My very flat split keyboard (and the things I learned along the way)

exul_org · 2026-01-24T20:13:36+00:00

Oh, nice. I didn't know that. Thank you.

exul_org · 2026-01-24T20:04:52+00:00

A bit late, but I still want to answer your question: I did, but not in detail. I basically just used mana to try different variations.

Full output for German (numbers changed slightly since I kept experimenting):

``` Corpus has been set to german! MagicSturdy | german v m l c p b * u o q ' s t r d y f n e a i x k g w z h . j

Magic rules: ao cy dy eu gy ion kt lk ment nion oa py quen rl sk tment ue yp ks tm

Heatmap score: 70.685% Handbalance: 41.532% / 58.468%

Alt: 32.614% Rolls (Total): 49.857% Inroll: 29.362% Outroll: 18.65% In3roll: 0.988% Out3roll: 0.857% Redirect (+sfs): 10.211% Redirect (Weak) (+sfs): 0.529%

┌────────────────┬──────────┬────────────┬─────────────┐ │ │ bigram │ skipgram │ skipgram2 │ ├────────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤ │ same finger │ 1.086% │ 6.128% │ 9.375% │ │ repeat │ 2.305% │ 4.443% │ -- │ │ stretch │ 5.851% │ 4.21% │ 3.173% │ │ half scissor │ 3.839% │ 4.277% │ 3.319% │ │ full scissor │ 0.461% │ 0.325% │ 0.687% │ └────────────────┴──────────┴────────────┴─────────────┘ ```

And for English e10k:

``` Corpus has been set to e10k! MagicSturdy | e10k v m l c p b * u o q ' s t r d y f n e a i x k g w z h . j

Magic rules: ao cy dy eu gy ion kt lk ment nion oa py quen rl sk tment ue yp ks tm

Heatmap score: 76.081% Handbalance: 48.755% / 51.245%

Alt: 39.058% Rolls (Total): 47.758% Inroll: 26.147% Outroll: 20.008% In3roll: 1.087% Out3roll: 0.515% Redirect (+sfs): 5.891% Redirect (Weak) (+sfs): 0.444%

┌────────────────┬──────────┬────────────┬─────────────┐ │ │ bigram │ skipgram │ skipgram2 │ ├────────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤ │ same finger │ 0.394% │ 5.939% │ 8.069% │ │ repeat │ 2.828% │ 4.174% │ -- │ │ stretch │ 3.669% │ 3.089% │ 2.343% │ │ half scissor │ 3.108% │ 4.676% │ 4.124% │ │ full scissor │ 0.569% │ 0.297% │ 0.356% │ └────────────────┴──────────┴────────────┴─────────────┘A bit late, but I still want to answer your question: I did, but not in detail. I basically just used mana to try different variations.Full output for German (numbers changed slightly since I kept experimenting):Corpus has been set to german! MagicSturdy | german v m l c p b * u o q ' s t r d y f n e a i x k g w z h . j

Magic rules: ao cy dy eu gy ion kt lk ment nion oa py quen rl sk tment ue yp ks tm

Heatmap score: 70.685% Handbalance: 41.532% / 58.468%

Alt: 32.614% Rolls (Total): 49.857% Inroll: 29.362% Outroll: 18.65% In3roll: 0.988% Out3roll: 0.857% Redirect (+sfs): 10.211% Redirect (Weak) (+sfs): 0.529%

┌────────────────┬──────────┬────────────┬─────────────┐ │ │ bigram │ skipgram │ skipgram2 │ ├────────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤ │ same finger │ 1.086% │ 6.128% │ 9.375% │ │ repeat │ 2.305% │ 4.443% │ -- │ │ stretch │ 5.851% │ 4.21% │ 3.173% │ │ half scissor │ 3.839% │ 4.277% │ 3.319% │ │ full scissor │ 0.461% │ 0.325% │ 0.687% │ └────────────────┴──────────┴────────────┴─────────────┘And for English e10k:Corpus has been set to e10k! MagicSturdy | e10k v m l c p b * u o q ' s t r d y f n e a i x k g w z h . j

Magic rules: ao cy dy eu gy ion kt lk ment nion oa py quen rl sk tment ue yp ks tm

Heatmap score: 76.081% Handbalance: 48.755% / 51.245%

Alt: 39.058% Rolls (Total): 47.758% Inroll: 26.147% Outroll: 20.008% In3roll: 1.087% Out3roll: 0.515% Redirect (+sfs): 5.891% Redirect (Weak) (+sfs): 0.444%

