Questions
How to tap your MacBook to run a shortcut
An iPhone has Back Tap; macOS does not. A MacBook can do the same thing anyway: knock twice on the palm rest and something happens. InputConfig, a free app on the Mac App Store, reads the MacBook's built-in motion sensor, counts knocks from one to five, and runs whatever you bind to them. No accessory and nothing plugged in. This is a knock on the case, not tap to click on the trackpad.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Steps
- Install InputConfig and allow Accessibility access.
- Activate the Tap the Mac preset.
- Knock twice on the palm rest.
Set it up in three steps
- Install InputConfig from the Mac App Store and allow Accessibility access.
- Activate the Tap the Mac preset under Feature Showcases: a double tap opens Mission Control and a triple tap starts or stops dictation.
- Knock twice on the palm rest, firmly, about as fast as a double click. To change what a tap does, edit the row and pick any output.
Ideas for a tap
- Mute or unmute a call.
- Start dictation.
- Take a screenshot.
- Play or pause music.
- Lock the screen.
- Next slide in Keynote or PowerPoint (the Right arrow key), when you are presenting from the laptop. More ways to change slides are on the presentation remote page.
- Run any Siri Shortcut.
- Open an app or a website.
- Switch to your next preset.
Why typing does not set it off
A keystroke shakes the case about as hard as a tap, so taps that land while you are typing are thrown away. A single tap is left unbound in the preset because one knock is easy to make by accident; double and triple are deliberate. Setting the laptop down is one bump, not two quick ones.
Which MacBooks
Tested on M4 MacBooks. It did not work on an M1 Pro in our testing, and desktop and Intel Macs have no motion sensor. The calibrator's status chip shows whether your MacBook's sensor is listening; the accelerometer page has the details.
Other apps that do this
Several small apps do only this, and some are good at it. MacTap is free, MIT licensed, downloaded from GitHub, and counts one to three knocks; it can also tell a knock on the left edge from one on the right, which InputConfig cannot. Knock, nocnoc and Tunk are others you will find. Check each one's own page for the Macs it supports.
What InputConfig does differently:
- It installs from the Mac App Store, sandboxed, with no Terminal and no password.
- It counts up to five knocks.
- The calibrator draws a live trace, so you set the threshold by watching your own knocks instead of guessing.
- A tap sits in the same preset as a controller, a MIDI pad, or your mouse buttons, and with per-app auto-switch a double tap can do one thing in Keynote and another in Safari.
Checked on 22 September 2026.
Looking for tap to click?
If you meant tapping the trackpad instead of pressing it down, that is built into macOS: System Settings, Trackpad, Point & Click, Tap to click. This page is about knocking on the MacBook's case, which macOS does not offer at all.
Questions
Is there Back Tap on a Mac?
Not built into macOS. InputConfig adds it on MacBooks with a readable motion sensor: double or triple tap the palm rest to run any output.
Where should I tap?
The palm rest either side of the trackpad is the most reliable. The lid works with a firmer knock. A desk or a lap works better than a soft surface.
Can I change how hard a tap has to be?
Yes. Calibrate Taps in the row's Options shows a live trace and a threshold you move while you knock.
How many taps can it count?
One to five. Knocks about as fast as a double click belong to the same gesture, and a pause starts a new count. The built-in preset uses two and three, because a single knock is easy to make by accident.
Why did a knock not count?
Open Calibrate Taps in the row's Options: every strike is coloured. Yellow means it landed next to typing or a click and was ignored on purpose; red means it came too soon after the previous tap. If a knock never crosses the line, lower the threshold, or move the MacBook off a soft surface onto a desk.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.