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Answer

Can I add my own sounds to Clacky?

Yes, for mouse and trackpad clicks and scroll ticks: Clacky has a Bring your own section where you drop in your own press, release and scroll tick sounds.

Keyboard sounds are different. You choose from Clacky's 29 keyboard sounds in 9 families, and there is no way to load keyboard sound packs of your own.

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How to add your own click sound

  1. Open Clacky's Settings and go to Sounds.
  2. Click More options and scroll to Bring your own ("Your own clicks, kept on this Mac").
  3. Drop a sound file on the Press slot, or click Choose… and pick one. WAV, AIFF, MP3 and M4A all work.
  4. Add a Release sound for letting go and a Scroll tick sound too, if you like. Both are optional.
  5. Turn on Use my sounds. Your sound now shows as Custom next to the built-in sounds, and you can also pick Custom for the right click.

What Clacky does to your file

A click has to be short and start right away, or it feels late. So Clacky tidies every file you add before it plays it:

  • Silence at the start is trimmed, so the sound starts the moment you click.
  • Anything longer than 300 milliseconds is cut, with a short fade so it doesn't click off.
  • Silence at the end is dropped.
  • The level is evened out to match the built-in sounds, so your file isn't much louder or quieter than the rest.

Where your sounds are kept

Clacky saves the cleaned-up copies in ~/Library/Application Support/Clacky/CustomSounds/ and remembers the original file names for display. Your files are only read from where you picked them, and nothing is uploaded. To remove one, click the ✕ next to its slot. Replace… swaps it for another file.

Making a good click sound

  • Record something short and sharp: a pen click, a light switch, a tap on a mug. On a Mac, QuickTime Player → File → New Audio Recording saves an M4A file that Clacky can read.
  • Record close to the microphone in a quiet room. Clacky trims silence but can't remove a hum.
  • Make the press and the release from the same object, so they sound like one click.
  • Want to start from a built-in sound instead? The free click sound generator lets you hear all 37 and download any of them as a WAV file.

Why keyboard sounds can't be swapped

Clacky's keyboard sounds are made on your Mac, with a slightly different sound for Return, Space, Tab and the other kinds of keys, and a little variation on every press. A single file per key would lose that. If you want switch recordings or community sound packs, other apps do that better: the keyboard sound app guide lists which ones.

Keyboard sounds listen for key down/up only. Clacky never records, stores or sends which keys you type, and respects Secure Input.

Questions

Which file types can I use for my own click sounds?

WAV, AIFF, MP3 and M4A. Clacky turns each one into a short WAV file on your Mac.

Can I use a long sound or a song as a click?

Only the first 300 milliseconds play, with a short fade. Clicks are meant to be short.

Can I have a different custom sound for the right click?

You get one set of your own sounds. Under Right click you can pick Custom or any built-in sound, so the two buttons can still sound different.

Do my own sounds work in screen recordings?

Yes. Clacky's recorder records your Mac's audio, so whatever click sound you hear is in the video.

Facts checked on 5 November 2026.

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