# InputTip: a rule-driven IME state manager for Windows, written in AutoHotkey

> InputTip watches windows, hotkeys and timers, then switches input method state or keyboard layout on rules you write. It is a Windows 10+ AutoHotkey tool under AGPL-3.0, and the documentation is mostly on its own site rather than in the repository.

**abgox/InputTip** — 规则驱动的输入法状态管理器 · 即时 · 强大 · 高效

- Repository: https://github.com/abgox/InputTip
- Website: https://inputtip.abgox.com
- Stars: 3,449 · Forks: 89
- Language: AutoHotkey
- License: AGPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-09-23 · Updated: 2026-09-23 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/abgox-inputtip

## What InputTip solves for Windows users who juggle input methods

Typing in more than one language on Windows means tracking a state that has no permanent on-screen home. The taskbar indicator is small, it sits in a corner you are not looking at, and it does not change per window. So you type a sentence in the wrong mode, delete it, and toggle. InputTip targets exactly that gap. The README describes it as a rule-driven input method state manager and lists six states it can represent: Chinese (CN), English (EN), caps lock (Caps), and the English (US), Japanese (JP) and Korean (KR) keyboard states. Those states are surfaced through five tip styles: mouse cursor style, a floating overlay window, a caret symbol, a cursor symbol, and a window border. The audience is narrow and specific: Windows 10 or later users who switch between input methods often enough that a per-window reminder is worth installing a background tool for. If you type in one language all day, the project has nothing to offer you.

## How the rule engine and the tip layer fit together

InputTip splits into two halves, and the README names both. The first half is perception. It captures context through window matching, dynamic hotkeys, timers, and text or hotkey monitoring. The second half is dispatch: when a rule matches, it triggers actions such as state switching, keyboard layout switching, registering or blocking hotkeys, and pinning a window on top. That is the whole architecture as documented. Notice what is not there. There is no service, no driver, no kernel component. The tool observes window and input events from user space and calls Windows APIs to change state, which is why the language is AutoHotkey and why the repository's top level is a launcher script plus a src directory. The design has a direct consequence: anything that does not produce a window event, a hotkey event or a timer tick is invisible to it. Full-screen exclusive applications, some games, and remote desktop sessions that do not forward input events to the local desktop are the usual places where this class of tool stops working. The README does not document behaviour in those environments, so treat it as unverified rather than broken.

## Installing InputTip and writing a first rule

The README does not contain installation steps. It points to the project site at inputtip.abgox.com, which has a download page and a system requirements page. The repository itself ships InputTip.bat at the top level, which is the entry point for running the project from a checkout. Because no command-line install instructions appear in the README, the honest sequence is: get the release from the site's download page, or clone the repository and run the batch file. The batch file is the only executable entry point the repository layout shows.

```bash
git clone https://github.com/abgox/InputTip.git
cd InputTip
```

After that, the launcher sits in the repository root. Running it starts the tool; the README does not specify whether it needs administrator rights, so check the system requirements page before assuming it does not.

```bash
InputTip.bat
```

Configuration is the part the README leaves to the site. It lists the rule inputs (window matching, dynamic hotkeys, timers, text and hotkey monitoring) and the rule outputs (state switching, keyboard layout switching, hotkey registration or blocking, window pinning) but gives no syntax, no file path and no example rule. If you need the actual key names and file format, the documentation site is the only source; the repository's src/CHANGELOG.md tells you what changed between versions, not how to write a rule.

## Where InputTip is the wrong tool

Two limits stand out from the README alone. First, platform. The README badge says Windows 10+, and the project is built on AutoHotkey, which is Windows-only. There is no macOS or Linux story here, and no container or server variant. Second, scope. InputTip is a state manager, not an input method. It does not give you a Chinese, Japanese or Korean IME; it reads and switches the ones Windows already has. If your problem is that you have no IME installed, this project cannot help. A third limit is softer but real: the rule engine is only as good as the events it sees. A rule keyed on window matching fires when focus changes, not when you start typing, so a window that hosts several text fields with different expected languages needs finer rules than the README describes. The documentation site may cover that case; the README does not, and I would not assume the tool can distinguish fields inside one window.

