Clink

Clink is a custom keyboard app for iPhone and iPad that replaces the default iOS keyboard with one the user sets up and controls. It bundles themes, layouts, sound packs, swipe typing, on-device autocorrect and a set of tools directly into the keyboard, so the thing you type with all day also does jobs you would otherwise switch apps for. The app runs on iOS 17 or later, downloads from the App Store, and is set up through the standard iOS path: Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Clink, after which you hold the globe key in any app and pick Clink. Clink is for anyone who wants a keyboard that looks and behaves how they want, from people who care about privacy to people who simply want a number row, a split layout or a click that sounds like a real mechanical board. Most keyboards are fixed products: you get the layout, look, sound and behaviour the vendor decided on, and the only lever you have is turning a few settings on or off. Clink's premise is ownership — the site states plainly that this is the iOS keyboard you actually own and that nothing you type ever leaves the phone. The project answers a set of recurring frustrations: missing keys and rows, no way to change how typing feels, and privacy policies that leave users unsure what is happening with their keystrokes. To help people choose, the site publishes honest comparison guides against Apple's default keyboard, Gboard, SwiftKey and Typewise, framing the trade-offs directly — themes and ownership versus Search, GIFs and Google; offline control versus multilingual prediction and Copilot; normal layouts and deep themes versus hex privacy branding. Customisation starts with appearance. Themes cover solid colour, brushed metal, sculpted 3D keycaps and Liquid Glass; you can start from a preset and change as much of it as you like, including photo backgrounds. Layout is equally adjustable. A number row, a split keyboard and a one-handed mode are switches in settings, and the Layout editor goes further by letting you build keys, rows and whole extra pages of your own. Sound is a first-class setting too: swap the sound pack, or make one from your own recordings. Clink's haptics are its own rather than the system's, so they still work even where the system click is turned off. Together these three areas — look, layout and feel — are what make the keyboard something you configured rather than a component that was handed to you. Automations take owning your keyboard further by handling settings you would otherwise keep changing by hand. They are rules that change your keyboard automatically — split the keys in landscape, quiet the clicks at night, then return to your usual setup. You can start from a preset or choose your own conditions, and no code is needed. Plugins add features you wish your keyboard had: they are add-ons that bring new tools, typing features and effects to Clink, such as putting your typing speed on the space bar or giving keys a new look. Plugins are short Python scripts that run in the keyboard, and they cannot reach the internet or read your files. Repositories are collections of themes, layouts and plugins you can browse and install in Clink; you can add an official or community repository to find your next setup, or publish your own creations for others to use. Clink Pro adds an AI-assisted build path: describe a plugin, panel, action or automation and Clink Pro can turn the idea into a draft to review and edit. The example given on the site is a request such as making an action that turns selected text into uppercase. The build can use Apple Intelligence on compatible devices, or you can choose a cloud provider and bring your own key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini or an OpenAI-compatible endpoint, with cloud usage billed separately. You can close the editor without cancelling your build and use Build tasks to check progress, open a result or retry. Typing itself leans on gestures: slide through the letters and lift for one stroke per word, and slide the spacebar to move the cursor, while autocorrect and next-word suggestions run on the phone with no network on the typing path. Dictation lets you say it or rewrite it — dictate straight into the field you are in, and proofread, shorten or change the tone of what is already there without leaving the app. The tools come with the keyboard: clipboard history, a notepad, a calculator, a translator and more, opened and used without breaking your typing flow. The site lists Emoji, GIFs, Clipboard, Notepad, Dictation, Handwriting, Translate, Dictionary, AI Tools, Text FX, Calculator, Conversion, Cling, Replacements, Profiles and Layouts as the tools. Clink supports 78 languages, each with an on-device typing pack, and you can type in all of them at once or one at a time; the app's own screens are translated separately, so Clink can be in one language while the keyboard writes another. Structurally, Clink is built around a few clear ideas. The keyboard runs its typing intelligence on the device: suggestions and predictions stay on device, and there is no network on the typing path. Full Access is optional for typing — enabling it turns on clipboard features, custom feedback and the cloud AI requests you choose to run. Plugins are short Python scripts that run in the keyboard and cannot reach the internet or read your files, which is what makes installing one a contained decision. Community packs are read from public GitHub repositories: Clink browses official shelves in the app, lets you add community ones beside them, and verifies every file before it lands on your phone. You can install a pack without making an account, and publishing your own creation means releasing it so others can add your repository by name. The benefits follow from those choices. Typing stays on the phone, so what you write is not routed through a keyboard vendor's servers by default. You get a keyboard that matches your habits instead of the other way round — the keys where you want them, the sound you like, the theme you picked. Automations remove the small recurring chores of switching modes manually. Plugins and repositories mean the feature you are missing may already exist, or can be written. Clink Pro's AI build path lowers the barrier to making that plugin yourself. And because no account is required and Full Access is optional, adopting Clink does not demand handing over an identity or extra permissions. Concrete scenarios described in the content include quieting the clicks at night and returning to your usual setup afterwards; splitting the keys in landscape for two-thumb typing; and putting your typing speed on the space bar with the WPM Spacebar plugin. The plugin example on the site expands omw into on my way and brb into be right back when you type the word and a space. Clink Pro's example request turns selected text into uppercase. Dictation is used to speak into the field you are already in, and to proofread, shorten or change the tone of existing text without leaving the app. Multilingual users can type across 78 languages at once or one at a time. Community users browse official shelves, add community repositories, and publish their own themes, layouts or plugins as releases for others to install. Clink targets iPhone and iPad users on iOS 17 or later who want control over their keyboard, including privacy-conscious typers and people who type in several languages. On the integration side, it reads packs from public GitHub repositories, supports iCloud Sync on the free tier, uses Apple Intelligence on compatible devices for AI builds, works with bring-your-own-key access to OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini or an OpenAI-compatible endpoint, and uses on-device SpeechTranscriber for dictation when available on iOS 26 with its language resources ready — noting that the compatibility speech recognizer can send audio to Apple's servers, including while those resources download, so dictation is not always offline. Pricing is freemium: the free tier covers typing, swipe, emoji, preset themes and layouts, the number row, split and one-handed modes, language switching and iCloud Sync. Membership adds AI Tools, Clipboard, Notepad, Translate, Calculator, Handwriting and Text FX, plus plugins, pets, stickers and sound packs, themes, layouts and profiles of your own, and the fine-tuning sliders. Membership is monthly, yearly or a one-time lifetime payment, with your local price on the App Store and a possible trial for eligible accounts. Clink is a keyboard you configure rather than accept: themes, layouts, sounds, automations, plugins and repositories let you reshape the thing you type with every day, while typing stays on the device and accounts stay optional. For iPhone and iPad users who want their keyboard to feel like their own, and for developers and communities who want to publish into it, that combination of deep customisation, an offline typing path and an open pack format is the whole proposition.