Keymini

Keymini, a minimalist ergonomic keyboard

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Presentation

Keymini is a monoblock ergonomic keyboard with 36 keys. It is as low as possible (with Kailh Choc v1 switches). As it is flat on the underside, it can be used placed on a laptop keyboard, without actuating the laptop keyboard keys.

Keymini is a minimalist keyboard in a lot of way:

• Only a keyboard, no LED, no rotary encoder, no screen, not split, no hotswap… Just USB-C connector and keys.
• Minimal size, entering in a C5/6 envelope (3 fold A4) or a Nintendo Switch Lite case.
• Minimal number of keys, at 36, as popularized by Miryoku.
• Minimal keyspacing, following the classical "choc spacing."
• Minimal height, with the switch plate at 5.8 mm from the desk.
• Minimal number of component, with only 2 extended parts for PCB assembly by JLCPCB.
• Minimalistic style, with no decoration, simple hull countour.
• Minimalist license (MIT) for an opensource keyboard.

Inspirations:

• My previous designs, in particular KeySeeBee for the components and the fat plate, and Keyberon-f4 for experiencing with the key placement and unibody shape.
• Ferris for the stagger and the diode placement..
• 3W6 for the "too fat plate" design idea, and gluing something directly on the back of the PCB.

Other pages to see

To see more photos, see the gallery.

You can look at the build guide, to see how it is constructed, and to make your own!

For instructions on the PCB manufacturing, see the gerbers directory.

For information on building and flashing the firmware, see the official rust firmware or the unofficial ZMK firmware.

For information on the default layout, see the layout page.