awase is a Windows keyboard remapper that enables NICOLA thumb-shift Japanese input. It intercepts physical key events at a low level, detects simultaneous key presses using NICOLA-compliant timing arbitration (d1/d2 comparison), and sends the resulting romaji to the IME for conversion.
Key features:
- NICOLA-compliant simultaneous keystroke detection with 5 decision modes (wait / speculative / two-phase / adaptive-timing / n-gram predictive)
- N-gram adaptive thresholding derived from a Wikipedia Japanese corpus for improved accuracy
- Compatible with Yamabuki-format (.yab) keyboard layout files
- Broad application compatibility (Win32 / UWP / TSF-native apps such as Chrome, VS Code, WezTerm)
- Multi-layered fault tolerance: hook health monitoring, sleep/resume recovery, IME detection fallback, and automatic TSF cold-start recovery
- Async, message-loop-based executor architecture with blocking APIs isolated on separate threads
- Automatic focus detection that disables conversion outside text fields
- System tray integration for layout switching, settings, and enable/disable toggling
Publisher’s description
What is awase?
awase is an open-source drivers & hardware program for Windows from cuzic. It is written in Rust.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 64-bit as MSI. It can be installed for the current user only, without administrator rights. It needs Windows 10 or newer. The installer supports unattended (silent) installation. An MSI package is available for deployment with Group Policy, Intune or Configuration Manager.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 19 times. The source code on GitHub (cuzic/awase) has 5 stars. Similar programs include Barrier, SharpKeys and Dokan Library.
Project description on GitHub: “A simultaneous-keystroke keyboard remapper for NICOLA thumb shift and beyond”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- MSI package for managed deployment
- Documented silent install
- Installs without administrator rights
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
In short: awase is an open-source drivers & hardware tool for 64-bit PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is awase safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
B870BD1A5786F23B12D623FDA25AFDB36FBCABCBD076F10B0AC39311235EE2B3· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 1 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.10.0Latest | July 21, 2026 | — | 64-bit MSI |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id cuzic.awase -echoco install awase -ymsiexec /i awase-1.10.0-x64.msi /qn /norestartRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- cuzic
- Category
- Drivers & hardware
- Licence
- MIT OR Apache-2.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/cuzic/awase
- Written in
- Rust
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10 (Windows 10+)
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- MSI
- Version
- 1.10.0
- Released
- July 21, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- July 21, 2026
- Versions listed
- 1
- Chocolatey downloads
- 19
- GitHub stars
- 5
- GitHub forks
- 2
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- cuzic.awase
- Chocolatey package
- awase
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is awase free?
Yes. awase is open-source software under the MIT OR Apache-2.0 licence.
Is awase safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install awase with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can awase be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer, including msiexec for the MSI package.
Which Windows versions does awase support?
The installer requires Windows 10 or newer and is available for 64-bit.
Does awase run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Can I use awase without administrator rights?
Yes, there is a per-user installer that does not need administrator rights.
What are alternatives to awase?
Barrier, SharpKeys, Dokan Library, Deskflow and Display Driver Uninstaller. The alternatives page compares them.
