zmkfirmware/zmk

Some data may be outdated — see provenance labels.

ZMK Firmware Repository observed · 2026-10-05

github.com/zmkfirmware/zmk · homepage · C · MIT (permissive) observed · 2026-10-05

Health v2 · maintenance only

74/100

Activity 98
Release rhythm 28
Longevity 100

How is this computed?

round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-10-21. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.

gap_med: 86
age_days: 2325
days_rel: 445
days_push: 17
n_releases_24m: 4

Full methodology

Adoption not part of the score

4286 stars · 4189 forks observed · 2026-10-05

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-29, confidence not recorded

ZMK Firmware is an open source (MIT) keyboard firmware built on the Zephyr RTOS, designed for modern wireless (BLE) and wired mechanical keyboards. It is a clean-room implementation offering keymaps, layers, hold-taps, combos, macros, and broad 32-bit microcontroller support.

Use cases

flash custom firmware for a wireless split mechanical keyboard
configure keymaps with layers, combos, and mod-taps
build low-power BLE keyboard firmware for a 32-bit MCU
find an MIT-licensed alternative to QMK
set up multi-device Bluetooth keyboard connectivity
add rotary encoders or displays to a custom keyboard

When to choose

you need wireless/BLE keyboard support with low power usage
you want permissive MIT licensing instead of GPL
you use modern 32-bit ARM/RISC-V microcontrollers
you want advanced keymap features like hold-taps, combos, and macros

When to avoid

your keyboard uses AVR/8-bit chips like ATmega32U4
you rely on QMK's ecosystem or existing QMK keymaps without porting
you need wired split keyboard support, which is still under development

Facets

application · maturity active

embedded configuration-management embedded-systems hardware cross-platform embedded iot c keyboard-firmware zephyr-rtos mechanical-keyboard wireless ble split-keyboards qmk-alternative bluetooth

5 sources

readme: https://github.com/zmkfirmware/zmk · fetched 2026-10-05 · b1743bc97fd8
homepage: https://zmk.dev/ · fetched 2026-08-29 · d01bfd6bcfef
site_page: https://zmk.dev/docs · fetched 2026-08-29 · d385927f7971
site_page: https://v0-3-branch.zmk.dev/docs · fetched 2026-08-29 · 437df88c7a42
site_page: https://zmk.dev/docs/development/contributing/clean-room · fetched 2026-08-29 · 5659bbbb9670

Member repositories

Repository	Role	Health v2
zmkfirmware/zmk	main	74

For agents

markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="zmkfirmware/zmk")

Data as of 2026-10-19T08:05:51.212177+00:00 · Report a problem