Setup and Shortcuts

Pick your platform. You do not need to read the other sections first.

Before you start

Have these three choices ready:

1. Platform: install only from the App Store, Google Play, or the signed download linked below.
2. AI service: use UnimeType Balance, or prepare a compatible provider Base URL, model ID, and API key. See AI service, models, and credits.
3. Conversion languages: choose one to three non-English languages. English remains the base language. See Input languages.

Setup is complete only when the operating system shows UnimeType as an enabled keyboard or input source, the app reports a configured service, and one deliberate Convert action changes a short test phrase in a normal text field. Installation alone does not prove that permissions, service access, or host write-back work.

iPhone and iPad

Availability: App Store · iOS 17 or later

1. Install UnimeType from the App Store, then open it.
2. Open Settings › General › Keyboard › Keyboards › Add New Keyboard › UnimeType.
3. Turn on Allow Full Access for the UnimeType keyboard. Convert, Polish, and Explain require this access for their network request.
4. Open a text field and use the globe key to switch to UnimeType.

Ordinary typing does not start a network request. The request starts after you choose Convert, Polish, or Explain.

Full Access is an iOS system permission for third-party keyboards. For what is sent and what is masked, see Privacy and protected content. For a decision guide, see the blog post on iOS Full Access.

Mac

Maturity: Direct download · macOS 14 or later

1. Download the Mac disk image, then move UnimeType to Applications and open it.
2. Add UnimeType in macOS Keyboard settings if it is not already available.
3. Select UnimeType from the input-source menu.

UnimeType keeps ordinary typing as committed host text. It does not open or extend a marked-text composition while you type.

Mac shortcuts

While UnimeType is selected, macOS maps Caps Lock to F20 so applications such as Terminal cannot consume the physical Caps Lock gesture first. When UnimeType is deselected or the setting is disabled, the previous Caps Lock mapping is restored.

Repeated F20 key-down events are ignored. If another action or replacement is already running, UnimeType reports Request in flight instead of starting a second action.

If you switch input sources only to insert a short Chinese phrase into an English sentence, see Mac Chinese-English input switching for when a selection plus Convert is a better fit.

Mac host capture and replacement exceptions (WeChat, VS Code, Terminal, and others) are documented under Mac application compatibility — Mac-only depth.

First AI action

Before the first Convert, Polish, or Explain request, UnimeType asks for consent to send the captured text to the configured AI service. Ordinary typing alone does not send a request. Protected secrets are masked locally before the request; see Privacy and protected content.

This consent step applies on every platform that exposes AI actions.

Windows

Availability: Beta · signed installers · Windows 11 (x64 / ARM64)

1. Open the download center and choose x64 for an Intel or AMD PC, or ARM64 for Windows on Arm.
2. Run the installer, approve the administrator prompt, and choose Install.
3. Open UnimeType Settings, configure the AI service, and keep at least one Convert shortcut enabled.
4. Select UnimeType from the Windows input-language menu.

Windows supports Caps Lock and Alt Enter for Convert. The download center provides signed x64 and ARM64 installers.

Windows host-application exceptions are not documented at the same depth as macOS. If replacement fails in a specific app, select the target text explicitly and retry; see Status and troubleshooting.

Android

Availability: Google Play · Android 8 or later

1. Install UnimeType from Google Play, then open it. The website does not provide a direct APK download.
2. Open the app's Keyboard screen and choose Enable keyboard.
3. Enable UnimeType in Android's input-method settings.
4. Return to the app, choose Choose keyboard, and select UnimeType.

Android does not use the iOS Allow Full Access switch. Convert, Polish, and Explain require the consent and AI service settings shown inside the UnimeType app.

Mac shortcut behavior and Mac host compatibility tables do not apply to the Android input method.

Related

• Overview
• Convert, Polish, and Explain
• Input languages
• AI service, models, and credits
• Privacy and protected content
• Status and troubleshooting
• Mac application compatibility