# Keybuild — Build your own keyboard > Create and customize your own touchscreen keyboard layouts and key functions. (iPhone/iPad app by Jamie Froggatt.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keybuild/id1547174534 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Jamie Froggatt](https://appshunter.io/developer/933327498) - Category: Utilities, Productivity - Price: $3.99 - Rating: 4.20/5 from 45 App Store ratings · 51 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.0 · 2 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2021-01-11 - Data updated: 2026-09-08 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keybuild/id1547174534/reviews.md ## What is Keybuild? Build your own keyboard! Touchscreen keyboards don't need to be one-size-fits-all, so let's change that! With Keybuild, you choose the layout, the keys, everything. Keys can be set up to type whatever you want! Letters, greek letters (ɑ, β, ɣ), maths symbols (π, ∫, ∑), arrows (↑→↓←), or even your favourite emoji can be added and organised depending on your needs. Create multiple ‘panes’, each containing keys arranged using a stack-based layout, and switch between them with either an automatic menu, or direct links. Add a small number row to your Qwerty keyboard, or have a try using Azerty or Colemak layouts. Build a keyboard that can keep up with your maths-heavy university course, or specialist profession. Or just make a dashboard for your favourite emoji. Or do all that and more, it's up to you! This app does its best to supports VoiceOver, and accessibility APIs. Technical note: This app is 99% SwiftUI, which is as close as you can get while we wait for the ‘SwiftUI Lifecycle’ to come to Custom Keyboard Extensions! SwiftUI powers this app's advanced functionality, as well as some of its more unusual bugs. :) Disclaimer: This iPad app is available on Apple Silicon Macs, but macOS currently does not support keyboard extensions. Still waiting for that tablet Mac! ## Key features - Customizable keyboard layouts - Assign custom text/symbols to keys - Support for letters, symbols, and emoji - Multiple keyboard panes - Stack-based layout system - Layout options like Qwerty, Azerty, Colemak - VoiceOver support ## Chart rankings - #144 in Top Paid · Utilities (US App Store) ## Recent user reviews (10 of 51) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keybuild/id1547174534/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Absolutely unreal. The best 4 dollars I've ever used on an iOS app. *2026-07-04* I have literally been stranded with just an iPad for nearly two years. (My dog is terrified of keyboard sounds.) In that time, I've written over 250,000 words on a single project on this device, almost entirely in Obsidian. I have made 1,001 Templater, Note Toolbar, and Commander scripts...desperately trying to give myself a working environment that doesn't leave me in posture agony for days. I had looked for an app solution so many times, as when I downloaded and used the IPA Keyboard, I saw that creative keyboard designs were at least possible. And I never found one that seemed even remotely capable of suiting my needs. I wasted so much time javascripting when I could have just had this.... My life is completely and unabashedly more tolerable due to the customizability provided by this app. I'm building my dream keyboard specifically for markdown use as we speak. Single press triple backticks? Do you know how long it took me to physically type just one on the native keyboard? About 1.5 seconds, FOR ONE KEYSTROKE. (You have to be in Shift mode, then hold down the ' for at least a half second, and then you get your one adorable backtick...) If you have a place people share their keyboards,mI'll post mine when I'm done. Thank you sooooooo much, compañero! YOU WILL BE RECEIVING A THANK YOU ON MY NOVEL'S DEDICATION PAGE, I'M NOT KIDDING! ### 1/5 — Worst 4$ ever spent *2026-06-21, version 1.7.4* Extremely buggy, edit one key on caps side and it also changes the lower caps. Same for symbols. No way to make it do what you want. Also no autocorrect or languages. ### 5/5 — Very Satisfied *2026-05-12* This is everything that i wanted from a keyboard making app! This is perfect for creating keyboards using unconventional unicode symbols, has for sure been worth the cost! only suggestion is perhaps making switching layouts more smoother, kinda like having the symbols button on the default IOS one, maybe it can be like a secondary caps lock function-wise. ### 3/5 — Lack of autocorrect *2025-12-25, version 1.7.4* A generally good app but its lack of autocorrect takes away whatever advantage a modofoed keyboard might provide. ### 1/5 — WARNING!! DO NOT PURCHASE! *2025-11-07* This app is garbage. It is