KeyCmd 0.19: App Rebranding, KM Pro Compose Mode, Multi-Language Support, and Per-Mode Guide Tours

KeyCmd 0.19 (versionCode 19) is a major update that delivers the app rebrand from KeyMod to KeyCmd, the brand-new KM Pro Compose mode with Unicode-aware HID send, expanded multi-language UI (including Korean, Italian, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese), per-mode interactive guide tours, and dozens of UX refinements across keyboard, gamepad, and presentation modes.

App Rebranding: KeyMod → KeyCmd

The app display name is now KeyCmd across all entry points. This rebrand clarifies the distinction between the KeyMod hardware and its companion KeyCmd app.

What changed

• App display name: Launcher icon and system UI now show “KeyCmd”
• Welcome flow: Updated wordmark and copy from KeyMod to KeyCmd
• CI artifacts and APK filenames: Use KeyCmd prefix
• applicationId remains com.openterface.keymod for seamless in-place upgrades

Existing users: your settings, profiles, and paired devices are preserved. The upgrade is seamless.

Keyboard & Mouse: Full-Screen Experience

KeyCmd provides a full-screen keyboard, touchpad, and numpad experience — all optimized for both portrait and landscape orientations.

KM Pro: Compose & Send Mode

The biggest new feature in 0.19 is Compose mode in KM Pro — a dedicated text editor that lets you type long passages and send them as HID keystrokes to the target machine.

Compose & Send demo (YouTube Short)

Compose editor

• Top shortcut strip + compose action row with Clear and Undo/Clear controls
• Draft retention: your text is preserved across sub-mode switches and even after a successful send
• IME integration: type using your phone’s keyboard, send as clean HID keystrokes
• Determinate send progress: a visible progress bar for long HID buffers so you know exactly how far the send has progressed

Unicode-aware HID send

• Dual-mode risk review: before sending non-ASCII text, a dialog warns about Unicode compatibility and provides inspect/preview actions
• macOS Unicode hex flow: on macOS hosts, the app uses the Option+hex code input method for extended characters
• Safer send dialogs: the Review screen adapts its content based on whether the buffer is pure ASCII or contains Unicode characters
• Character inspection tools: the send-risk dialog provides Check and Preview actions, and macOS hosts include a dedicated Unicode hex path audit entry

KM Basic scope

In 0.19, Compose & Send remains a Keyboard & Mouse Pro feature. KM Basic focuses on full-screen keyboard, touchpad, and numpad workflows.

Multi-Language Support

KeyCmd now supports 11 app UI languages. This release adds four new localizations:

• Korean (ko): full UI translation
• Italian (it): full UI translation
• Russian (ru): full UI translation
• Brazilian Portuguese (pt-BR): full UI translation

Combined with existing English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish, KeyCmd now covers the vast majority of our global user base.

What changed

• Language picker in Settings with canonical app language names
• Bluetooth headers and key tap preview localized
• Release lint fixes for compose warning tabs across all languages

Interactive Guide Tours

Every mode now has a built-in interactive guide tour that walks you through its features step by step.

Available tours

• Shortcut Hub tour: opens the Default profile and covers detail UI, category tabs, and shortcut management
• Gamepad tour: explains the gamepad layout, module management, and preset system
• KM Pro tour: covers the Compose mode, shortcut panel, and Pro-specific features
• KM Basic tour: explains the full-screen keyboard, modifier hold-swipe, and numpad

Tour features

• Per-mode guides: each mode has its own tailored tour
• Replay sheet: revisit any tour anytime via the Mode Guide button (icon left of connection chrome)
• i18n support: tour content is localized across the full app language set
• Landscape-optimized: bottom sheet layouts adapt correctly in landscape orientation

UX Refinements

Keyboard

• Key tap preview: see exactly what will be sent before you tap. Enable via Settings. Enabled by default.
• Rapid-tap HID fix: improved keyboard tap release timing and coalesced release events for faster typing
• Alternates touch handling: long-press on key a now shows alternates for ¥ (up), £ (left), € (right) with improved visual feedback
• Modifier hold-swipe: in KM Basic/Pro tours, a new step teaches the hold-swipe gesture for quick modifier access

Gamepad

• Edit session bar removed: cleaner gamepad chrome without the old edit session toolbar
• Gamepad chrome and tour: new visual polish and integrated guide tour
• Mode guide icon: placed left of connection chrome for easy access

Presentation

• Portrait pair lock: Presentation mode is constrained to portrait and reverse-portrait orientations for stable presenter controls

UI & Theme

• Accent swatches: replaced the theme color family spinner with visual accent swatches for easier color selection
• UI accent alignment: all UI accents now follow the theme color family (not the legacy primary color)
• Header right cluster: improved dimens for connection icons in both main app and KM Basic chrome
• Compose send button styling: aligned non-ASCII send button appearance in light mode

Settings

• Settings reorganization: canonical app language names; renamed emulator install scripts for clarity
• Dev helper scripts: renamed for clearer device identification and action naming
• FAQ docs: updated docs/FAQ.md with current app behavior

Real-World Use Cases

Remote Coding

KeyCmd isn’t just for server management. Developers use it for remote coding sessions — controlling a headless dev box from a phone or tablet, complete with full keyboard, touchpad, and numpad support.

What is unchanged

Keyboard & Mouse Pro (composite mode with Shortcut Hub strips, split layouts, and rich IME behavior) remains the full-featured experience it was before. All existing profiles, presets, and paired devices are preserved.

Get the update

This version (0.19): KeyCmd-release-0.19.apk

Beta notice: The KeyCmd Android app is still in active beta. The source repo is not yet public — we plan to open-source it after a successful crowdfunding campaign. If you are a beta tester and need the latest APK, reach out to us on Discord and we will get you the build.

Existing installs upgrade in place.

Works with Mini-KVM and KVM-Go

The KeyCmd app is not limited to KeyMod hardware. Existing Openterface users can also try it out:

• KVM-Go: connect via Bluetooth or USB
• Mini-KVM: connect via USB

Upgrade notes

• Rebrand: the app name changes from KeyMod to KeyCmd. Your data is preserved.
• Compose mode: new to Keyboard & Mouse Pro.
• Guide tours: tap the guide icon (left of the connection chrome) in any mode to start the interactive tour.
• Languages: go to Settings to change the app language. KeyCmd now supports 11 app UI languages.

Best regards,

Openterface Team | TechxArtisan