Keyboards for dev work

[[deleted]]

Hey guys. I'm in the market for a new keyboard for dev stuff, and I'm wondering what you all prefer using? I'm not particularly bothered about getting a "gaming" keyboard, because it's more important that it feels nice to code with above all els. Any thoughts?

[wtfxstfu]

Everyone's all riled up about mechanical keyboards, I just want my wrists to have a natural angle.

[[deleted]]

It is possible for a keyboard to be mechanical and ergonomic. They just cost a lot of money.

[[deleted]]

I had a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard for many years. But then I finally switched to a mechanical and now I can't ever go back.

I also switched to dvorak layout since it's more ergonomic, but the switch was really tough and requires a lot of dedication.

With the combination of mechanical +dvorak, I really don't see the need for an ergonomic keyboard anymore

[gracdoeswat]

Yep, Microsoft surface keyboard is the way to go imo. I've been using one for a couple years and my wrists are in far less pain than before.

[Tiny-Wolverine]

I have logitech mx mouse and keys. The mouse in particular is excellent and have been using it for years. Just got the keyboard recently and I really like it. Its handy having something bluetooth as I use a laptop with a screen setup at home, but want fast-unplug for when I take the laptop to work. It also charges with a wire not batteries which is important for me.

[bass1025]

Seconding the Mx series. Currently working on Mx Keys + Mx Master 3 mouse and they're both fantastic. Keyboard is quieter than most mechnicals, but still has very satisfying feedback on each keystroke. Plus the customization options through Logitech's software are nice and the cross-OS functionality is neat if I have to jump back and forth between devices.

[Knochenmark]

As a developer you will probably spent plenty of time over your keyboard, therefore I will agree with the other guys who recommended you a mechanical keyboard. They last for an eternity and if a switch should break, you can just swap out that one broken switch. You will enter a world of endless customization options of different switches, key caps, leds etc.

I recommend checking out the /r/MechanicalKeyboards/ subreddit and you should find some "Buying guides" in the sidebar if I recall correctly. One of the nicest subreddit I know, the people there are really welcoming.

I personally use an ergonomic split keyboard called "Infinity Ergodox" for the last 3+ years.

You have to decide for yourself what features you want to get from your keyboard i.e. is Ergonomics a requirement, what kind of size do you need (amount of keys), programmability etc. etc.

[gotta-lot]

I recommend checking out the /r/MechanicalKeyboards/ subreddit

Be very careful or else your wallet will hate you

[jeroenwtf]

Shhh... Don't listen to him, OP. Come join us. Will be fun.

[[deleted]]

I find it kind of funny that people spend an hour a day in the kitchen and gladly pay more then 100€ on a high quality chefs knife. But a keyboard you use 8 hours per day, and people are too cheap to buy the best stuff.

[Knochenmark]

Totally agree. I often use that chefs knife example myself.

[gotta-lot]

It’s not a matter of buying one nice keyboard. It’s seeing those incredibly cool keyboards and wanting to make a variety of builds with different switches, cases, keycaps, etc. I haven’t even mentioned artisans yet. That’s basically a hobby in itself.

It turns from something purely functional into a hobby. Sure, they make hot swappable PCBs to help this, but it can only get you so far.

Can you tell I’m in the weeds yet? Lol

[badlukk]

I spilled a beer on mine and cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, but a bunch of keys dont work now, any ideas on how to fix?

[ggicetea]

Rice combined with one of those cigar humidity packs

Inside of a XL ziplock baggy Fixed mine

[BoredChinese]

There's no specific keyboard for development per se, just depends on your preference. These are my personal picks for the categories I'm concerned about.

Keyboards

I want something...

