Babbler

Typed in the wrong layout? Tap Option and it's fixed.
A lightweight macOS menu bar app for switching between English and Russian keyboard layouts.

Download v0.8.5 · Features · Installation · Build

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How it works

Forgot to switch layouts and typed gibberish? Press the action key (Option by default) — Babbler deletes what you just typed, retypes it in the other layout and switches the keyboard for you.

Ghbdtn   →  ⌥  →  Привет
Руддщ    →  ⌥  →  Hello

Action	Shortcut
Fix the last typed word	⌥
Fix the whole last line	⇧ ⌥
Fix selected text	Select, then ⌥

Features

• Instant layout fix — retypes the last word, line or selection in the other layout, preserving capitalization
• Menu bar indicator — shows the current input source as a flag or an "EN / RU" badge, or just the Babbler icon
• Per-app input sources — automatically switch to a chosen layout when an app comes to the front
• Per-app language memory — coming back to an app within 3 minutes restores the language you last used there; after that, its default applies
• Clipboard history — recently copied text, with pinned items, one click away in the menu
• Secure input aware — when an app enables secure input (password fields, Terminal's Secure Keyboard Entry), the icon shows a red dot and text replacement pauses; layout switching still works
• Configurable action key — Option, Right Option, Control or Right Control
• Optional Globe action key — use Globe alongside the selected action key; hold Shift to fix a line. Either key switches the language even with no text to convert or text replacement disabled.
• Launch at login

Requirements

• macOS 14.4 or later
• English and Russian input sources enabled in System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources
• Accessibility permission — needed to watch the action key and retype text

Installation

1. Download Babbler v0.8.5 and unzip it. The app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Older builds are in bin.
2. Move Babbler.app to /Applications and launch it. The icon appears in the menu bar.
3. macOS asks for Accessibility access — click Open System Settings and turn on Babbler. Babbler picks the permission up automatically; no restart needed.
4. Optional: open Settings… to pick the action key, enable launch at login and set per-app input sources.
5. Optional: enable Use Globe / Fn as an additional action key in Settings.
6. If you enable Globe, set macOS Press Globe key to to Do Nothing.
7. If you enable Globe, allow Babbler in Privacy & Security → Input Monitoring and restart Babbler.

Building from source

Requires Xcode 26 or later (the app icon is an Icon Composer .icon file). No third-party dependencies.

git clone https://github.com/gevgeny/BabblerApp.git
cd BabblerApp
open Babbler.xcodeproj   # build & run the "Babbler" scheme

Packaging a release

./scripts/package_app.sh

Builds a release archive and writes bin/Babbler vX.Y.Z.zip. If the full Xcode isn't your active developer directory:

DEVELOPER_DIR="/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer" ./scripts/package_app.sh

Privacy

Babbler works entirely on your Mac and makes no network requests. It keeps only the last typed word or line in memory to be able to retype it and never stores keystrokes. Clipboard history lives in memory too; only items you pin are saved, in the app's local preferences. Clipboard history can be turned off in Settings.

Troubleshooting

• Option does nothing — check that Babbler is enabled in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. After updating the app, remove the old entry and enable it again.
• Red dot on the icon — either Accessibility access is missing (see the menu) or another app has turned on secure input; the menu names the app.
• Crashes — Babbler writes local crash logs (uncaught exceptions and fatal signals, with stack traces) to ~/Library/Application Support/Babbler/Crashes. Please attach them to bug reports.