SanskritTypist

Sanskrit Keyboard

Say hello to SanskritTypist - a Sanskrit keyboard, developed by indie dev @NatashaTheRobot.

What is SanskritTypist?

SanskritTypist is a Sanskrit keyboard, build by @NatashaTheRobot, that lets you type in Devanagari, using IAST-inspired notation.

SanskritTypist turns ordinary Roman letters into Sanskrit as you type. Type “raama” and get राम or rāma, and a suggestion bar predicts up to three likely next characters in Devanagari and IAST.

The Story Behind the App

After starting to learn Sanskrit, Natasha was surprised that the only Sanskrit keyboard available on iPhone/iPad was the built-in one. She found it to be difficult to use and that it forced you to learn a whole new typing system.

No matter how much I used it, it never became easy, fast, or natural. It was impossible to look up Sanskrit words on the go, as typing each word took such a long time.

This is when Natasha got the idea to build a Sanskrit keyboard, using a standard English keyboard layout, with a few extra characters inspired by the IAST roman script for Devanagari.

Implementing the Keyboard

Natasha used KeyboardKit to get a core keyboard engine, which she then extended with her own custom logic to implement the SanskritTypist Sanskrit keyboard.

KeyboardKit made implementing this keyboard very simple and quick! Thank you.

Stories like these are so inspiring! Creating a custom keyboard shouldn’t have to be hard or take a long time. It’s wonderful to hear that Natasha enjoyed using KeyboardKit to build her app.

Download

You can read more about the SanskritTypist app and how it handles text input on the website, and download it from the App Store. Follow Natasha for updates.