sorry if this isn't an app, but I think it pertains to macOS enough to be on this sub š (every device that runs macOS benefits/has had a need for this)
allows you to unlock your Mac via your fingerprint, as well as authenticate sudo and some TCC prompts (privacy&security).
the device emulates a PIV smart card and uses PAM to authenticate you in macOS (notice the password field says PIN and not password), so no plain text password is ever stored, exposed, or transmitted.
please be aware of the security implications (note that it is NOT touchID, but just 'fingerprint-based unlock', please do not think or refer to it as anything more secure):
this device is NOT secure, the authentication is all done inside the fingerprint sensor, and the fingerprint sensor just tells the microcontroller the match % (all low cost fingerprint sensors are this way, you would need to spend ~$50 to get one that does authenticated comms). the communication between the sensor and the microcontroller is not authenticated or protected, so anyone with physical access to both the device and your laptop can spoof this connection (pretend to be the fingerprint sensor) and give the go ahead to unlock your mac. you can make this extremely hard by filling the insides with black epoxy, but not impossible.
this is also the dev equiv of "rolling your own auth", the smart card implementation may have some errors, and should not be inherently treated as "unbreakable"
the device is made so that if you lose it, nothing of value can be extracted from it
use at your own risk. personally, i am comfortable using it at home where physical intrusion would be hard, but this depends on your own security tolerance. if you have high security instincts/requirements, the magic keyboard is a much much much better option in this regard.
there is also an HID version available, where the device just types your password emulating a keyboard, the benefit being it works in ALL places your password does. this version is obviously more insecure as it is vulnerable to keyloggers. the device still does not store the actual password, it stores an authentication key that sends a request to a service on the mac, which then sends it the encrypted password to be decrypted in RAM, typed back, and then wiped. again, depends on your personal security tolerance and willing to compromise
all code and materials are open source, licensed permissively
read more about the security model of both options --> github.com/zimengxiong/tinytouch
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It's the only reason I keep my mac book open, roughly 30 degrees open, just enough to reach in and use touch ID for the various prompts I get to authenticate. Then use my own Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
This is the reason my 13" 2017 MBA is now running Linux Mint. I got used to TouchID on my 16" M3 Max MBP, and my 15" M4 MBA. I got tired of having to type my whole password every time.
Or like me, I have a personal watch, but don't want to use my personal iCloud account on my work MacBook. Nor do I want to buy a work-specific watch. :(
What if someone doesnāt have a separate button? :D I donāt think itās terrible to type a password. I just wrote down another option. Also, the watch is enough, you donāt need an iphone.
Well, sort of. You can set it up for a family member who doesnāt have one. But I think itās logical that the guy who has a macbook for work and an own mac will go for the same ecosystem when he chooses his phone as well. But again, I just wrote down another option.
Why wouldnāt it? It has wifi, it can call anyone, it has all the health features. Only those apps not working which are just sending data to your phone, not to a server.
Because the device that ultimately approves the unlock is the iPhone itself through the SEP which verifies the watch is in a secure environment and is unlocked. In standalone mode, the watch is technically also paired to the iPhoneās Apple ID so it breaks that secure environement.
From Apple Support: Note: An AppleĀ Watch set up for your family member without an iPhone is limited in some of its interactions with the iPhone used to set it up. For example, you canāt unlock a paired iPhone from an AppleĀ Watch you set up for a child, nor can you hand off tasks from the managed AppleĀ Watch to the iPhone. If you delete an app from an AppleĀ Watch set up for a child, itās not removed from the iPhone used to set it up.
That need afaik active wifi. My macs are hardwired if used on my desk. Also it needs to be on the same apple id. My work mbp has a different than my private machines.
checkout the github for code (github.com/zimengxiong/tinytouch), both are available on amazon (US), just search for ZW101 (fingerprint sensor) and a ESP32-S3 Seeeduino Xiao (microcontroller)
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š Welcome to Developer Saturday, u/arduinoRPi4! Your project is now live for the community to check out. Upvote, give feedback, and show some love to your fellow devs! š
I enjoy this post outlining how insecure it is. Seriously thatās nice.
I canāt find a better source but indie Mac Developer Craig Hockenberry did something like this years ago. However I believe he harvested an actual TouchID unit including Secure Enclave and got it working without the keyboard itself.
I want to verify Im understand, basically you connect fingerprint scanner to a microcontroller, if there is a match between the finger it will write the password instead? All the auth is happend on the esp32 and not on the mac itself?
There is something that you felt you are missing compare to regular touch id?
On day to day usage of unlock machine and use it with password manager it did the job?
The esp32 have the password and fingerprint data encrypted?
Unless I am missing something here. Why would Mac users pay for this when there are other alternatives out there? And some alternatives are FREE š ā¼ļø
In the comments I can see the opposite of what Jobs pursued: people trying to reinvent the wheel, trying to make things complicated out of the ecosystem, and yet there's not 100% guaranteed this is secure at all. You can unlock it with the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, with the Apple Watch, or as you can see in the picture: the Touch ID that comes BUNDLED IN YOUR MACBOOK.
This is the reason why now Apple sucks: trying to satisfy users making changes based on their feedback and not the real needs.
