AcousticKey

Every key press, now with a thock.

A client only Fabric mod to play mechanical keyboard and mouse sounds as you type and click. No server install or background program is required - simply place the mod in mods/ and your membrane keyboard will sound like a custom build!

Why AcousticKey?

Most "keyboard sound" solutions require a separate desktop application to run in conjunction with Minecraft which competes for your audio device. AcousticKey runs inside the game and reads key and mouse input events directly from the game engine to play the sounds.

Controls

Both hotkeys are standard Minecraft binds, you can rebind them under Options → Controls → AcousticKey:

The footer of the settings screen displays your current keybinds (e.g. J = GUI │ N = Mute) at all times.

Settings

• Pack Lists: Click to switch packs — applies on the next key press. Scrollable list.
• Volume: Separate sliders for keyboard and mouse audio (0–100%).
• Mute: Instant master mute without resetting volume levels.
• Key-Up: An extra release sound when keys are unpressed (disabled by default).
• Mouse: Toggle mouse click sounds independently of keyboard sounds.
• Random: Subtle pitch variations to eliminate repetitive audio fatigue.
• Refresh: Rescans the soundpacks folder after dropping in new custom files.
• Open Folder: Opens the soundpacks directory in your OS's file manager.

All preferences are automatically stored in .minecraft/config/acoustickey.json:

{
  "keyboardPackId": "cherrymx-blue-pbt",
  "mousePackId": "default-mouse",
  "keyboardVolume": 80,
  "mouseVolume": 80,
  "muted": false,
  "keyUpEnabled": false,
  "mouseSoundsEnabled": true,
  "randomSoundsEnabled": false
}

Soundpacks

Included Packs

AcousticKey includes 4 pre-bundled packs from Mechvibes:

• Cherry MX Blue - Clicky (cherrymx-blue-pbt)
• Cherry MX Brown - Tactile (cherrymx-brown-pbt)
• Cherry MX Red - Linear (cherrymx-red-pbt)
• EG Oreo - Creamy (eg-oreo)
• Built-in Defaults - default-keyboard / default-mouse

Adding Custom Soundpacks

1. Press K → click Open Folder (or manually open .minecraft/config/acoustickey/soundpacks/).
2. Add a folder containing a MechVibes++ style config.json and corresponding audio files.
3. Click Refresh in-game to load the new pack.

Supported Formats: Only .ogg and .wav audio formats are supported. .m4a and .mp3 files are automatically ignored. Convert files using Audacity (Export → Ogg) or ffmpeg:

ffmpeg -i sound.m4a -c:a libvorbis sound.ogg

Don't forget to update the file extension paths inside your pack's config.json to .ogg.

Directory Structure

Keyboard and mouse soundpacks are stored separately:

.minecraft/
└── config/
    ├── acoustickey.json
    └── acoustickey/
        ├── soundpacks/      <-- Keyboard packs
        │   ├── cherrymx-blue-pbt/
        │   ├── eg-oreo/
        │   └── my-pack/
        └── mousepacks/      <-- Mouse packs
            ├── logi-g502/
            └── my-mouse/

Installation

Prerequisites

• Fabric Loader: ≥ 0.19.3
• Java: 21
• Fabric API

Setup Steps

1. Install Fabric Loader for your game version.
2. Place fabric-api.jar into your .minecraft/mods/ directory.
3. Place the mod into your .minecraft/mods/ directory.
4. Launch Minecraft.

FAQ

Can I rebind the menu or mute key?

Yes. Go to Esc → Options → Controls → AcousticKey, select the action, and press your desired key.

Why is there no sound playing?

1. Press M to make sure mute is not active.
2. Check both volume sliders in the K menu.
3. Open your selected pack's directory and make sure the audio files are strictly .ogg or .wav.
4. Switch to a bundled pack (such as cherrymx-blue-pbt) to see if the problem is pack-specific.

Why are mouse clicks silent while keyboard keys work?

Make sure Mouse: ON is selected in the control panel, and make sure your active mouse's soundpack has valid .ogg or .wav audio files. Switching to default-mouse resolves missing audio problems.

Credits

• MechVibes - Original soundpack framework
• MechVibes++ - Extended soundpack specification & editor
• Built using OpenAL and a custom OGG decoder for low-latency playback