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From the box to a key that does what you want, in about ten minutes. Bought the DIY kit? Build it first, then come back here.

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What you need

Two things aren’t in the box.
  • A USB-C data cable. A charge-only cable powers the pad, but your computer can’t talk to it. Most phone-charging cables are charge-only, so use one that came with a phone, laptop or hub, or one sold as a data cable. If the pad lights up and your computer never finds it, the cable is almost always why.
  • A battery, for wireless use only. Over a cable the pad runs without one. See Add a battery.
You also need one of the two apps that change your keys: The pad itself works as a keyboard on macOS, Windows and Linux with no drivers. Not sure which app? Compare them.

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Connect and change a key

1

Install Studio for Mac

Download it, open the download and drag MinimalPad Studio to Applications. Open it, and click Allow when macOS asks about Bluetooth.
2

Plug in your pad

Use the USB-C data cable. Studio for Mac finds the pad within a couple of seconds. There’s nothing to pick.
3

Click a key

The pad appears on screen with what every key does. Click one, and the inspector asks What should this key do?
4

Choose what it does

Pick Shortcut and press ⌘C, or pick Media and choose Play/Pause. The key changes the moment you choose.
5

Press it

It works straight away. Studio for Mac saves it to the pad a few seconds later, so there’s no Save button, and ⌘Z undoes anything.

Now make app profiles

Give Figma its own keys and Photoshop its own, and the pad follows you between them.

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Add a battery

Skip this if you’ll only use the pad with a cable.
No MinimalPad ships with a battery. Lithium batteries are hard to ship internationally, so buy one locally.
These common sizes fit. The number is the battery’s thickness, width and length:
  • 605070: 6 × 50 × 70 mm
  • 103665: 10 × 36 × 65 mm
  • 104567: 10 × 45 × 67 mm
Search for the size with “3.7V LiPo JST” and you’ll find plenty. One that fits, in the United States: Qimoo 103665, 3000 mAh.
1

Unplug the USB cable

Disconnect the pad from your computer first.
2

Check the polarity

Batteries with this plug aren’t all wired the same way. Make sure the red wire (+) and black wire (−) match the + and − marks by the battery connector on the board.
A battery plugged in the wrong way round can damage the pad.
3

Plug it in and fit it

Push the plug into the battery connector, then lay the battery flat in the cutout inside the case.
4

Charge it

Plug the pad in with USB-C. It charges while you use it.
Then pair the pad with your computer: see Pair and switch computers.

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What’s next

Your pad

What the keys and the dial do out of the box.

Lights

Colour, brightness and effects.

Pair and switch computers

Pair up to five computers and switch between them.

Something not working?

Start with the FAQ.