ZMK firmware
Hacker ApprovedKeyboard firmware in Keyboards & input
Open-source keyboard firmware, free, praised for wireless support, flexible custom key behaviors, and a cleaner setup than QMK. Critics note it lags QMK in features.
Open-source keyboard firmware, free, praised for wireless support, flexible custom key behaviors, and a cleaner setup than QMK. Critics note it lags QMK in features.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 87%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Works on many programmable keyboards
“picking up any QMK or ZMK compatible keyboard would let you do it in firmware too”
Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “One Handed Keyboard” “buy a keyboard that support qmk or zmk firmware”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “I Hate (Most) Keyboard 'Fn' Keys” “get something programmable with zmk or qmk”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “I Hate (Most) Keyboard 'Fn' Keys” Flexible custom key behaviors
“super flexible and you can create lots of custom behaviors for keys”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Helix: A post-modern text editor” “It gives me Shift plus Caps Lock with just one key.”
Comment from 18 Apr 2026 in “Thumb-Shift Keyboard” Preferred over QMK, cleaner
“I switched to ZMK circa 2024, and never looked back at QMK.”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “I Made a Million Dollar Product from My Dorm Room (2025)” “ZMK is much, much cleaner.”
Comment from 29 Jul 2026 in “Keychron announces first open-source firmware for gaming mice”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Lags behind QMK in features
“Even though ZMK is lagging a decent bit behind QMK features.”
Comment from 15 Aug 2026 in “The Ploopy A+ Trackball Is Here”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QMK firmware | 18 | 4 | 82% | 8 | — | Approved |
| ZMK firmwareThis page | 13 | 2 | 87% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
15 of the 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Even though ZMK is lagging a decent bit behind QMK features.”
“we have benefitted so much from it”
“built primarily for wireless support, and also supports wired configurations too as of recently”
“I am waiting for half-duplex UART splitkb support to come so that I can move everything over.”
“ZMK is much, much cleaner.”
“buy a keyboard that support qmk or zmk firmware”
“get something programmable with zmk or qmk”
“I switched to ZMK circa 2024, and never looked back at QMK.”
“this is just an unbelievably obnoxious workflow”
“It gives me Shift plus Caps Lock with just one key.”
“super flexible and you can create lots of custom behaviors for keys”
“ZMK has has had the best configs to manage the timings for me.”
“picking up any QMK or ZMK compatible keyboard would let you do it in firmware too”
“Looking forward to the ZMK port.”
“the apparently terrible UX of the QMK and ZMK software is not just acceptable but beneficial”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.