Mac users, finally some relief! This might be the Mac tool I wish I had found sooner this year. Have you ever been driven crazy by input methods? You switch to English to code, and the next second it mysteriously reverts to Chinese; open ChatGPT and it’s English, switch to WeChat and you need Chinese, switching back and forth dozens of times; even worse, some apps secretly switch your input method for you… Today I found a free open-source gem: LockIME. It can directly “lock” your input method! Lock input method globally, auto-switch input method per different app, auto-switch input method per different website in browser, 24-hour switching log available, one-key shortcut control, size under 3MB. In short: WeChat always Chinese, Cursor always English, certain websites in browser auto English, never manually switch input method again. The best part: completely free! Completely open source! A must-have tool for Mac users! The biggest takeaway after using it: not so much about efficiency improvement, but rather reducing the daily frustrations by a ton… GitHub: https://github.com/oomol-lab/LockIME… Comment below: How many times do you switch input methods per day?

oomol-lab/LockIME Source: https://github.com/oomol-lab/LockIME

LockIME

English · 简体中文 · 繁體中文 · 日本語 · Français · Deutsch · Español · Português · Русский

Latest release (https://github.com/oomol-lab/LockIME/releases/latest) CI (https://github.com/oomol-lab/LockIME/actions/workflows/ci.yml) License: GPL-3.0 macOS 14+ (https://www.apple.com/macos/) Swift 6.0 (https://swift.org)

A macOS menu-bar app that locks your keyboard input source. Whenever you (or another app) switch input methods, LockIME immediately switches back to the locked one — globally, or per-frontmost-app, or (with the optional enhanced mode) per browser URL.

macOS 14+ · Apple silicon & Intel — separate apps, download the -arm64 or > -x86_64 file matching your Mac · built with SwiftUI, Liquid Glass on > macOS 26 (Tahoe).

Screenshots

Install

Install with Homebrew (the cask picks the build matching your Mac’s architecture):

sh brew install --cask oomol-lab/tap/lockime Or download the .dmg matching your Mac (-arm64 for Apple silicon, -x86_64 for Intel) from the latest release. Either way, the app keeps itself up to date via Sparkle.

Features

• Instant re-lock — switches the active input source back the moment you (or another app) change it, globally or per-app.
• Lock or switch — per-app and per-URL rules can lock an input source (re-applied whenever it drifts) or just switch to it once when you focus the app or page, then step out of the way and let you change it freely.
• Flexible URL matching — per-URL rules (enhanced mode) match by a domain and its subdomains, an exact domain, a domain keyword, or a regular expression over the full URL, and apply in a priority order you drag to arrange — first match wins.
• Menu-bar control — activate/deactivate, switch the locked input source, view the current source, and track the activation count from the menu bar.
• Keyboard shortcuts — configurable global shortcuts to toggle locking and cycle the locked input source, plus per-app shortcuts to cycle or unbind the rule for whichever app is frontmost.
• Launch at login — starts automatically when you log in (off by default).
• Light & dark mode — a unified, system-native design language that adapts to light and dark appearance, plus a bespoke app icon. See docs/DESIGN.md.
• Live language switching — switch between 9 languages instantly, no restart: English, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, Français, Deutsch, Español, Português, Русский.
• 24-hour activation log — review what was switched, why, and for how long.
• Config backup — export your per-app and per-URL rules to a .lockime file and import them back, with a review step that previews additions, conflicts, and removals before anything is applied.
• Auto-update — stable and beta channels via Sparkle, with a custom update window.
• Tiny download — the whole app ships in a .dmg under 3 MB.
• No system permissions for core locking — an optional Accessibility-gated enhanced mode unlocks finer-grained per-URL and focused-field rules.
• Automation — a lockime:// URL scheme lets other apps, scripts, and Shortcuts drive LockIME (see below).

Automation

LockIME exposes a lockime:// URL scheme so other apps, scripts, Shortcuts, and launchers can drive it — toggle locking, retarget the input source, manage rules, and read state back with x-callback-url callbacks. It is off by default — turn it on in Settings ▸ General ▸ Automation.

sh open "lockime://lock" open "lockime://lock-to-source?id=com.apple.keylayout.ABC" open "lockime://set-app-rule?bundle=com.apple.Terminal&mode=lock&source=com.apple.keylayout.ABC" Full reference: URL Scheme API.

Design

LockIME follows a single design system (Sources/LockIME/UI/DesignSystem.swift): semantic colors, system materials, and SF Symbols drive light/dark adaptation; Liquid Glass is reserved for the floating/navigation layer only. The brand “Lock Indigo” accent ships as an AccentColor asset. The full spec lives in docs/DESIGN.md. The app icon is generated programmatically (no design tool) — regenerate it with:

sh ./scripts/make-appicon.sh # renders the master via SwiftUI and rebuilds the appiconset

Development

Requires Xcode 26+ (the app itself targets macOS 14+), and XcodeGen + xcbeautify (brew install xcodegen xcbeautify).

sh make gen # generate LockIME.xcodeproj from project.yml make build # build (Debug) make run # build & launch make test # run unit tests make archive # Release archive (Developer ID) The Xcode project is generated from project.yml and is not checked in. Hardware-touching integration tests (real TIS switching) are excluded from make test; run them with make test-hw (briefly changes the input source).

Releasing

Dispatch-driven, notarized Developer ID releases with Sparkle auto-update over stable and beta channels: run the Release workflow (Actions → Release) and it computes the version from git tags, builds, and creates the tag and GitHub Release automatically — never push a tag by hand. The beta channel is the nightly build. Every release ships separate Apple-silicon and Intel apps, each on its own update feed (no universal binary, no cross-arch updates). See docs/RELEASING.md.

Architecture

• LockIMEKit (static library) — pure, fully unit-tested logic using only system frameworks: lock engine, app monitor, rules, enhanced (Accessibility) observer, logging model, localization.
• LockIME (app) — @main, SwiftUI UI, the design system, and the thin integration shims for Sparkle, KeyboardShortcuts, and PermissionFlow.

License

Copyright © 2026 Hangzhou Wumou Software Co., Ltd.