Ecosyste.ms: Awesome

An open API service indexing awesome lists of open source software.

Awesome Lists | Featured Topics | Projects

https://github.com/OneDeadKey/arsenik

A 33-key layout that works with all keyboards.
https://github.com/OneDeadKey/arsenik

kanata keyboards qmk

Last synced: about 2 months ago
JSON representation

A 33-key layout that works with all keyboards.

Awesome Lists containing this project

README 

        
Arsenik





  ★ Ergonomics for any keyboard! ★










  Configure your keyboard — even if it is not programmable — with a

  beginner-friendly approach to minimize finger movements!








![base, navigation and sym layers on a 33-key keyboard](img/all.svg)



*Note: The keyboard layout presented here in the illustration is Qwerty but it

works with other layouts as well — Azerty, Qwertz, Ergo‑L, Bépo…*



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Table of contents

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



- [Philosophy](#philosophy)

- [Features](#pick-your-poison)

  1. [Angle mod](#1-angle-mod)

  2. [Mod-taps](#2-supercharge-your-thumbs-with-mod-taps)

  3. [Symbols layer](#3-symbols-layer)

  4. [Navigation layer](#4-navigation-layer)

  5. [Keyboard layout](#5-keyboard-layout)

  6. [Extra customization](#bonus-spice-it-up)

- [Installation](#installation)

- [Why “Arsenik”?](#why-arsenik)

- [Join the community](#join-the-community)



Philosophy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



**Bring the keys to your fingers, rather than moving your fingers to the keys.**



Not sure if you should buy that expensive ergonomic keyboard?



Download a ready-to-use Arsenik configuration for [Kanata], and enjoy your

regular features that were normally only accessible to a programmable

keyboard.



*Note: You probably will benefit the most of Arsenik if you are [touch typing].*



Pick Your Poison!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Choose which Arsenik features to use from the following options:



### 1. Angle mod



On an ISO keyboard, it permutes the extra down-left key to ease the angle on

your left wrist when typing.



![Angle mod](./img/angle_mod.svg)



### 2. Supercharge your thumbs with mod-taps



#### First: layer-taps



If you’re new to mod-taps, we suggest to start by adding the “layer-tap” option

where only the thumbs are affected:



- the left thumb key remains a Cmd or Alt key when held,

but emits a Backspace when tapped;

- the right thumb key brings the Symbols layer when held (in blue)

— where all programming symbols are arranged for comfort and efficiency — and

emits Return when tapped;

- the spacebar brings the Navigation layer when held (in orange).



![alt, navigation and sym layers under the thumbs](./img/layer_taps.svg)



Having Backspace and Enter under the thumbs is enough to

reduce pinky fatigue very significantly. And using the Symbols

and Navigation layers further reduces hand and finger movements.



#### Next level: enable the Home Row Mods



When you are familiar with mod-taps, it’s time to enable them on the home row

with the “HRM” variants:



- FDS and JKL become Ctrl, Alt,

Super when held long enough;

- the left thumb key can now emit a Shift rather than Alt

when held.



![home row mods on SDF keys](./img/hrm.svg)



This is a very basic variant of the [Miryoku] principle: one layer on each

thumb key, and symmetrical modifiers on the home row.



### 3. Symbols layer



For the Symbols layer you can keep AltGr as-is. It is

useful for keyboard layouts that rely heavily on the AltGr key.



But the real fun (especially for programmers) happens when we enable the

“Lafayette” programming layer!



![Lafayette symbols layer on a 33-key keyboard](./img/symbols.svg)



#### Num row >> Num pad



If enabled, in Symbols mode, pressing the left thumb key brings up

the NumRow layer:



- all digits are on the home row, in the order you already know;

- the upper row helps with Shift-digit shortcuts;

- the lower row has dash, comma, dot and slash signs to help with number/date

inputs

- Space becomes a narrow no-break space for layouts that support it.



![NumRow layer on a 33-key keyboard](./img/numrow.svg)



Even on keyboards that *do* have a physical number row, this `NumRow` layer can

be interesting to use in order to further minimize finger movements.



### 4. Navigation layer



A basic Navigation layer has an arrow cluster on the left hand to

move around and a num pad on the right hand.



![navigation layer on a 33-key keyboard](./img/navigation.svg)



#### A superpowered Vim-friendly mod



For those who like to move the cursor with HJKL in all apps with any

keyboard layout, it is possible to enable a Vim-like Navigation

layer.



It also has:



- super-comfortable Tab and Shift-Tab

- mouse emulation: previous/next and mouse scroll



![Vim navigation layer on a 33-key keyboard](./img/vim_navigation.svg)



This Navigation layer has a few empty slots on purpose, so you can

add your own keys or layers.



NumPad and Fn lock these layers: they remain active

without holding the key until escaped with Alt or AltGr.



