Run CorridorKey on your Mac without touching a terminal

You watched the breakdown, you saw the hair survive the key, and you went to the repository. Then you read the install section: uv, Python environments, checkpoints, a terminal wizard, and hardware requirements written with an RTX Pro 6000 in mind. The recommended alpha hint generators want up to 80 GB of VRAM. You have a MacBook and a deadline.

The good news is that the model itself is small, about 300 MB, and it runs well on Apple Silicon. The question is only how much of the plumbing you want to do yourself.

The three ways, best-known first

Run the original project. Free, and it works on M1 and later Macs. The author ships an MLX backend for Apple Silicon and the install scripts handle Python for you. You will live in the terminal: a wizard prompts you through each batch, and the optional hint generators are where the heavy hardware requirements come from. If you are comfortable there, this is the author’s own tool and the reference for everything else.

EZ-CorridorKey. A community project that wraps the original in an easier install and an artist-friendly interface. Worth a look if you want the upstream pipeline with less setup.

Key Studio Pro. This site’s app. The same CorridorKey weights, reimplemented to run natively on Apple Silicon, wrapped in a Mac app with a library and a batch queue. No Python, no terminal, no NVIDIA card, and the alpha hint is generated on device so there is nothing extra to install. It is free under the same licence as the model.

What the app gives you

• The four standard passes per shot: Matte, FG, Processed, and a Comp preview.
• 16 and 32 bit linear EXR, plus ProRes 4444 with a real alpha channel.
• Green and blue screen support, with despill and automatic despeckle.
• A batch queue: drop a folder of shots, come back to finished passes.
• Everything runs on your Mac. No account, no upload, no per-frame cost, which matters when the footage is under NDA.

What you need

• An Apple Silicon Mac, M1 or later. Intel Macs cannot run it.
• macOS 15 or later.
• About 455 MB of disk for the models, fetched once the first time you key.

From download to first key

1. Download the app and drag it into Applications. It opens straight into the library; there is no setup.
2. Drop in a clip, an image sequence, or a folder of shots.
3. Pick the passes you want and start the queue. The first key fetches the CorridorKey weights once, about 455 MB, verified against the author’s checksum.

What it will not do for you

The weights are identical to the original, so the keys are the same quality, not better. If the model struggles with your plate upstream, it will struggle here too. The app also does not replace your compositor: it hands you passes, and the comp is still your job. And the FG pass comes out in the sRGB gamut, the same as upstream, so convert it to linear before you marry it to the alpha. The Processed pass exists for when you want to skip that and just drop something into a timeline.

One more honest note: the upstream project lets you feed it hints from heavyweight generators, and a carefully made hint can beat an automatic one on a hard shot. The app generates its hints on device, which is the right trade for most work and no extra installs, but it is a trade.

Common questions

Is this an official Corridor Digital app?

No. CorridorKey is the work of Niko Pueringer of Corridor Digital, and Corridor Key Studio is an independent app built on it, released under the same Corridor Key Licence. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Corridor Digital.

Why is it free?

The model’s licence forbids repackaging it for sale, and the app inherits that. There is no trial, no account, and no paid tier. You can use the output in commercial projects.

Will it run on my M1 MacBook Air?

Yes. Heavier plates take longer on lighter machines, which is what the batch queue is for. 4K plates work: the engine scales inference around its native 2048 by 2048 backbone.

What makes the key better than my NLE’s?

A chroma keyer selects green and asks you to manage the damage at the edges. CorridorKey predicts what each pixel would look like with the screen gone, which is a different job. The long version is in the hair keying guide and why AI roto looks cut out.