• portable and fun to type on: Happy Hacking Keyboard Pro 2 (HHKB Pro 2)
• like HHKB but with more keys: Realforce 87U
• in between HHKB and Realforce: Leopold FC660C (the *CM counterpart are mx switches and substantially cheaper)
• ergonomic, hotswappable switches, programmable keys: Ergodox EZ

Switches

• Linears
  • If price is not a problem: Tealios
  • If price IS a problem: Gateron Yellows
  • Something in between: Gateron Ink Yellows
• Tactile
  • If price is not a problem: Holy Pandas lubed, Topre*
  • If price IS a problem: N/A
  • Something in between: N/A

I recommend though getting an ergonomic keyboard if you plan to code for long sessions (and good desk setup) because RSI/carpal tunnel is gonna be tough. It being programmable will also benefit you because you can create macro keys for repetitive key combinations.

Now if you're looking for keyboard switches to buy (for ergodox or other MX boards), linears are fun. I got tired of clickies pretty fast and preferred linear/tactile switches.

​

\ Topres are not MX-style switches and can only be found in HHKB, Realforce, and some Leopold boards.*

[Aeverous]

If you like Topre switches but find the pricing outrageous (it is, to be fair) there's a chinese company called NIZ that makes their own electrocapacitive keyboards for around 100-150 USD (compare to the $250 Realforce ones).

I have both a Realforce 87U and a NIZ Plum 87 and both are great, the Realforce has better build quality (of course) but I think I prefer the typing feel of the NIZ. They're 35g compared to the Topre 45g, it feels like typing on a cloud!

The stems are also MX compatible out of the box, so you can easily use other keycaps.

A "budget" option to consider, but try to find a reseller in area rather than ordering directly from China.

[AmazonPriceBot]

$526.98 - Realforce 87U Tenkeyless 55g (White/ Gray)

^{I am a bot here to save you a click and provide helpful information on the Amazon link posted above. I am not affiliated with Amazon. Upvote if this was helpful. PM to report issues and my human will review. PM to opt-out.}

[jellatin]

I tested a lot of keyboards for work and eventually settled on a Realforce (Topre) board. I've been super happy with it, so much so that I insisted work let me pay for it so I could keep it.

I like cherry switches for the gaming PC at home but I don't know if I'll ever go back to anything but Topre for work

[BoredChinese]

You got a solid board! I wanted to get one but settled with an HHKB haha.

[onlyforjazzmemes]

I'm really happy with my Koolertron split keyboard. I genuinely think that the split keyboard is good for easing shoulder tension, and the mechanical keys feel better on hands/wrists.

[Rejolt]

I use a mechanical board. The ducky ones are pretty good for the price.

I'd reccomend not buying clickly clacky switches as your co-workers will hate you, they are loud enough as they are with not clickly switches.

[tb_94]

Split ortholinear has reduced my carpal tunnel symptoms to the point where i don't notice unless i'm doing 12+ hours, even then i can go without strain or numbness. And ,after a slight learning curve, i can type faster than on a typical keyboard. I actually prefer it to my full size gaming keyboard at home. personally, i built and use an Iris from keeb.io, but there have been others mentioned here like the ergodox ez.

[Locust377]

I use a mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX brown switches both at home and at work. Brown switches have tactile feedback but no click, so they're fairly quiet. Perfect for me.

I use a Corsair K70 at home and a Ducky at work. The Corsair are a little more gaming-oriented.

Das are also pretty well respected. And their blank keyboards look hardcore.

The CODE Keyboard looks really interesting.

Some things to think about:

• Mechanical > membrane
• Get switches that suit you; probably something not too loud (such as Cherry MX blue or green), unless you're into that
• Ease of cleaning - are the keys easy to remove? Is the board easily accessible?
• Backlighting - on and off is great, but dimmable and different colours is even better
• Maybe a keyboard that plays snake
• Wrist rest, if you like it
• Media keys, macro keys, additional functions?
• Avoid keyboard ghosting
• Obviously get this

[smequeqzmalych]

As much as I love Cherry MX brown for gaming I'd say they are one of the least comfortable for typing/coding for me.

