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Qmk_firmware Alternatives
Similar projects and alternatives to qmk_firmware
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vial-gui
Vial is an open-source cross-platform (Windows, Linux and Mac) GUI and a QMK fork for configuring your keyboard in real time.
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qmk_firmware
Official QMK firmware for Keychron and Lemokey keyboards — 63 boards, Hall Effect support, online configurator compatible. (by Keychron)
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qmk_firmware
See the "forkreadme" branch or the following link for a description of branches maintained in this fork. (by manna-harbour)
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qmk-firmware-ploopyco-dev
Discontinued Open-source keyboard firmware for Atmel AVR and Arm USB families
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manibus-switch-plates
Manibus keyboard plate files for those of you curious to try out the keyboard layout.
NOTE:
The number of mentions on this list indicates mentions on common posts plus user suggested alternatives.
Hence, a higher number means a better qmk_firmware alternative or higher similarity.
qmk_firmware discussion
qmk_firmware reviews and mentions
Posts with mentions or reviews of qmk_firmware.
We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives
and similar projects. The last one was on 2026-04-09.
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Designing an Ergonomic QMK Keymap for Coding and Window Management
Now, let's get practical. This guide assumes you have a QMK-compatible keyboard and a basic understanding of compiling firmware. If not, the official QMK documentation is an excellent starting point for setup.
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Building My First Custom Mechanical Keyboard
The Keychron Q3 runs QMK{rel="external" target="_blank"}, which means you can reprogram every key. I set up a numpad layer on the function keys since the Q3 is tenkeyless and I occasionally need to enter a lot of numbers. I also moved Escape to where Caps Lock used to be because Vim.
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Hammerspoon
I utterly love Hammerspoon.
It's fun to combine with qmk [0], which gives you a bunch more options for hotkeys on your keyboard via layers. I've ended up with a layer where half the keyboard is Hammerspoon shortcuts directly to apps (e.g. go to Slack, to Chrome, etc.) and half of it is in-app shortcuts (like putting cmd-number on the home row, for directly addressing chrome tabs).
Between this and one of the tiling window manager-adjacent tools (I use Sizeup), I can do all my OS-level navigation directly. "Oh I want to go to Slack and go to this DM" is a few keystrokes away, and not dependent on what else I was doing.
[0] https://qmk.fm/
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I don't know Apple's endgame for the Fn/Globe key–or if Apple does
> the OS is inconsistent/unclear about what scan codes are required to do things.
Both that, and there's a explicit list that allows only Apple's (plus a few makers' like Logitech and Keychron) keyboard to _send_ the modifier keycode. Others are simply ignored. Sorry enthusiasts, Apple don't want to favor you.
https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/issues/2179
- Quantum Mechanical Keyboard Firmware
- Qmk_firmware: Open-Source Firmware for Customizable Keyboards
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SofleKeyboard – A split keyboard based on Lily58, Crkbd and Helix keyboards
https://wiki.ai03.com/ is what a lot of people use. Though it's probably easier nowadays to use an RP2040-based ProMicro form factor daughterboard so you only need to handle key placement.
Firmware... QMK: https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/ || https://docs.qmk.fm/porting_your_keyboard_to_qmk
Disclaimer: I'm a QMK Maintainer.
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I like the RP2040
I do wonder how much of that can be accounted directly to the RP2040. Projects like QMK[0] have been using a technically quite similar codebase for making DIY keyboards for quite a while now.
At first glance I'm not really seeing anything in GP2040 which couldn't have been done with any other somewhat-modern MCU. The RP2040 has undoubtedly been the catalyst leading to GP2040's widespread adoption, but it seems the same could've happened with a Pro Micro instead.
[0]: https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware
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Not an iPad Pro Review: Why iPadOS Still Doesn't Get the Basics Right
I definitely think you should be able to add keyboard layouts at a software level on iPadOS and iOS, but one possible solution to the problem right now is using a programmable keyboard using QMK [1], ZMK [2], or some other open-source firmware. There's even a usb-usb converter [3] that will convert keystrokes from any keyboard into ones that you map using TMK or QMK, so you can use your own.
[1] https://qmk.fm/
[2] https://zmk.dev/
[3] https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69169.0
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00Key a 75% Keyboard
I only use keyboards running QMK or ZMK, so:
My Caps Lock key is a Control/Escape key (when tapped it behave like a Escape, when hold it's Control), and my left Control is a one shot layer switch key [1], which means I tap LCtrl once, and then press Caps Lock + 5 to get Ctrl+F5. Doable with single hand and more ergonomic as I have an unusually small hand.
[1] https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/blob/master/docs/one_sho...
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A note from our sponsor - SaaSHub
www.saashub.com | 10 Jul 2026
Stats
Basic qmk_firmware repo stats
1598
20,524
9.8
3 days ago
qmk/qmk_firmware is an open source project licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0 only which is an OSI approved license.
The primary programming language of qmk_firmware is C.
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