not intuitive and there are no instructions on how to use it, other than what is shown in the above screenshot that shows the title “Getting Started”. I just wanted to create a simple numeric keyboard with a squarish layout. If that is possible, I can’t figure it out – and I’m usually good at figuring things out, particularly with navigating my way around iPhone apps. The interface is terrible. There are a few templates to choose from (as shown in the screenshots above), which are all very similar and basic. I’m sure it’s possible, but I can’t even work out how to add basic numeric keys to the keyboard. When I try to edit one of the templates, the app crashes every time I delete a key. Attempting to contact the developer is useless. The only link directs you to a social media page on a platform I’ve never heard of. Maybe it’s popular, I wouldn’t know as I don’t use social media and have no intention of signing up to one to contact the developer. Also, some of the features advertised (such as haptic feedback and input clicks) are not accessible unless you go into settings and allow the app to have FULL KEYBOARD ACCESS, which, when you grant it, you are presented with this warning: “Full access allows the developer of this keyboard to transmit anything you type, including things you have previously typed with this keyboard. This could include sensitive information such as your credit card number or street address.” Thanks, but NO THANKS!! App deleted… ### 4/5 — Great custom keyboard *2025-08-24* The app works perfectly. One thing I would like to see would be adding separate keycaps for shift/no shift. ### 2/5 — Warning: no autocorrect *2025-08-16* I was really excited to find an app that let me customize the size of the keys. I set up my new keyboard and was all ready to go, then started using it and found it doesn’t have autocorrect. It is unusable without it for me. ### 1/5 — Kein deutsches Neo Keybuild *2025-08-15* Kein deutsches Neo Keybuild mehr auf der Homepage verfügbar ### 4/5 — Text Replacement *2025-08-12, version 1.7.4* Love this app but please add text replacement!! Not autocorrect, just the text replacement found in the Keyboard section of Settings… ### 3/5 — Select All + Copy Buttons *2025-08-06* This app is great! However it would be even better if you could add functionality for a quick select all button and copy button. Thanks! ## Frequently asked questions about Keybuild ### What does Keybuild do? Keybuild allows you to build and customize your own touchscreen keyboard. You have full control over the layout, the keys, and what each key types. This means you can create a keyboard that perfectly suits your needs, whether for typing specific symbols, frequently used phrases, or your favorite emoji. ### What are the key features of Keybuild? Keybuild's main features include the ability to create custom keyboard layouts, assign custom text or symbols (including Greek letters, math symbols, and emoji) to individual keys, and organize these keys into multiple 'panes' that can be easily switched. It also offers support for various keyboard layouts like Qwerty, Azerty, and Colemak, and aims to support VoiceOver for accessibility. ### Is Keybuild free to use? Yes, Keybuild is available for free. The application does not have any advertisements or in-app purchases, offering its full functionality without any cost to the user. ### What devices is Keybuild compatible with? Keybuild is an iPad app and is also available on Apple Silicon Macs. However, it's important to note that macOS currently does not support keyboard extensions, so its functionality on Macs is limited to the app itself rather than system-wide keyboard replacement. ### Who would benefit from using Keybuild? Keybuild is ideal for anyone who finds standard keyboards limiting. This includes students needing quick access to mathematical symbols or Greek letters for their coursework, professionals in specialized fields requiring specific character sets, or individuals who simply want a more efficient way to type their most-used emoji or phrases. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.7.4 — 2024-10-08 • Makes the Paste option always visible when adding a key, to aid discovery. • Updated to use iOS 18 SDKs. • Adds emoji jump option for the unicode picker. (Slow, but doesn’t crash!) • Various optimisations. ### 1.7.3 — 2022-04-22 This update fixes a rare case where key presses might not register. ### 1.7.2 — 2022-04-15 Keybuild v1.7.2 - Tall Tales Keyboard panes can now have individual heights! This is primarily a bug fix update, but I couldn't help but throw in a cool new feature while in the area. FEATURES • A new section for editing pane details has been added to the editor. - Pane height can now be set on an individual basis. - Pane titles can now also be edited from the pane editor. Previously this could only be achieved by tapping the name on the pane list. - The root editor title has changed from "Root Stack" to "Stack Pane" to reflect the fact pane editing options are available. Alternative pane layouts are a future direction. FIXES • Fixed an issue where landscape keyboards could size themselves incorrectly on iPhones with a notch. ### 1.7.1 — 2022-03-25 FEATURES • Added cursor hover effects to the modifier controls and keyboard preview. • The long press setting now has a stepper. • The unicode picker is now available when editing Text Stacks. FIXES • Fixed an issue where keys could trigger twice. • Removed a stray rectangle around existing modifier buttons. TWEAKS • Adding wording to the "Getting started" page text around a recent bug where keyboards can take time to appear. • Swapped around the add pane item menu, so regular keys are initially shown, and special/layout items are in the submenu. • The add pane item menu is now ordered a bit more intuitively. • Renamed "Menu" to "Pane menu" (officially, unofficially that was always the name). • "Caps Lock" → "Caps lock" for consistency with other names. • Clarified "Convert to keys" to "Convert to inline keys" for contrast with "Convert to stack". ### 1.7.0 — 2022-03-18 Keybuild v1.7.0 - The Modifier Normaliser FEATURES • The Shift modifier is now usable for all action types, not just type actions. • A fancy new UI, for selecting different combinations of modifiers to trigger actions (currently includes shift & long press). • Pane components can now be copy & pasted around in the editor. • Added a setting to control the duration after which key repeat or long press actions trigger. TWEAKS • Fixed multiple touches on a single key locking up the key. This will hopefully resolve a rare issue where keys would output twice. • Text stacks now look slightly different in the editor preview. The blue highlight is now more of a background. • Improved accessibility of the keyboard height text field + stepper control. PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS • The expanded form of Text Stacks is now precomputed rather than expanding each layout cycle. • Action-based keys now only compute their automatic keycap text/symbol once per layout cycle. • Tweaked the way long press updates the keycap symbol/text. • The Stack editor preview is now its own view for more targeted SwiftUI layout cycles. • Special menu keys like Globe & Pane Menu contained non-functional buttons to provide the graphics. Now they just use the graphics directly. • Trusting SwiftUI a bit more for view diffing. • The keyboard now reads haptics preferences at the top of the view tree, then adds it to the SwiftUI environment, rather than referencing @AppStorage in each key. (Hoping this is an improvement.) DEV TRIVIA • Script build phase users - get your build script file lists right. • Adding ITSAppUsesNonExemptEncryption to your Info.plist saves selecting a radio button every release. ## Apps similar to Keybuild | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [AnyFont](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anyfont/id821560738) | 4.6 (26,139) | $1.99 | Utilities | | [MyKeyboard - Custom Keyboard](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mykeyboard-custom-keyboard/id1455404109) | 3.6 (87) | Free | Utilities | | [Fontastic - Install Fonts](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fontastic-install-fonts/id1537294729) | 4.8 (47) | $2.99 | Utilities | | [CharMap — Unicode Characters](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charmap-unicode-characters/id369798229) | 4.0 (52) | Free | Utilities | | [Quiche Browser](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/quiche-browser/id1668363952) | 4.9 (794) | Free | Utilities | | [Toolbox Pro for Shortcuts](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/toolbox-pro-for-shortcuts/id1476205977) | 4.5 (432) | Free | Utilities | ## More apps by Jamie Froggatt - [ℂKey - Customisable Keyboard](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/key-customisable-keyboard/id1164224433) - [SimpleEdit](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simpleedit/id1287562515) - [Files Offliner](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/files-offliner/id1448101894) - [Medlied Media Library & Editor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/medlied-media-library-and-editor/id1606367519) - [Shimmer Browser](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shimmer-browser/id6739163018) All apps by Jamie Froggatt: https://appshunter.io/developer/933327498 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-08.*