![NumPad layer on a 33-key keyboard](./img/numpad.svg)



  NumPad layer toggled




![Fn layer on a 33-key keyboard](./img/fn.svg)



  Fn layer toggled




### 5. Keyboard layout



Choose your keyboard layout among the available ones for Arsenik to work

properly.



If your layout is not on this list, feel free to open an issue or upvote an

existing one.



Here are some caveats for specific layouts:



Ergo‑L/Qwerty‑Lafayette/other Lafayette layouts



Arsenik works out-of-the-box with Lafayette layouts because their

AltGr layer already matches Arsenik’s Symbols layer.



Qwerty/Colemak



Qwerty and Colemak work out-of-the-box with the Lafayette Symbols layer

because there are no other characters typed with AltGr.



Azerty



By using the Lafayette Symbols layer, you won’t have access to the

€ sign with AltGr. You might want to remap it elsewhere, or

avoid using the Lafayette Symbols layer.



Bépo



By using the Lafayette Symbols layer, you won’t have access to the

characters typed with AltGr. You might want to remap some of them elsewhere,

or avoid using the Lafayette Symbols layer.



Optimot



Do not enable angle mod for Optimot as its driver already implements angle mod.



By using the Lafayette Symbols layer, you won’t have access to the

characters typed with AltGr. You might want to remap some of them elsewhere,

or avoid using the Lafayette Symbols layer.



### Bonus: Spice It Up



From there, you can edit the configuration to your liking, and even contribute

to Arsenik!



The 300 ms delay before a key becomes a modifier has been chosen to be easy for

beginners. Once used to mod-taps, you may want to reduce it so keyboard

shortcuts can be done more quickly.



In the NumRow layer, you can edit the dk1 to

dk5 shortcuts to put whatever seems useful to you: the numerous available

keys are defined in the [Kanata source code][Kanata keys].



In the Navigation layer, you can put a command on top of the (Qwerty)

P key, e.g. for an application launcher.



Note that Kanata can also use the laptop’s trackpoint buttons (e.g. on a ThinkPad)

as two additional thumb keys. :-)



Installation

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Adjusting to compact keyboard layouts isn’t easy, but Arsenik is designed for

a step-by-step approach:



- load `kanata.kbd` with Kanata ([installation instructions](kanata));

- enable each feature by un-commenting the related line (a commented line starts

with `;;`) – you must enable one and only one line per feature;

- live-reload the configuration with Space+Backspace

(this requires the layer-taps feature enabled).



If you have a programmable keyboard you might want to take a look at the

[QMK](qmk) version of Arsenik (work in progress).



Other desktop implementations (KMonad, keyd, Karabiner…) would be nice to see as

well.



Why “Arsenik”?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



33 keys layout: the 33rd element of the periodic table.



Unlike Miryoku, which requires 6 thumb keys, Arsenik has been designed to work

with standard ANSI/ISO/laptop keyboards, leveraging the spacebar and the two

Alt/Cmd keys.



### Inspiration



- [Miryoku] for the main idea of using modifiers on the home row and layer

shifters under the thumbs

- [Lafayette] and [Ergo-L] for the Symbols layer, which has been

shamelessly taken *as is*

- [Extend], [Neo], [Shaka34] for the Navigation layer



### Alternative Symbols Layers



- [Neo]

- [Seniply]

- [Pascal Getreuer’s]



### Non-Goals



- Being the most efficient 3×5 layout — [Miryoku] is probably the most

advanced approach for that, at least on custom 36-key keyboards

- Suiting every user out-of-the-box — Arsenik is proposed as a reasonable

default configuration, but users are encouraged to customize it to suit their

personal needs and preferences

- Fitting any OS layout — Arsenik works best if your OS layout has either no

AltGr layer at all (e.g. Qwerty, Colemak, Workman…) or an optimized AltGr layer

([Lafayette], [Ergo-L]…)



### Similar Projects



- [Miryoku]: 36 keys, 6 layers

- [Seniply]: 34 keys, 6 layers, no layer-taps (“Callum-style”)



Join the community

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



French-speaking users may join the [Ergo-L Discord server], which hosts a

channel to talk about Arsenik, keyboards, layouts and much more.



Feel free to open an issue and/or a pull request if you encounter a bug or want

to enhance the Arsenik experience!



[Kanata]: https://github.com/jtroo/kanata

[Miryoku]: https://github.com/manna-harbour/miryoku

[touch typing]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_typing

[Lafayette]: https://qwerty-lafayette.org/42

[Ergo-L]: https://ergol.org

[Kanata keys]: https://github.com/jtroo/kanata/blob/main/parser/src/keys/mod.rs#L159

[Extend]: https://dreymar.colemak.org/layers-extend.html

[Neo]: https://neo-layout.org

[Shaka34]: https://github.com/lobre/shaka34

[Seniply]: https://stevep99.github.io/seniply/

[Pascal Getreuer’s]: https://getreuer.info/posts/keyboards/symbol-layer/#my-symbol-layer

[Ergo-L Discord server]: https://discord.gg/5xR5K3nAFX