azooKey Desktop is an open-source Japanese input method for macOS powered by Zenzai, a neural kana-kanji conversion engine, with live conversion, learning from your history, and optional LLM-based “magic conversions” for natural phrasing. Written in Swift and released under the MIT license, it has about 1,100 stars on GitHub and is actively developed in 2026.
Typing Japanese means constantly converting kana into the right kanji, and conversion quality defines the whole experience. azooKey brings the Zenzai neural conversion engine, first proven in the azooKey iOS keyboard, to the Mac desktop as a native InputMethodKit application. It converts as you type with live conversion, learns from your history, supports a user dictionary, and personalizes through the Tuner system shared with the mobile app. Its most distinctive feature is LLM-powered magic conversion, which can rephrase input into more natural or context-appropriate Japanese. The keyboard also natively supports the AZIK extended kana input layout for enthusiasts. Installation is a standard macOS package or a Homebrew command, after which it appears alongside Apple’s Japanese input sources in system settings.
azooKey began on iOS, where it built a following as a third-party Japanese keyboard with stronger conversion than the stock option, and the desktop edition answers long-standing requests from users who wanted the same conversion quality and dictionaries on their Macs. Shared profile and dictionary concepts across the two platforms mean heavy mobile users can carry their personalized conversion behavior to the desktop.
azooKey Desktop is free and open source under the MIT license. There are no subscriptions or paid tiers; development is supported voluntarily through GitHub Sponsors.
azooKey Desktop is for Japanese speakers on macOS who want a smarter, learning input method than the default, and for AZIK users and language-tech enthusiasts interested in neural text input.