TetherPad
Pencil-driven control for your Mac
Use Apple Pencil on iPad as a precise trackpad for the desktop: a lightweight macOS host receives input over MultipeerConnectivity and moves the cursor—plus remote actions for apps and shortcuts when you want the Mac to do more than point and click.
How it works
Draw on iPad
A SwiftUI surface captures Apple Pencil strokes and gestures—natural input that stays on device until you choose to send it.
Pair over the LAN
MultipeerConnectivity links the iPad client and the macOS menu bar host on your local network—no cloud relay required.
Drive the Mac
The host translates motion into cursor movement via CGEvent. macOS requires Accessibility permission for remote control.
Remote actions
Beyond cursor control, structured messages can ask the Mac to switch context or fire shortcuts—built for workflows where the iPad is the input device and the Mac is the execution surface.
Focus and launch
Bring an app forward or open it from the iPad—handy when the Mac is across the desk or on another display.
Send hotkeys
Fire shortcuts for tools like Raycast, Murmr, or your own stacks—structured as JSON over the same MPC channel.
Stack
- iPadOS
- macOS
- Universal purchase (single listing)
- Swift
- SwiftUI
- Swift Package Manager
- MultipeerConnectivity
- CGEvent (cursor)
- Handwriting-friendly input pipeline
Shipping as a paired experience
TetherPad is under active development—dogfooded as an iPad plus Mac workflow. There is no public TestFlight link yet; when beta opens, this page will be updated.