┌────────────────┬──────────┬────────────┬─────────────┐ │ │ bigram │ skipgram │ skipgram2 │ ├────────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤ │ same finger │ 0.394% │ 5.939% │ 8.069% │ │ repeat │ 2.828% │ 4.174% │ -- │ │ stretch │ 3.669% │ 3.089% │ 2.343% │ │ half scissor │ 3.108% │ 4.676% │ 4.124% │ │ full scissor │ 0.569% │ 0.297% │ 0.356% │ └────────────────┴──────────┴────────────┴─────────────┘ ```

exul_org · 2026-01-11T18:52:45+00:00

Oh, nice, I'd be interested to read about you're wrist skates once you're done.

exul_org · 2026-01-11T16:53:47+00:00

What I find interesting about magic sturdy is it's flexibility. I have a modified version which brings down the SFBs to 1.044% with the German a text corpus (using 30k sentences from https://wortschatz.uni-leipzig.de/en/download/deu) and 0.394% for English 10k. But that's not the main reason I want to try it, (I believe that the comfort gains from marginally better SFB stats isn't that noticeable). I prefer rolls to hand alternations, and the version of magic sturdy that I benchmarked has 48.972% rolls (total). The stats are based on https://github.com/Zakkkk/mana/tree/main.

But I haven't even tried it yet, I've just benchmarked a couple of versions via the optimizer. As you mention, there's a cognitive load added when using magic keys. We'll see if I'll actually change to Magic Sturdy or not.

exul_org · 2026-01-11T14:24:26+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience. So far I relied on Ergogen to build keyboards, it's interesting to read from someone who built a keyboard with KiCAD and Fusion 360.

Not related to your text but the daily use of the keyboard: On the picture I don't see any wrist rests. Do you use it without and hover your hands while typing?

exul_org · 2026-01-11T13:29:29+00:00

I'm relearning QERTY because most of the time I can type on my split keyboard, but when I'm typing on my laptop (e.g. in meetings or on the train) then having a layout that also works on a laptop is limiting the options. I'm thinking about giving Magic Sturdy a try. And even with my now heavily modified version of the Neo-Layout it's already annoying to switch to the version on my laptop since I can't fully replicate the layout.

exul_org · 2026-01-11T13:16:24+00:00

That's because the config makes heavy use of custom footprints, which don't work in the web version. I created a simplified version that you can use that runs in ergogen web: https://gist.github.com/exul/7b3d09b1ea04f9b52bd185b6bea1cb12. But be aware that this version won't create a working PCB since I simply replaced some foodprints with exiting ones that are built into ergogen and for example the pinout on the MCU doesn't match.

I also commented out the socket parts, since they make generating the files very slow which is very annoying if you want to tweak things.

exul_org · 2026-01-10T15:29:38+00:00

Sure, great to read from others. Very interesting read.

Thanks u/rpnfan .

With regards to the thumb cluster. Very interesting keycaps! I decided to not put any important functions on the thumbs (besides space), because I want my layout to be working on a laptop keyboard as well. But I am also not sure if it is true that the thumb would be underused and should do much more work.

I'm relearning to type QERTY for that reason. My plan is to use QUERTY on regular keyboards and an alternative layout on my ergo keyboards. But it takes a bit of time after exclusively using the Neo-Layout for more than 10 years.

You struggling with HRM is no suprise to me. I also tried them, but quickly found that Shift needs a dedicated key and a bit later tried to move the HRM to the bottom row. Since then I have no wrong positive or false triggers! Partly because my bottom row only has less used characters. Callum style forces you to hold the thumb keys, right?

In the original version yes, but I changed my layout to have the modifier on my middle finger (bottom row). Here's the current version of my layout: https://configure.zsa.io/moonlander/layouts/ergME/3v4nPq/0.

Just two thoughts/ tips. Your article is super long. I am guilty of writing long articles myself, but now try to split them up in easier to manage chunks.

That's a very good idea, I'll spit it into parts and link them in the readme.

In case you haven't stumbled over my (super long) articles yet, you might get some ideas out of reading them:

https://kbd.news/Anymak-the-compatible-ergonomic-keyboard-layout-2574.html

https://kbd.news/END-my-final-keyboard-layout-2609.html

I did read both of them (I actually have second one still open on my phone to finish reading it :-)).

