ErgoMechKeyboards @lemmy.world bjfar @reddthat.com 1y ago

Keyboard recommendations for programmers?

So I switched to a low-profile angled keyboard basically identical to this: https://www.amazon.com.au/Perixx-PERIBOARD-805-Wireless-Ergonomic-Bluetooth/dp/B08KJ8JW9Q/ref=asc_df_B08KJ8JW9Q/?tag=googleshopmob-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=463603004336&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15645889703857693714&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9071296&hvtargid=pla-1017854421494&psc=1

It's been quite a few years now, and my RSI type issues have reduced a lot in that time, but I'm not sure it's really cutting it anymore. Starting to get wrist pains again. So I think it's time to up my keyboard game, but things get expensive going to the next level and the choices are kind of overwhelming. So I'm just hoping for some recommendations really.

I'm a programmer so that's an important factor, I don't want some weird key layout that's good for typing English but rubbish for programming. But I also don't really want to spend loads of time fully customising it. But I'm happy to learn a new layout if research or whatever supports it being better.

Well anyway, any thoughts welcome!

30 comments

I'm very happy with my Corne
- Corne with Miryoku layout is amazing. So happy with homerow mods.
  
  I can't find a good timing for homerow mods to work. Either it causes letters to show up when I'm trying to use them for mods, or it causes the keypress to go down as a modifier instead of as the key I wanted
  
  yes the homerow mods are super cool. I would say the miryoku layout is great but I prefer to use it with qwerty layout. It is a little easier to get used to. It took me about a month to get used to the mod. but maybe I will move to colmak DH next.
  
  In any case corne for the win.
- Yep, I've daily driven mine for a few years now, been perfect. No more wrist pain/numbness since. I'm also a vim guy and have had no issue with using the default key bindings.
  
  This is where I jokingly ask if you're a vim guy because you can't exit.
- I also use a Corne for programming, but wasn’t a fan of home row mods and developed my own layout:
  
  https://mark.stosberg.com/markstos-corne-3x5-1-keyboard-layout/
  
  Ooo gonna check this out. Took me some time, but I looove home row mods once I got used to them. Will check this out!
- Corne with Workman keymap helped with my sri
I love my Piantor. I don't use the extra pinky column, and have Miryoku loaded on it. I exclusively write software all day, with a few emails and long Sphinx docs thrown in there from time to time.
While I don't use the Kinesis Advantage much anymore due to my own personal RSI journey, I did use one for over 10 years primarily for programming. It did take a 3-4 weeks to get fully used, but then I couldn't imagine using anything else. I highly recommend that style of keyboard.

I also quite like keyboards like the Sofle, Iris, Lily and so on... A while I did dive into the 34 key space for a while, I do prefer some extra.

I tend to cycle keyboards, I find it helps keep the pain away. So I have a few favourites. I also switch between left and right hand for mousing or a trackball, which helps probably more than the keyboard!
- Thanks! Yeah I got a Logitech vertical mouse a while back and it was a game changer.
When coding it is usually the symbols that force your hands into strained positions. What you might want to try is to use a symbol layer for easier access. I use a software called Kanata to configure this.
Keychron Q13 Pro Full Size (Alice Layout) looks pretty cool. I have the Keychron Q3 TKL (not an ergo board) that I've been pretty happy about for a while now.

In another life I used to use the MS Natural ergo rubber dome keyboard and it was really great for comfort and preventing RSI. So I've been looking for a good mechanical (or Topre) ergo keyboard for a very long time. I think the Keychron Q10 Pro 75% TKL (Alice Layout) might be the one.
- Second a keychron. I have a hot swappable pro model and the multiple Bluetooth devices is amazing. So is the piano, tealios and zealios switches I put on.
I use Colemak DH with a numpad and nav layer (there's a media layer, but it doesn't see regular use) and Callum-style mods for my layout. I code in python, rust, typescript, sql, latex (and other documentation formats).

34-keys is my sweet spot. My daily is typically a charybdis (home) or sweep (office), and I switch between a totem, zaphod, and 34-key planck periodically.

The key to my layout is callum mods on the left hand layers, with command modifiers underneath (i.e., zxcdv) and alt f and b above. W and Q positions are transparent.

The nav layer is on the right hand, with about what you'd expect (arrows on home row).

The numpad is also on the right hand, and I use the num row keys instead of the numpad, so I get all of my symbols there, too. Various brackets are combos on the num layer (in QMK; all layers in ZMK).

I also have combos for (semi-)colon, tab, capsword, and underscore. And the media layer.
I used colemak-h for programming and it was great, with some custom mapping. Qwerty is a problem IMO. Took me 2-3 months to be proficient and comfortable. I had bad RSI and it went away entirely, for good. I also use a couple different mice.

I had a moonlander and going to an ortho linear + split + colemak was a lot of change. I'll probably repeat this exercise one day but aim for cheaper (DIY) and more progressively ergo builds that fit MX switches.
- I love using a split keyboard with Colemak. But I also wish I could totally get rid of my mouse.
  
  It could be done if programs were designed around it.
  
  I remember now that was an issue.. it's harder to get home'd in on a split and the mouse would also de-home me all the time. I think my next keyboard will be a split, but I'd like to build a case for it so both sides can be in a fixed position relative to each other.
  
  My ideal keyboard would include one or two of those little thinkpad bumps, like a low profile joystick I can operate on the keyboard that nestled somewhere on the home row near my index finger. Or maybe I can put a mouse under the desk and use my foot.
  
  Corne with trackpoint from holikeebs?
I've been using the Glove80 for a while now and loving it. Although I'll probably get another one with silent choc switches once those are out.

Personally I'm using Colemak-DH on it, but I've seen a layout on the Glove80 discord that's been optimized for both English and programming called Engrammer.
(This is how the layout is like on a Glove80)
The person who made it is using a Glove80, but it should also be good for other keyboards.
I'm a full time software developer. I built and laid out my own Sofle V2 and it's been great. Everything for programming is on the top layer except for the brackets, which are on a second layer. I only have one problem with it, and it's that I couldn't fit all the dedicated arrow keys on it, and I'm missing the up arrow which is on a tiptap format with the right shift key. I'm currently waiting for the Elkhorn keyboard to happen, or if I get tired of waiting I'll probably order a dactyl or something that has one extra key on the right hand.
- I'm guessing that you have -_ key in top-right, =+ where [{ would normally be, and three of the arrows on the thumb row? I toyed with having 4 arrows on the thumb row for a bit and currently checking on having a navigation toggle layer that only swaps the letter keys on the right half.
  
  If you are comfortable with building your own, there's a good number of keyboards in this form factor - I made a list recently. There are similar-shaped keyboards with a slightly different key distribution like Egg58 or Cantaloupe, keyboards with slightly more keys like Redox and other ErgoDox derivatives, keyboards with asymmetrical clusters on the right like Breeze or ErgoNICE, 4x7 keyboards like Ergoinu, Interphase, or Kapl, and even a 4x8 Drift...
  
  I have as much of ansi international as I can fit on the keyboard, and then I have a separate layer where -=_+[]{} are 'under' 90opl;./ respectively. I have left, down, and right arrows south of m,. and the up arrow on a tapdance thing, merged with right shift.
  
  I'm perfectly happy with building my own keyboard, and I'll check out your list too. I'm basically looking for a sofle with one or two extra keys on each thumb row. I want the numbers at the top.
Some claim that layouts like Colemak can demonstrably reduce wrist strain. Something to look into maybe
I’ve got my iris split keyboard. It’s fantastic.
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My Keyboardio has been great for my RSI!

30 comments