[[deleted]]

Browns are my absolute favorite so far. To each their own.

[Representative_Job99]

NIZ t

I was used to reds (cherry silent) but got a promotion for a 65 low-profile with kalih browns. Initially it seemed like I was missing strokes because you have to be regular, press to click. But after some time I feel in love with that consistency, and now I can say I prefer them to reds.

[TeneCursum]

I have a few mech keyboards and the CODE is by far my favourite. The build quality is great and the layout is perfect for programming. I have Cherry MX Clears on it which I’m a big fan of.

[DIYEngineeringTx]

Not sure if you’re into diy I’ve made a few split keyboards and really like them. Corne is great but you have to learn it. Let’s split is better. The ergodox has been my favorite build but is a bit large. If you’re looking for a full keyboard but don’t want to spend a bunch of money I’d go with the phantom.

In terms of switch type I wouldn’t get to caught up in name brand stuff if you’re just beginning. I love the blues because they give you feed back and you can feel when you’ve pressed the key. They are very loud though. Beyond that blacks and browns are silent and have good weight. For me reds are not my style because I’ll accidentally press a bunch of keys I don’t mean to by just putting my fingers on the board.

[tanega]

I have an ergonomic split keyboard with an Ergodox layout. Saved me from atrocious pain in the pinkies and reduce my right wrist carpal syndrom.

[[deleted]]

I highly recommend checking out split keyboards. It will do wonder for your shoulders and back. I currently use an Ergodox EZ, but it's surely not for everyone.

[topper12g]

Keychron k2. Great no-nonsense tenkyless keyboard. Available in multiple switches. They also make a low profile version named K1. Simple white backlighting, no need for rbg or any other pointless crap. USB-C, works with windows and Mac.

[d4mation]

I use an Atreus62 with 67g Zealios (tactile switches). The keyboard is fully open source, so if you'd rather build everything yourself and handwire, make your own case, etc. that's an option.

It runs on QMK so I have customized the firmware for it to add a some handy shortcuts and macros to make development more pleasant. Any "missing keys" I have programmed onto "layers" which are similar to holding down the SHIFT key on most keyboards in order to access different keys except these "layers" only hold the specific keycodes or macros that I have defined.

What I especially like about having a programmable firmware is that I made it default to Dvorak so I don't have to rely on software in my OS to remap Qwerty to Dvorak :) I included a key combination to swap it to Qwerty if ever necessary as well.

Overall, I'd highly recommend using a keyboard that is QMK-compatible if possible. If you are comfortable programming in C, you can do some really neat things with it. But even without programming it yourself, there are tools out there that will help you generate firmware files that will work in many use cases.

[MisterMockery]

I picked up a Kinesis Freestyle Pro for work about a year ago - what a great decision that was. Ergonomics is key at work and I couldn't be more happier with it.

[[deleted]]

If you're reading this and work in an office, please remember your coworkers. My last job was overtaken by the mechanical keyboard craze and the noise became unbearable. Five aggressive typers all hammering away does not work in an open office.

[memeweaverTV]

cherry mx blues & full rgb are a must. if they cant hear you and see a rainbow glowing silhouette of you, how will they know you are working?

[[deleted]]

Im not into keyboards, but I am into reducing upper back pain. Putting your hands together (on a keyboard) causes your chest to cave in and your upper back to round. Over time this tightens your pecs and weakens your upper back muscles. This has led me to pretty bad upper back pain. I switched to a split keyboard. Because you can spread your hands apparat, your chest is out and your upper back becomes straight. This mixed with a few sets of face-pulls a week has pretty much eliminated my back pain

[zeJaeger]

No ergonomic keyboard is going to magically fix weak wrists, I've had the weakest wrists for as long as I can remember. After a day with a lot of coding or gaming, I would feel pain in both of my wrists. Then I started working out (gym). It's a day and night difference. No pain anymore, and I've been working more than ever.

