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bcharleson/CleanLock

Tiny macOS app that blacks out your displays and locks keyboard/trackpad so you can sanitize them safely.

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README

CleanLock

A tiny native macOS app that blacks out your displays and locks the keyboard + trackpad so you can sanitize them without typing gibberish or clicking random things.

Unlock: hold ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ together for 3 seconds.

Why this exists

One job: black out the display and lock input so you can sanitize your Mac without typing gibberish or clicking random things. MIT-licensed, easy to audit, and yours to fork.

Feature Behavior
Black overlay Full-screen on every connected display
Input lock Keyboard, trackpad, mouse, scroll, media keys via CGEvent tap
Unlock Hold ⌘ + ⌥ + ⌃ for 3 seconds (progress ring)
Failsafe Configurable auto-unlock (1 / 3 / 5 / 10 minutes)
Privacy No analytics or accounts; input events never leave the device. Optional Sparkle update checks contact GitHub only.

Requirements

  • macOS 14 Sonoma or later
  • Accessibility permission (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility)

CleanLock is not sandboxed. App Sandbox blocks the event taps needed to suppress input. Accessibility TCC is still required at runtime.

Install

Download

  1. Grab the latest .dmg from Releases.
  2. Open the DMG and drag CleanLock into Applications.
  3. Grant Accessibility when prompted.

Releases are Developer ID–signed and notarized. Sparkle handles later updates via CleanLock → Check for Updates….

Build from source

brew install xcodegen   # once
cd CleanLock
xcodegen generate
open CleanLock.xcodeproj

In Xcode: select the CleanLock scheme → Product → Run (⌘R).

Ship a release

See docs/RELEASING.md for the full checklist. Short path:

# 1) Bump MARKETING_VERSION / CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION in project.yml
#    and VERSION / BUILD defaults in scripts/release.sh
./scripts/release.sh
# 2) Commit appcast.xml + version bump, push main
# 3) gh release create vX.Y.Z dist/CleanLock-X.Y.Z.{dmg,zip} dist/SHA256SUMS.txt

Usage

  1. Launch CleanLock.
  2. Grant Accessibility if needed.
  3. Click Start Cleaning Mode.
  4. Wipe the screen / keyboard / trackpad.
  5. Hold ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ for 3 seconds to unlock.

Before starting, pick an Auto-unlock after duration (1, 3, 5, or 10 minutes) so you aren’t stuck longer than you want.

Emergency escapes if something goes wrong:

  • Wait for the configured failsafe, or
  • Force Quit via the Apple menu / Activity Monitor (power button still works at the hardware level).

How it works

  1. InputBlocker installs a session-level CGEvent tap and returns nil for keyboard/pointer events.
  2. OverlayController places borderless black windows at .screenSaver level on every NSScreen.
  3. Modifier state is watched; when the unlock chord stays held, a 30 Hz timer fills the progress ring and ends the session at 100%.

Open source

  • License: MIT
  • No telemetry
  • Contributions welcome — keep the surface area small

Ideas for later (not in v1)

  • Configurable unlock chord / hold duration
  • Menu-bar-only mode (LSUIElement)
  • Idle auto-timeout that resets while you’re wiping
  • White / gray wipe backgrounds for seeing smudges
  • Homebrew cask

Contributors

bcharleson

Issues