TabForgeA code keyboard for iPhone and iPad
Braces, brackets, and Tab. Right beside the letter keys.
Write code, scripts, and terminal commands with punctuation and editing controls beside the letter keys.
Best on iPhone Duo.
View in App StoreOpen source · iOS & iPadOS 27 or later
Free to use. Optional tips support the app. No ads, tracking, or subscriptions.
See TabForge in action
- Programming keys
- Full ASCII punctuation
- Indentation
- Tab, two spaces, or four
- Privacy
- No Full Access requested
Indentation and editing
Indent a line, move the cursor, or insert a saved snippet. The gear menu opens settings and code tools in the app you’re typing in.
Punctuation within reach
Type brackets, braces, parentheses, and the full set of ASCII punctuation without switching away from the letter keys.
Indent and navigate
Choose your indentation style. Indent, outdent, use automatic newline indentation, and move the cursor with arrows.
Save the things you repeat
Keep commands, operators, and repeated text as custom snippets. Language suggestions cover Swift, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Shell, and JSON.
Keyboard layouts
Phone layouts keep familiar letter keys. Compact landscape layouts leave more room for the app above. Larger iPad layouts bring more controls into view.
Choose key size and keyboard height, follow the system’s light or dark appearance, or pick a code palette.
See the layouts and themes
Swipe to browse · Select an image for the full-size view
Input profiles
Input profiles adapt the keyboard to your task. The host app still determines which text and controls it accepts.
Code editor
Pair brackets and use indentation controls while you write. Line edits need enough context from the app to verify the change.
Terminal · ANSI
Use Escape, arrows, and modifier controls from the keyboard. Terminal behavior depends on your client and the control text it supports.
Remote desktop
Use literal input for a remote session. A keyboard extension inserts text; it cannot send arbitrary hardware key events.
A closer look at TabForge
Programming keys, editing controls, keyboard themes, and layouts for your screen.
iPhone Duo
Swipe to browse · Select an image for the full-size view
iPhone
Swipe to browse · Select an image for the full-size view
Your keystrokes stay yours
The keyboard does not log or transmit what you type. No Full Access is requested. No ads, analytics, or accounts.
Settings, snippets, and anything an optional feature learns stay on your device. Optional features, like autocorrect and swipe, are off until you turn them on.
Read the privacy policyOpen source, under the MIT license
Find the source, licensing, and privacy details in the companion app.
Browse the source on GitHubCompanion text editor
The companion playground includes syntax highlighting, line numbers, undo, and sharing. It edits text; it does not run code. Its settings and draft are separate from the installed keyboard.
Get TabForge
For iPhone and iPad · iOS & iPadOS 27 or later
iOS uses its system keyboard in secure and phone fields. Some apps decline third-party keyboards. Duo-specific layouts require iOS 27.1 or later.
Built with
No third-party code packages, SDKs, or network services. The word lists and theme colors are bundled as data and used offline; Apple’s frameworks come with iOS.
- English Speller DatabaseESDB permission notice
Kevin Atkinson’s English word list (formerly SCOWL), used for swipe, autocorrect, and suggestions.
- SymSpellMIT
Wolf Garbe’s English word frequencies, via symspellpy, used to rank corrections and swipe matches.
- Google Books NgramCC BY 3.0
The word counts behind those frequencies. Google does not sponsor or endorse TabForge.
- NordMIT
Colors adapted for the Nord keyboard theme.
- DraculaMIT
Colors adapted for the Dracula keyboard theme.
- Apple frameworksApple platform terms
SwiftUI, UIKit, and Speech, provided by iOS rather than bundled.