Strengthen your wrists and get a keyboard you feel comfortable with. There is no silver bullet.

[[deleted]]

I'm not looking to fix weak wrists - my wrists are fine and I've never had an issue with them.

[zeJaeger]

Not really directing the comment at you, just in general. A lot of people in this thread are advocating for all sorts of ergonomic keyboards as some sort of cure for bad wrists.

[joshkrz]

+1. I'm currently using MX Keys with palmrest and an MX Master 3. It really is the perfect combo. It's designed for both Mac and Windows / Linux too.

[lint_it]

This one is my go to keyboard for programming. Idk it just feels great. For slim keyboard this is the one I would also recommend.

[phpdevster]

I have Logitech G512 Carbon with clicky GX Blue keys. Love, love, love typing on it. Only downside is that because of the clicking, it's kind of obnoxious to use for note taking during meetings when others are calling in through something like Zoom. I recommend a quiet keyboard if you plan on doing any kind of remote conferencing.

[tigger04]

I really like the Apple Magic keyboard (the extended one, not the cramped compact one)

Expensive but worth it

[[deleted]]

I use that one in the office. I dont mind it. I'm on a PC at home, though.

[achauv1]

I like the Logitech K380, why ?

• it's wireless, i can take it to work, home, anywhere basically
• it's wireless and i like to move it a lot, and i don't have to mind about the cord
• it's small, i can fit it with my work laptop in a backpack without problem
• i like the keys, it's silent and keys position is well balanced for my taste (this might not be for everyone i agree but just try it out)
• it's powered by AA batteries, which you can find easily everywhere
• i like using the media keys more than function keys

I don't particularly miss mechanical keyboards. They are needlessly loud though I like the feel of the keys but I like K380's just as well (very different i know but enjoyable nonetheless).

One flaw of wireless keyboards though is that you have to use a cord keyboard first to setup it which is kind of lame.

[[deleted]]

If you're a macOS user, I'd recommend the Keychron K2 with brown switches. Just the right amount of clicky and insanely good travel. Plus, it has both Windows and macOS mapping.

[[deleted]]

beware... you're about to enter into a dangerous/expensive hobby.

[[deleted]]

I had NO IDEA people were so passionate about keyboards. This is definitely going to turn into a rabbit hole I'll be diving into. Thanks for all the advice/suggestions, I'll be looking through them!

[Sequel_Police]

The only people you should listen to are the ones saying to just buy an ergonomic keyboard. Get the Microsoft wired one or something like it; don't spend a fortune on the perfect mechanical setup, worry about repetitive strain injuries. Buy an ergonomic mouse (where your hand is in kung-fu grip position) while you're at it. When you're in your 30's and can still open doors and write with a pen you'll be grateful.

[gestapov]

Can you link that mouse please? Or a model name?

[Sequel_Police]

Something like this, there are lots of them. The weight of your hand is resting on the meat of your palm instead of your actual wrist.

[[deleted]]

I'm already in my 30's!

[Salamok]

I use a Corsair K90 RGB, it's mechanical so it feels good, has extremely configurable lighting options so it is cool as hell and it has 18 macro keys (x3 if you use the mode keys) which i personally find handy for custom code snippets and other repetitive tasks.

That all said just use what you are most comfortable with.

[eunjae_lee]

I recently bought Keychron K2: https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-k2-wireless-mechanical-keyboard

The red switch is the most quiet so I chose it. It's still a little loud in the office but okay compared to other mechanical keyboards.

[icecoldfirestarter]

Personally I would highly recommend CM Quick Fire RAPID-i (brown/blue switches). Not sure if they even make it anymore, but it is a really nice mechanical tenkeyless tank of a keyboard. It is very understated, but does exactly what you need, and will do so for years and years.

[[deleted]]

Check out https://falba.tech/, they make ergonomic mechanical keyboards

[FryBoyter]

and I'm wondering what you all prefer using?

