One pad at a time
Connect a single MinimalPad. If Studio finds a second pad, or another ZMK keyboard, it stays read-only and asks you to disconnect the extra hardware rather than guessing which one you meant. This also applies across connections: a pad on USB and a pad on Bluetooth count as two unless Studio can prove they’re the same physical device.Profiles follow the computer the pad is typing into
The pad sends its keys to one place at a time — this Mac over USB, or one of its Bluetooth profiles. Profiles only switch on that computer. If you move the pad to another computer, your Mac’s profiles pause until you switch the pad’s output back. The menu bar says so.One app can hold the pad
Only one application can talk to the pad over USB. If Studio for browser has it connected, Studio for Mac can’t, and the other way round. Quit or disconnect one first.App shortcuts are the app’s defaults
The named shortcuts in the app libraries are those apps’ default Mac key bindings, on a US keyboard layout. If you’ve remapped a command inside the app, record your own shortcut instead. Commands with no default key binding aren’t in the library, and neither are two-step shortcuts such as VS Code’s ⌘K ⌘S. A few apps (Obsidian and Linear among them) publish no list of their defaults, so their libraries are short.Open app keys need Studio running
An Open app key asks Studio to open the app; the pad can’t do that by itself. With Studio quit, the key does nothing. It also needs firmware 0.5.0 or newer, which Studio carries.Profile colour is an override, not a light switch
A profile’s colour replaces the underglow colour while the profile is active. It doesn’t turn the lights on if you’ve switched them off, and it doesn’t change the effect or animation speed — those stay the pad’s own. The colour shown in Studio is what Studio is asking the pad for. It isn’t read back from the LEDs.Advanced ZMK behaviours aren’t here
Studio for Mac covers shortcuts, keys, media, layers, Open app keys, and the pad’s own commands. Mod-tap, sticky keys, caps word, and the other advanced ZMK behaviours are available in Studio for browser.Not built yet
- Running a macOS Shortcut directly from a key.
- Adding more than one app to a single profile.
- Choosing between several connected pads.