Why this exists

Keyboard Builders is a searchable catalogue of open-source keyboard designs, so you can find one that fits you and actually build it.

I built my first keyboard in 2022 and blogged about it. What fascinated me most on the way down the rabbit hole was how much creativity there is among keyboard designers. But it was also frustrating: I spent ages finding the right design for me, only to find its parts were out of stock. (Keeping track of stock is on my list, but the site can't do that yet.)

I found several curated lists of designs online, but none of them were detailed or structured enough for what I needed. I dreamed of a list I could filter on any combination of things: key count, switches, controller, wireless, and so on. That means describing every keyboard with the same set of facts, which is really hard to get right when every designer does things their own way.

This website is my tenth attempt. What made this one different is that AI models have become good enough to help me through the problems that stopped the first nine. It isn't perfect yet, and I keep improving it.

How it works

A good structure isn't enough on its own. It needs data too, and there are a ton of designs out there, with new ones every week, so collecting it had to be automated. A set of scripts reads the facts straight out of each design's hardware and firmware sources. From those I fill the database, draw the layout silhouettes and render the PCBs. It all runs on a small Hetzner server in Finland.

My hope is to grow this into the biggest catalogue of open-source keyboards out there, so builders can find designs that fit their own needs. And who knows where it goes from there?

None of this would exist without the designers who share their work for free. Every design here links back to its author and its repository, and I'm grateful to every one of them.

Found a mistake, or a design that's missing? Write to me at hello@keyboardbuilders.net. Every correction makes the catalogue better for the next builder.

Supporting the site

I work on this in the evenings, often late into the night, and the server and storage cost money. If you want to support my work and help pay the server bill, you can buy me a beer, or simply share the site with your friends.