... in the Sidekey menu and type the code on your iPad. The iPad app needs the matching update: TestFlight build 3 or later for beta testers, otherwise build it from source at this version until it reaches the App Store.

Requires macOS 13 or later. Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Known limits

• Zoom meeting state (mic, camera, sharing, recording) is built from Zoom's documented menus and not yet tested in a live meeting.
• The Do Not Disturb key runs a shortcut named Toggle Focus, which you create in the Shortcuts app.

SHA-256: 3fcfd81a0ad9454fa35a5646df9b6d8db4486d3f7bec8fc4e360af201d21d0e5

Sidekey 1.0.0 (withdrawn: security issue)

Security notice (7 October 2026): this release has been withdrawn.

Sidekey 1.0.0 for Mac accepted connections from any device that could reach the Mac over a network (Wi-Fi, Ethernet or VPN, not only shared Wi-Fi) without pairing, and ran the action that device sent, including shell commands, AppleScript and keystrokes. Such a device could run commands on your Mac as you, and could see which app you were using and its window titles.

Only the Mac app 1.0.0 download is affected. The iPad app needs no action.

If you installed it:

1. Quit Sidekey from the menu bar and delete it from Applications. Delete the downloaded Sidekey.dmg too.
2. Remove Sidekey from System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility and › Automation.
3. If you used it on a network you do not fully trust, treat the Mac as possibly accessed by someone else: check for unexpected files, login items and running processes.

Fixed in Sidekey 1.1.0, which runs only its own built-in actions and requires pairing with your iPad. To use 1.1.0, the iPad app needs build 3 or later.

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First public release of Sidekey for the Mac.

Sidekey turns an iPad into a shortcut deck that follows the app in front on your Mac. This download is the Mac menu bar app. The iPad app is in a private TestFlight beta and will come to the App Store later; until then, build it from source as described in the README's Build from source section.

Install

1. Download Sidekey.dmg below, open it and drag Sidekey to Applications.
2. Open Sidekey. It lives in the menu bar.
3. When macOS asks, switch Sidekey on in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility. Sidekey needs this to send shortcuts and read window titles. Allow Automation and Local Network access too if macOS asks.

Requires macOS 13 or later. Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

What's in 1.0.0

• Layouts for System, Xcode, VS Code, Terminal, Safari, Chrome, Arc, WhatsApp, Telegram, Zoom and MacDown, switching with the frontmost app.
• Sends the frontmost app's icon, window title and Accessibility status to the iPad.
• Reports the Mac's result for every tap, including why it failed, and rejects taps on a layout that changed under your finger.
• The iPad connects over USB when plugged in, with Wi-Fi as the fallback.

Known limits

• Zoom meeting state (mic, camera, sharing, recording) is built from Zoom's documented menus and not yet tested in a live meeting.
• The menu bar's "Open Settings..." item does nothing yet.

SHA-256: 92ff8d9c3a094a27def5958ce82ddd0e6083c5f0374f0df836356763fb7b6d60