DEV LOG

THE BLOG

Build logs and write-ups. Every entry as open as the board.

2026 · 09 · 07

Firmware 0.10.0 and app 0.13.0: updates that cannot brick the pad

A 24 KiB resident bootloader validates every firmware image before it runs and offers a driverless USB recovery mode. One last ROM DFU flash to install it; after that, no update can brick the pad.

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2026 · 09 · 02

Firmware 0.8.0 and app 0.12.0: the pad can be a Codex Micro now

An opt-in firmware mode boots the board with the Codex Micro's USB identity and speaks the ChatGPT desktop app's device protocol, so the app drives it natively. And the companion app gains one-click profile templates that wire the stock keycaps for Codex or Claude Code, with the right chord per operating system.

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2026 · 08 · 25

Fab it yourself: ordering OpenMicroKbd from JLCPCB

A video walkthrough plus the written companion: three files, the four quote-page options that actually matter, two-sided assembly, BOM and CPL matching, and the DFM warnings you should deliberately ignore.

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2026 · 08 · 10

OpenMicroKbd: an open-source build of OpenAI's $230 Codex Micro macropad

Thirteen keys, a knob, a stick, a touch pad — about $37 in parts, every layer open. Why the board exists, what it really costs, five firmware deep dives, and CoHDL, the now-open-source language its schematic is written in.

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