## How InputTip differs from KBLAutoSwitch and ImTip

The README's related projects list is the most useful comparison the repository offers, and two entries matter here. KBLAutoSwitch, by flyinclouds, is the closest in purpose: it also switches keyboard layout automatically. The difference in approach is that InputTip separates the display layer from the switching layer. KBLAutoSwitch is primarily about the switch; InputTip exposes five distinct ways to show the current state, from a cursor change to a window border, and lets rules drive both the display and the switch. ImTip, by aardio, comes from a different stack entirely and is listed alongside Language Indicator and RedDot. The practical distinction is language and packaging: InputTip is AutoHotkey source you can read and modify, which is an advantage if you want to write your own rules and a disadvantage if you want a signed installer you never look inside. None of these tools is a drop-in replacement for another, and the README does not claim feature parity.

## Maintenance, licence and the cost of upgrading

The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-08-02. The most recent release listed is v3.6.12, published on 2026-07-22. That is a recent release cadence, and the changelog lives at src/CHANGELOG.md rather than in the README, so upgrade notes are in the repository but not on the front page. The licence is AGPL-3.0, which matters more than usual for a desktop tool. AGPL-3.0 is a strong copyleft licence, and it is usually discussed in the context of network services, but it also applies to distributed desktop software. If you fork InputTip and distribute the modified binary, the licence terms apply to what you distribute. Running it for yourself is a different situation from shipping it inside a product. I am not giving legal advice; if you plan to redistribute a modified build, read the LICENSE file and get proper counsel. On upgrade cost: because rules appear to be configuration rather than code, a version bump should not break them, but the README does not document a migration path or a config schema version, so verify against the changelog before updating.

## Conclusion

Adopt InputTip if you work on Windows 10 or later, you already accept AutoHotkey-based tools, and you want IME state to follow window, hotkey or timer rules instead of manual toggling. Skip it if you are not on Windows, if you need a packaged installer and signed binaries, or if you cannot accept AGPL-3.0 terms for anything you redistribute. Before committing, read the system requirements and tip pages on inputtip.abgox.com, check which of the six states and five tip styles your IME actually reports, and confirm the rule syntax against the v3.6.12 changelog rather than the README, which only lists feature names.

## FAQ

### What is InputTip and what does it do?

InputTip is a rule-driven input method state manager for Windows 10 or later, written in AutoHotkey. The README says it shows the current input state through one of five tip styles and can switch state, switch keyboard layout, register or block hotkeys, and pin windows when a rule matches.

### Which input states can InputTip display?

The README lists six: Chinese (CN), English (EN), caps lock (Caps), and the English (US), Japanese (JP) and Korean (KR) keyboard states. It presents them through five tip styles: mouse cursor, floating overlay, caret symbol, cursor symbol and window border.

### How do I install InputTip?

The README does not give install steps; it links to the project site at inputtip.abgox.com, which has a download page. Running from a checkout uses InputTip.bat in the repository root, which is the only executable entry point the repository layout shows.

### Does InputTip work on macOS or Linux?

No. The README's platform badge says Windows 10+, and the project is built on AutoHotkey, which is a Windows tool. There is no macOS or Linux variant described anywhere in the repository.

### What licence is InputTip released under?

AGPL-3.0, according to the README and the LICENSE file in the repository root. That is a strong copyleft licence, so check the terms before distributing a modified build.

## Sources

- [abgox/InputTip on GitHub](https://github.com/abgox/InputTip)
- [License: AGPL-3.0](https://github.com/abgox/InputTip/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [Project website](https://inputtip.abgox.com)
- [README](https://github.com/abgox/InputTip/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/abgox/InputTip/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/abgox-inputtip