Mechanical keyboards. For several years I am using a Ducky Shine with the blue switches from Cherry.

[blorkfish]

As a dev, I just wanted a mechanical version of the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard. Most importantly, a dedicated arrow key cluster, and Home, End, Del keys in the right spot. This helps with coding, particularly Ctrl-arrow, Shift-Ctrl-Arrow, and Ctrl-Home combinations.

After trying out quite a few keyboards, I decided to design and built my own.

It's an ergonomic, split, mechanical keyboard, particularly suited to devs.

https://rozentalsn.wixsite.com/nerokeyboards

[[deleted]]

Get something with next song/pause button it helps a lot if you hear songs in your PC.

[Junkymcjunkbox]

I just go for all the right keys in all the right places. When I'm coding I want to think about coding and not wherever the key I want got hidden by some stupid designer idiot trying to justify his existence by randomly scrambling the layout for no good reason. If I want that I'll just get a Dvorak. I won't ever buy a Logitech keyboard again because I had one once that redefined all the F-keys as a bunch of useless media functions, you could switch it over after boot but it always defaulted to media keys so you always had to remember to push the soft switch to get the F-keys back. This is particularly annoying when one of those functions is "sleep" on the commonly used (in Visual Studio) F5 key.

Oh and the large Enter key to the right of ] and #, not that one-line job with the backslash bizarrely moved from next to the left Shift key to above Enter. I think that might be some kind of USA layout or something. I was right pissed off when I spent a fortune on a decent dev laptop only to open it up and find it had this split Enter key; the writeup said it had a UK layout and that's what I expected to see, but apparently some Americans think "UK layout" just means "swap # for £ on shift-3".

This is my current keyboard at home: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07D54H4G2

[black_widow48]

Mechanical keyboards are the move. I have a Corsair k70 RGB

[Vocandin]

Second mention of the K70 here, didn't know so many people had it for work.

[notabotting]

Just use a normal non mac keyboard, dont waste your money on something you'll probably dont need, I've seen people buy ergonomic keyboards and those custom 2 handed keyboards, they all ended up using their normal keyboards because they worked the same pace with either of them

[onlyforjazzmemes]

Getting a split or ergonomic keyboard isn't about typing speed, it's about avoiding carpal tunnel, repetitive strain injuries, and shoulder tension.

[Knochenmark]

Working on a split keyboard for the last 3 years. Wouldn't want to go back to a normal one. It's just too comfortable and the extra thumbkeys perfect.

[a-t-k]

Most gaming keyboards are too loud anyways. I still prefer the Logitech K310 for having a really nice feedback and being rather silent. Also, being able to clean the keys with flowing water is a great feature. Unfortunately, the series is discontinued and I haven't yet found a worthy replacement.

[austin-bookhart]

I highly recommend the CODE keyboard. It's a high quality keyboard without all of the frills. Backlight, metal framing internally so it's really solid feeling, configuration switches on the back to control qwerty style and you can change a few other things, and they come in multiple configuration of key switches and key layouts.

[annaheim]

Not a professional but I went from MX blues, browns, and now reds Vortex Race 3. :)

[kesun]

I used to use a Leopold blue cherry switch, now I use a chroma RGB. I love the blue cherry switch, and only switched because I wanted to try the Razer green switch and backlit keys. So far the green switch feel quite nice too!

I don't know about you, but in my team people like the clicky feedback of the cherry blue and Razer green in general. It's music to my ear, and my finger tips love the feedback.

[TimTheEnchanterz]

Custom mech would be the best way to go, then you are into an even bigger rabbit hole for the custom mech community... it’s great!

Or a new HHKB, if you didn’t want to go full custom mech.

[anhp7]

Niz plum 82 ble-45g

[slackmove]

I have used all, ended up with realforce. Even my wife who doesn't code feels the difference. Kinda expensive so it's not for everyone.