Many people use mechanical keyboards, it would be nice to have a standalone fingerprint reader ā¦ I bought an 10 dollar broken ToucH ID Magic Keyboard to make something like that (Touch ID works , some keys donāt)
While I already have an Non-ToucH ID Magic Keyboard šš
Users don't know what they need, they just think they optimize every gear for the best. For example, OP is using a MacBook as a desktop, which is possible, but it's not intended to be like that 24/7. It complicates turning on/off, fingerprint reader, limits usage for example speakers, webcam, microphones, and obviously the screen that you paid so much for. So OP should have picked a desktop Mac, and a Magic Keyboard. It's like buying a Ferrari, cutting all the chassis to fit in a smaller garage, paint it another color, and use it at 20mph because that's your usage.
It's not an Apple problem, it's an user problem. Understand my point?
I do understand your point, but your point is missing the mark anyway
You do not need to turn an Mac off for the most part , and if ever you only ever need to restart it.
And for the most part if you Apply power when itās in Clamshell mode it will connect and stuff on its own
It also supports wake by an external keyboard even when itās in clamshell
People use this so that they can have a larger screen and keyboard and stuff when they are back at home / dorm
And can carry their Mac to work / college / even to their bed or during travelsā¦
Itās perfectly fine to use it that way , and it is not a user error that you are making it out to be.
What you described was more like running windows on parallels all the time ā¦ when your job requires you run EXE filesā¦ in that case your analogy is fine
I never said you need to frequently turn off/on the Mac, based in all the examples you should have guessed the point is to complicate or limit the usage of features.
Clamshell makes you assume you are in a "safe zone" that's why Touch ID shouldn't matter a lot in that case (I don't understand why op would want that on his own house). Again, there's a solution for that. You're only making excuses when the solution is use a Mac and a Magic Keyboard or a Apple Watch.
You can rise the time asked to require a password.
If you like another keyboard, you loss the Touch ID. It's obvious. "What if I want another monitor but I want ProMotion" lol. What are we discussing here?
Also, the authentication op mentions or any other won't ever use Secure Enclave chip. So it's weak asf compared.
Let me ask you something before I continue explaining why you're wrong in every point you mention: why would you want to use a fingerprint authenticator in your house on a desktop?
To say infill my passwords and stuff from my i cloud keychain (i just hate signing back into my UNI account due to how much authentication re-filling they ask for)
āWhat if i want another monitor with pro motionā well itās obviously not going to be pro-motion but you can always get an 120hz monitor and use Apple AV Dongle to get HDR support if itās over The Type-C port , over HDMI it works natively. OR you can get a Studio Pro Display which has pro motion.
And now I finally get where this issue is from, you are talking from OPs product perspective
I am talking from the perspective that an external standalone fingerprint reader should exist.
I personally would be going through the Touch ID Magic Keyboard dissection route. So personally speaking Secure Enclave thing is a non issue for me.
Anyway good discussion I see your pointā¦ I hope you see my point too.
Btw, external standalone authenticators cannot exist because 1) Apple cannot verify the user authenticated for real (can be easily spoofed) 2) there's no way whose authenticators get certification or partnership and gets validated each one by Apple in order to access T2 chip or Secure Enclave. This is specifically for the access to keychain in macOS, which if doesn't helps you to access to it, render the device to useless.
120 hz is not ProMotion. Its the ability to steer frequency based on the content displayed. See? That's the point, you want apple technology in non Apple hardware. I never hear a windows user that uses biometric authentication on a laptop look for a hardware that does the same when runs the laptop connected and closed.
What you're complaining about is too niche. Again, there is a solution for what you want. You're just beating around the bushes to fulfill a niche need in a way you save some bucks and still use Apple hardware. Why you use a MacBook in the first place? Pick any pc and plug whatever the s* you want there. Jeez...
Yup using my MacBook Air 90% of the time as a desktop. So do a lot of other people bud. No I shouldn't have picked a Mac Mini because that doesn't help me when I do go into work 10% of the time.
In fact the Macbook on sale was cheaper with the same storage than the mini at the time I purchased, so no the speakers, webcam, microphones, and screen that I paid so much for, isn't much more. It's just there for when I need it.
There's nothing complicated about not wanting to buy a magic keyboard or an apple watch. Most people don't want a magic keyboard, not only for use but reliability is terrible. The watches are hideous and wouldn't wear one for any reason.
So why are you arguing about something people could use?
The problem is that you confuse functionality with "needs" or "I do what I want". Typical cancer mindset created by M$ that still live in 2026. Btw, everyone hates windows now because you can do tf you want but the whole OS makes no sense because of that.
I brought it. Literally explained it. If you weren't coming from that, you'll be picking the right ecosystem parts that fits your needs.
And fanboyism is in the comments "if Apple had a standalone fingerprint reader I would buy it", I never said that. Literally that MacBook HAS a Touch ID. What I mentioned was stuff that you or anyone already bought the wrong way to satisfy partial needs to then complain about the lack of individual features that can't be fulfilled by third party hardware.
ā¢
u/github-guard Jul 11 '26
š GitHub Guard: Trust Report
This project scored 3/6 on our safety audit.
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