Lockpaw

<p align="center"> <br> <img src="Lockpaw/Resources/Assets.xcassets/Mascot.imageset/Mascot.png" alt="Lockpaw mascot" width="200" /> <br> </p> <h1 align="center">Lockpaw</h1> <p align="center"> <strong>One hotkey covers your screen. One hotkey uncovers it. Everything keeps running.</strong><br> <em>No sleep. No display disconnect. No process interruption. Touch ID when you're back.</em> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://getlockpaw.com"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Download-Free-00D4AA?style=flat-square&logo=apple&logoColor=fff" alt="Download"></a> <a href="https://github.com/sorkila/lockpaw/actions/workflows/ci.yml"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/sorkila/lockpaw/ci.yml?branch=main&style=flat-square&label=CI&logo=github&logoColor=fff" alt="CI"></a> <a href="https://github.com/sorkila/lockpaw/releases/latest"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/sorkila/lockpaw?style=flat-square&color=111&labelColor=111&label=Release" alt="Release"></a> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/macOS%2014+-111?style=flat-square&logo=apple&logoColor=fff" alt="macOS 14+"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Swift%205.9-111?style=flat-square&logo=swift&logoColor=F05138" alt="Swift 5.9"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/MIT-111?style=flat-square" alt="MIT License"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/sorkila/lockpaw?style=flat-square&color=111&labelColor=111" alt="Stars"> </p> <p align="center"> <img src="assets/demo.gif" alt="Lockpaw demo — lock and unlock with a hotkey" width="600"> </p>

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You could set up Amphetamine, configure Hot Corners, tweak energy settings, and adjust your screen saver. Or you could press ⌘⇧L.

Features

• ⌨️ One hotkey — lock and unlock with ⌘⇧L (customizable)
• 🔒 Touch ID unlock — or password fallback, just like your Mac
• 🖥️ Every screen covered — all displays, auto-detects new monitors
• 🤖 Agents keep running — AI coding tools, builds, downloads, SSH sessions
• 😴 Prevents sleep — IOKit assertion keeps your Mac awake while locked
• 📦 3.4 MB — native Swift, no Electron, no frameworks
• 🚫 No analytics — no data leaves your Mac, no accounts, no internet required
• 🐕 The watchdog — a metallic origami dog in breathing teal light guards your screen

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Usage

| Action | How | |--------|-----| | Lock | Your hotkey (default Cmd+Shift+L) | | Quick unlock | Same hotkey | | Fallback unlock | Tap screen → Touch ID or password | | Settings | Menu bar → Settings… | | Change hotkey | Settings → Shortcuts → click to record |

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Install

Download

Grab the latest signed & notarized DMG from getlockpaw.com or GitHub Releases.

Homebrew

brew tap sorkila/lockpaw
brew install --cask lockpaw

Build from source

brew install xcodegen
git clone https://github.com/sorkila/lockpaw.git
cd lockpaw
xcodegen generate
xcodebuild -scheme Lockpaw -configuration Release build

On first launch, grant Accessibility when prompted. A dog icon appears in your menu bar.

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Design

The lock screen is intentionally minimal. Near-black canvas. Subtle radial glow. One element at a time.

Progressive disclosure — the screen opens with the watchdog, your message, and a quiet elapsed timer. A chevron breathes at the bottom. Tap anywhere to reveal the fallback auth button. Nothing appears without your intent.

The watchdog — a metallic origami dog rendered in teal and amber, floating in a pool of light. Slow 12-second breathing cycle. On successful unlock, the dog scales up with a teal bloom and fades away.

Typography — system San Francisco throughout. Regular weight message at 55% white. Monospaced timer at 35%. The screen whispers.

Auth button — glass material effect with a subtle border. Visible enough to be tappable, quiet enough to stay out of the way.

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Under the hood

Hotkey — CGEvent.tapCreate with .listenOnly on a dedicated background thread. Bypasses the LSUIElement activation issue that affects Carbon hotkeys in menu bar apps. Requires Accessibility permission.

Input blocking — separate CGEventTap intercepts all keyboard, scroll, and tablet events system-wide while locked. Mouse events pass through to the overlay (SwiftUI buttons need clicks). If macOS disables the tap, it re-enables synchronously in the callback.

Window level — CGShieldingWindowLevel(), the highest level in the system. Above Spotlight, Notification Center, screen savers, everything.

Multi-display — one overlay window per screen, recreated on hot-plug.

State machine — LockState enum with validated transitions. Every transitionTo() call is checked. State is verified again after async authentication returns.

Sleep prevention — IOPMAssertion keeps the Mac awake while locked.

Auth — LAContext.evaluatePolicy(.deviceOwnerAuthentication) for Touch ID with password fallback. Rate-limited: 30s cooldown after 3 failed attempts.

Auto-updates — Sparkle framework checks for updates automatically. Appcast hosted at getlockpaw.com.

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Security model

Lockpaw is a visual privacy tool, not a security boundary.

It guards against the accidental — a colleague, a cat, your own muscle memory while agents run. Not the intentional.

<details> <summary><strong>What it does</strong></summary> <br>

• Overlay at highest system window level
• Event tap blocks all keyboard/scroll input
• Fast User Switching cancels auth, keeps lock active
• Accessibility revocation detected and handled (force unlock with warning)
• URL scheme rate-limited (100ms debounce)
• Debug escape hatch compile-gated (#if DEBUG)
• State machine validates every transition
• Hotkey conflict detection against system shortcuts

</details> <details> <summary><strong>What it doesn't do</strong></summary> <br>

• Prevent pkill Lockpaw
• Block synthetic events (AppleScript, Accessibility API)
• Survive kernel-level access
• Protect against screen recording during overlay fade-in

For real security: Ctrl+Cmd+Q.

</details> <br>

URL scheme

lockpaw://lock              Lock the screen
lockpaw://unlock            Unlock with Touch ID
lockpaw://unlock-password   Unlock with password
lockpaw://toggle            Toggle lock state

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Architecture

Lockpaw/
├─ LockpawApp                     Entry, MenuBarExtra, AppDelegate, onboarding
├─ Controllers/
│  ├─ LockController              State machine, lock/unlock orchestration
│  ├─ Authenticator               LAContext · Touch ID · password fallback
│  ├─ InputBlocker                CGEventTap · keyboard/scroll blocking
│  ├─ HotkeyManager              CGEventTap · global hotkey detection
│  ├─ OverlayWindowManager       NSWindow · multi-display · shielding level
│  └─ SleepPreventer             IOKit · idle sleep assertion
├─ Models/
│  ├─ LockState                  .unlocked → .locking → .locked → .unlocking
│  └─ HotkeyConfig               Centralized hotkey UserDefaults access
├─ Views/
│  ├─ LockScreenView             Dog · glow · progressive disclosure
│  ├─ MenuBarView                Dropdown · lock/unlock/quit
│  ├─ SettingsView               Native Form · hotkey recorder · appearance
│  └─ OnboardingView             4-step wizard · hotkey · accessibility
├─ Utilities/
│  ├─ Constants                  Timing, animations, formatting
│  ├─ Notifications              All Notification.Name in one place
│  └─ AccessibilityChecker       AXIsProcessTrusted + System Settings
└─ Resources/
   └─ Assets                     App icon, mascot, menu bar icon, colors

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CI

Pushes to main and PRs run build + 34 unit tests via GitHub Actions. Tagged releases (v*) build, sign, notarize, and create GitHub Releases with the DMG attached.

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<p align="center"> _{<a href="https://getlockpaw.com">getlockpaw.com</a>} </p> <br>