thock

A browser tool to A/B mechanical switches by sound. Record a switch into your mic, build a per-switch spectrum fingerprint, play the library back as if you were typing prose. Hot-swap switches mid-sentence. Static site, files stay local.

Live: https://thock.mwlabs.be

UI

• library: 19 pre-recorded switches (16 Kailh Choc v2, 3 v1). Each tile shows type, force, travel; the colour dot matches the stem.
• record: name a switch, hit ▶ record samples. A metronome paces ~60 taps; thock keeps the cleanest ~30.
• fingerprint: averaged smoothed spectrum across all samples. Picking another switch overlays its curve on the same axes.
• inspect: single-sample view with waveform, FFT, spectrogram, and down→up timing.
• typist: plays the selected switch as prose at a chosen WPM. Click another switch and it hot-swaps mid-sentence.
• environment: filter chain that mimics listening contexts. raw, gasket build, foam-lined, hollow plastic, tin can, across desk, across room, next room, underwater.
• export: zips your recordings with a meta.json, ready to contribute.

Running locally

Static site, no build:

python -m http.server 8765

Or via devenv: devenv up.

Contributing recordings

The library is CC BY 4.0. Switches off the Choc shelf welcome, especially MX, Kailh Butterfly, and low-profile oddballs.

Bar: decent mic, quiet room, switch tester so the build doesn’t colour the recording. Bad ones get rejected; mine aren’t pristine either.

Reference setup

Beyerdynamic FOX over a 3D-printed switch tester plate on a cork coaster. You don’t have to match it; a thin plate on cork or foam lands in the same ballpark.

Workflow

1. + new, name in lowercase_with_underscores, fill in type / force / pretravel / total travel from the datasheet.
2. ▶ record samples, run the metronome pass.
3. export gives you a zip.

Email it to info@mwlabs.be, or open a PR: run python scripts/bundle_library.py <unzipped_dir> and commit the resulting library/<id>/ and index.json.

meta.json

Auto-generated by export. Hand-edit if you need to:

{
  "name":        "MX Red",
  "family":      "Cherry MX",
  "description": "Linear · 45 gf · 2.0 mm pretravel",
  "color":       "#e25555"
}

Colour matches the physical stem.

Repo

• index.html, app.js, styles.css, capture-worklet.js: the app
• scripts/bundle_library.py: WAVs into a FLAC catalog
• library/: the curated FLAC payload

License

Code MIT (LICENSE). Library recordings CC BY 4.0 (library/LICENSE); attribute MWLabs if you reuse.