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Flashing installs the firmware on your MinimalPad’s controller. Flash it to update to a newer version, to set up a pad you built yourself, or to recover from broken or incompatible firmware. It takes a few minutes and needs no programming tools.
On a Mac, you don’t have to do this by hand. MinimalPad Studio for Mac carries the firmware and installs it for you — save, restart, copy, done. The manual steps below work on any computer and are the fallback if that fails.
You need a data-capable USB-C cable. A charge-only cable won’t show the bootloader drive. If the drive doesn’t appear after you double-click reset, try a different cable first.

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The firmware file

The firmware is called minimalpad_with_studio. It includes ZMK Studio, the layer both configurators use to talk to your pad. You flash it as a .uf2 file. The current release is 0.5.0. App profiles in Studio for Mac need firmware 0.3.0 or newer, its Open app keys need 0.5.0 or newer, and changing the dial needs 0.6.0 or newer. What each version adds is in Firmware versions.

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What flashing keeps

Flashing replaces only the firmware. What your pad has saved stays on it:
  • The key changes you saved, and your layer names
  • Your Bluetooth pairings
Keys you never changed get the new firmware’s defaults.

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Steps

1

Download the firmware

Open the latest firmware release and download the .uf2 file under Assets, such as minimalpad_with_studio-v0.5.0.uf2.
2

Connect MinimalPad to your computer

Plug your MinimalPad into your computer with a data-capable USB-C cable.
3

Enter bootloader mode

Double-click the reset button, the small push button on the board. After the second click, a USB drive appears on your computer.
The drive name depends on the controller. On a Nice!Nano V2 it is NICENANO. A generic nRF52840 clone may use a different name. Either way, look for a new removable drive in your file manager or on your desktop.
4

Copy the firmware onto the drive

Drag the .uf2 file onto the bootloader drive, as you would copy any file to a USB drive.
5

Wait for the pad to restart

The drive disappears as soon as the copy completes, and MinimalPad restarts with the new firmware. You don’t need to eject the drive or press anything.
6

Connect and check it

Connect your pad and confirm it works. There is no unlock step — you can change keys straight away.

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After an update

  • The lights stay off. Turn them on once. On the default keymap, hold the bottom-right key to open the Connections & LEDs layer, then press the encoder.
  • A computer doesn’t reconnect over Bluetooth. See Bluetooth problems.

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Troubleshooting

If the bootloader drive doesn’t appear after you double-click reset:
  • Make sure you are using a data-capable USB-C cable, not a charge-only cable.
  • Vary the speed of the double-click. Some controllers respond to a specific timing.
  • Try a different USB port or a different cable.
If the drive still doesn’t appear, see Flashing problems and Recovery.