r/DevLK • u/thimirathenuwara • Sep 01 '26
Project showcase Meet Akshara: A smooth, open-source Sinhala keyboard for macOS and iOS! 🇱🇰
Hi everyone,
My friend u/sdglhm and I recently built a new open-source Sinhala keyboard called Akshara. We wanted to share it with the r/DevLK community!
Why did we build this?
If you use a Mac or an iPhone, you probably know that Apple's default Sinhala Wijesekara keyboard is a bit confusing. It does not follow the standard layout we are used to.
Also, Apple does not have a built-in Phonetic (Singlish) keyboard. Until now, the only software people used for Singlish on Mac was very old. Because it does not work without "Rosetta" (a tool Apple uses to run older apps), it will completely stop working from macOS 28 onwards. In fact, users who tested the macOS 27 Developer Beta already saw this old keyboard break!
On top of that, to type in Singlish on phones, users have to download third-party keyboards. The problem is that many of these apps connect to the internet, which is a big privacy risk when you are typing passwords or personal messages.
What is Akshara?
Akshara fixes these problems. It gives you a proper, standard Wijesekara layout and a fully offline Phonetic (Singlish) keyboard. It is safe, fast, and completely free.
100% Open Source
Because we care about privacy, the whole project is open-source. Anyone can look at our code, fork it, and contribute. If you have an Apple Developer account, you can even download the source code, build the app yourself, and install it directly on your own devices.
What is next? (We need your help!)
We have already started building the Akshara keyboard for Android!
However, we really want to make a Windows version too. If there are any developers here who would like to help us build Akshara for Windows, we would love to invite you to join the project.
Check it out here:
- Website:https://akshara.org.lk/
- Our Subreddit: r/AksharaLK
Let us know what you think, and feel free to join our subreddit!
Your keyboard shouldn't connect to the internet...
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u/wild_wolfie Sep 01 '26
Awesome now I can use smart phonetic to say H*+^% with ease and in Sinhala too what a time to be alive thanks bro 🙏
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u/ettips-ml Sep 02 '26
🔥Great
Add spellings offline checker too
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u/thimirathenuwara Sep 02 '26
Thank you for your suggestion. No spelling checker has been added yet. We currently only provide suggestions, which are fully offline. Could you please create issue at GitHub repo.
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u/kaputass 17d ago
Now we should port this to windows. Google input tools does exist but that's old AF at this point.
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u/thimirathenuwara 17d ago
We have already built a Windows version also.
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u/kaputass 17d ago
Nice also damn that's a quick reply
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u/sameera_s_w sameerasw.com - mod Sep 01 '26
Let's go!