Haptic feedback
A light tick under your finger at each step, on Force Touch trackpads, so you feel the level change.
Mac trackpad controls · Volume, brightness & shortcuts
Control your Mac without reaching for the keyboard.
TocaPad turns your trackpad's edges and corners into controls. Slide one finger up the right edge for volume or the left edge for brightness; a level shows on screen and Force Touch trackpads tick at each step. Double-tap a corner for Mission Control, lock your Mac, play or pause, or any shortcut you record. You choose what each corner does.
Or with Homebrew: brew install --cask getguruhat/tap/tocapad
● macOS 13+ on Apple silicon · Built-in trackpad or Magic Trackpad · Free & open source (MIT) · No account, no analytics
How it works
One finger. Any edge. Four corners.
Slide one finger along an edge of the trackpad. Volume starts on the right and brightness on the left, but you choose: put either one on the left, right, top or bottom edge, or switch it off. A level appears at the top right of your screen, the pointer stays where it was, and Force Touch trackpads tick under your finger at every step.
Double-tap a corner to open Mission Control, show the desktop, lock your Mac, take a screenshot, play or pause, skip a track, open an app or press any shortcut you record. You choose what each corner does.
It stays out of the way: palms are ignored while you type, a second finger cancels a slide, and scrolling and gestures work as before.
Brightness
Volume
Or the top edge
Or the bottom edge
The middle works as it always has: point, click, scroll.
Built around how you already use it
Stays out of your way until you reach for it.
The menu opens on your levels. Edges, corners and the rest are one tab away.
Cursor freeze
The pointer stays put while you slide, so you don't lose your place in what you were doing.
Fine steps
Hold Shift-Option while sliding for small, precise changes, the way the keyboard keys work.
Your edges
Put volume and brightness on the left, right, top or bottom edge, or turn either one off. The top and bottom slide sideways.
Ignores palms while you type
A touch on an edge right after a key press does nothing, so a resting palm won't nudge the volume.
Hide the icon
Rather keep your menu bar clear? Hide TocaPad's icon. It keeps working, and opening TocaPad again shows its settings.
Bottom quarter only
Rest your fingers on the sides of the trackpad? Only the lower part of each edge will respond.
Corner taps
Double-tap a corner to mute, play or pause, skip a track, open Mission Control, lock your Mac, open an app or press any shortcut. Every corner starts empty.
Your sensitivity
Choose how far you slide for a full change, and how wide the edges are.
Gets out of the way
A second finger cancels the slide, so scrolling, pinching and swiping work as they always have.
Stays on your Mac
No account and no analytics. It only checks GitHub once a day for a new version. Media keys and shortcuts on a corner need Accessibility access, and nothing else does.
- Brightness works on the built-in display and Apple displays. Most other monitors don't take brightness changes from macOS, and TocaPad says so in its menu.
- Volume can't be changed on outputs that control it on the device itself, such as many HDMI and some USB speakers.
The real app
Your levels, drawn on a trackpad.
Click the menu bar glyph to see how far each edge is filled, and which corners have a tap.
Questions
Good to know.
How do I change the volume with my Mac's trackpad?
Install TocaPad, then slide one finger up or down the right edge of the trackpad. The volume follows your finger and a level appears at the top right of the screen. The left edge does the same for brightness.
Can I open Mission Control or run a keyboard shortcut from my trackpad?
Yes. Double-tap a corner and choose what it does: mute, play or pause, skip a track, open Mission Control, show the desktop, lock your Mac, take a screenshot, open an app or press a keyboard shortcut you record. Every corner starts empty, so nothing happens until you set one. Media keys and shortcuts on a corner need Accessibility access.
Can I change the volume and brightness without using the keyboard?
Yes. Slide one finger up or down the right edge of the trackpad for volume, or the left edge for brightness. It works from the built-in trackpad or a Magic Trackpad, so you can stay on the trackpad when you are lying back with the lid open or your keyboard is out of reach.
Does TocaPad work with a Magic Trackpad?
Yes. It works with the MacBook's built-in trackpad and with a Magic Trackpad, including one you connect after TocaPad starts.
Will it get in the way of scrolling and gestures?
No. Only a single finger on the edge strip changes a level, and a second finger cancels the slide, so two-finger scrolling, pinching and swiping work as before. The middle of the trackpad is untouched.
Does it work on Intel Macs?
Not yet. TocaPad needs macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon (M1 and newer).
Can it change the brightness of an external monitor?
It changes the built-in display and Apple displays. Most other monitors don't accept brightness changes from macOS, and TocaPad's menu shows Not adjustable for them.
Can I install TocaPad with Homebrew?
Yes: brew install --cask getguruhat/tap/tocapad, then brew upgrade --cask tocapad for each new version.
Why does macOS block TocaPad the first time I open it?
TocaPad isn't notarized by Apple yet. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway once. The source is on GitHub under the MIT license if you want to read it or build it yourself.
Ready when you are
Give your trackpad a hat.
Download TocaPad, drag it to Applications and open it. Then slide a finger up the right edge of your trackpad.
Homebrew: brew install --cask getguruhat/tap/tocapad.
Needs macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon. TocaPad isn't notarized yet: allow the first launch in System Settings › Privacy & Security.
It uses parts of macOS that Apple doesn't document, so a macOS update could affect it; TocaPad checks for fixes daily.
Source: GitHub.