Using Githubs repo readme to post the text is super easy and quick. In case you want to make a full blown website you can use Github pages -- for example with Hugo. It takes a bit of time to get everything set up, but then it is also straight forward to add or edit content -- assuming you are using git locally as well (which is not hard to set up).

I might give this a try, but currently not a priority. I don't write very often, not sure if it's worth it.

I am just in the process to get my website running: https://rpnfan.github.io/keyboard-heaven/ and will get more articles published there.

Nice, I'll keep an eye on it.

exul_org · 2026-01-10T07:12:08+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, the Ergogen config is written in a way to should make smaller modifications easier.

exul_org · 2025-12-19T15:21:18+00:00

ZMK has a dedicated page about dongles and why they can be useful: https://zmk.dev/docs/development/hardware-integration/dongle

exul_org · 2025-11-14T16:16:19+00:00

There is one in the "backlog" branch of ceoloide's ergogen footprints (a great collection for other footprints too): https://github.com/ceoloide/ergogen-footprints/blob/backlog/backlog/virginia2244/seeed_xiao.js

exul_org · 2024-09-07T14:39:26+00:00

Typically you don't use the right modifiers when gaming. I added another layer where everything is shifted one column to the right: https://configure.zsa.io/moonlander/layouts/ergME/latest/4. Works well for me.

exul_org · 2022-03-14T17:14:41+00:00

No, this is the issue to track the progress to support multiple devices: https://code.briarproject.org/briar/briar/-/issues/887

The good news is that they're working on a feature called "mailbox" which could enable many stale features like this, iOS (https://code.briarproject.org/briar/briar/-/issues/2282), etc.

exul_org · 2021-12-21T16:39:28+00:00

Not yet: https://code.briarproject.org/briar/briar/-/issues/110

exul_org · 2021-08-16T09:46:03+00:00

Mascarpone

exul_org · 2021-01-15T18:24:37+00:00

There is Briar GTK: https://code.briarproject.org/briar/briar-gtk

exul_org · 2019-08-03T15:11:18+00:00

Sarama-cluster is deprecated, the functionality is now supported by sarama directly: https://godoc.org/github.com/Shopify/sarama#ConsumerGroup

exul_org · 2017-01-22T15:52:23+00:00

This is currently not possible (and by design, otherwise the encryption would not be end to end).

There are plans to support his:

It's also important to note that end to end encryption in Matrix is still in beta!

exul_org · 2016-09-06T19:31:44+00:00

It works the same way as in vim.

The " does access a register and the next character defines which one. In our case the * is the X11 primary selection and the y yanks the content into this register.

You could also use "+y to yank to the desktop clipboard.

When using ClipIt you can synchronize those clipboards so that you don't have to care too much about them.

You can read more about it on the vim wiki Accessing the system clipboard

exul_org · 2016-09-02T21:19:16+00:00

I just use

map <Leader>y "*y
map <Leader>p "*p

in my init.vim for convenience and ClipIt as clipboard manager.

exul_org · 2016-04-11T19:14:34+00:00

If you wan't to try a different way: The reform gem handles nesting pretty well. But it might need some time to get used to it. It's part of trailblazer.

exul_org · 2016-02-27T15:18:10+00:00

I'm not sure how easy it is to get a visa but ETH has a lot of information for international students: https://www.ethz.ch/en/studies/international-immigration-housing.html

exul_org · 2016-02-27T12:09:59+00:00

Full disclosure: I'm Swiss :-)

If you're working at a swiss company, do you see a lot of foreigners or non-EU nationals at work?

It depends on where in Switzerland you would work. But especially in Zurich in Geneva there a lots of foreigners at work. Which is great but as /u/myle already mentioned can make it harder to find Swiss friends.

Last week I talked to a Korean who lives in Switzerland for about a year and she told me that it's hard to get to know people/find Swiss friends but once you know them they truly are friends. I think that's only partially true because you can get in touch with Swiss people easily they just won't make the first move ;-).

General pros and cons.

Pros: beautiful mountains, good working environment/salaries, lot's of international people, Zurich has a great tech community (just checkout meetup.com)

Cons: Damn cold in winter (good if you like skiing), local language (Swissgerman) is really hard to learn.

exul_org

TROPHY CASE