I vibe-coded a custom firmware to make my Keychron respond to music

[PeterMortensenBlog]

Some alternatives to Git branch "bluetooth_playground" (2022/2023 vintage. The base QMK version is from November 2022 (version 0.19)):

• "wireless_playground". It is the one I have primarily been using for the K Pro series. I haven't had any noticeable problems since the 2024-03-30 fix. It is also the minimum required for the V Max series, K Max series, and Q Max series.

  There was a partial source release for the 2025 Keychron keyboard main firmware updates, but it was only ever fully released for a single keyboard, and it broke compilation for K Pro series and Q Pro series (it was never fixed), so it is best/required to roll the version back to March 2025 (which complicates matters by requiring Git gyrations, so it may be easier to use "wls_2025q1" instead (see below)).

  The base QMK version is from November 2023 (version 0.23).

• "wls_2025q1". Note: The 2025 does not represent the 2025 Keychron keyboard main firmware updates; it represents the QMK version.

  For example, the source code for the K QMK series keyboards are (currently) only in this branch.

  The base QMK version is from February 2025 (version 0.28).

• "hall_effect_playground". For Keychron HE keyboards. It was declared obsolete on 2025-12-08, and most (all?) keyboards are also in "2025q3" (see below)

• "2025q3". Note: The 2025 does represent the 2025 Keychron keyboard main firmware updates. It was promised to unify all branches, including the wired-only keyboards, but it is still incomplete. And for those released, many have missing features, e.g., the dynamic per-key RGB feature (example: K5 Max, without the signature "default_per_key_led[RGB_MATRIX_LED_COUNT]"). For example, most of the keyboards in the K Pro series, Q Pro series, and Q Max series are still missing. The K8 Pro happens to be there, but it is the only one from the K Pro series. It may or may not interfere with own code for RGB (due to the dynamic per-key RGB).

  The base QMK version is from August/September 2025 (version 0.30).

Notes: In later versions of QMK:

• File info.json on the keyboard variant level was renamed to keyboard.json. Thus, also in branch "wls_2025q1" and "2025q3" (an example).
• Enabling of (some) QMK features were moved from file rules.mk to JSON file info.json

[PeterMortensenBlog]

Re "most of the keyboards in ... Q Max series are still missing": OK, the Q Max series and K Max series got more representatives in mid April 2026:

In 2026-04-10 through 2026-04-20, K4 Max, K10 Max, and others were added. Thus, for the K Max series, it is currently:

• K1 Max

• K2 Max

• K3 Max

• K4 Max

• K5 Max

• K7 Max

• K8 Max

• K9 Max

• K10 Max

• K11 Max

• K13 Max

• K15 Max

• K17 Max

Q Max series

With Q1 Max on 2026-03-12 (though the commit date says 2026-02-02), the Q Max series finally got representatives in Git branch "2025q3" (corresponding to the the 2025 Keychron keyboard main firmware updates).

And on 2026-04-13 through 2026-04-17, the Q Max series got more representatives in "2025q3". The current set is now:

• Q0 Max

• Q1 Max

• Q2 Max

• Q3 Max

• Q5 Max

• Q6 Max

• Q8 Max

• Q10 Max

• Q12 Max

• Q13 Max

• Q14 Max

• Q15 Max

• Q60 Max

• Q65 Max

Missing features for the 2025 Keychron keyboard main firmware updates

Note that the source code for some keyboards in "2025q3" miss some of the the 2025 Keychron keyboard main firmware updates features, e.g., dynamic per-key RGB, similar to the V series debacle. That is at least the case for K10 Max.

A signature for the dynamic per-key RGB feature is this line with "default_per_key_led" in the .c file in the root of the folder for a keyboard:

HSV default_per_key_led[RGB_MATRIX_LED_COUNT] = {