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Studio covers the vast majority of day-to-day MinimalPad configuration — remapping keys, managing layers, assigning Bluetooth profiles, and controlling RGB lighting — all without touching firmware. A small set of things, however, are defined at the firmware level and can only be changed by editing the ZMK keymap source and rebuilding.

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Current limitations

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Encoder rotation (most common)

The clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation bindings for the rotary encoder are defined as sensor-bindings in the firmware keymap file. Studio reads these values and displays them next to the encoder widget with a lock icon — but it cannot modify them. To change what turning the encoder does, you need to edit the firmware and reflash. See Advanced Firmware Customization.

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Firmware macros

Macros compiled into the firmware can be assigned to any key in Studio — you’ll find them in the Advanced category. However, Studio cannot edit the recorded sequence of a firmware macro. The steps that make up the macro (which keys are pressed, in what order, with what delays) are baked into the firmware. To change what a macro does, edit its definition in the ZMK keymap source and reflash. See Advanced Firmware Customization.

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RGB live color

Studio lets you assign RGB action keys — Toggle, Hue +, Brightness −, Next Effect, and so on. What it does not offer is a color picker that directly pushes a specific color or lighting state to the device in real time. RGB control in Studio is action-based: you assign keys that adjust lighting when pressed, not a palette that sets values directly.

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Available behaviors

The actions available in Studio depend on what is compiled into the installed firmware. If you open the Advanced category and a behavior you expect isn’t listed, it may not be included in your current firmware build. Adding new behaviors requires editing the firmware configuration and rebuilding. See Advanced Firmware Customization.

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Browser support

Studio uses the Web Serial API (for USB connections) and the Web Bluetooth API (for BLE connections). These APIs are only available in Chrome and Edge. Firefox and Safari do not support them, and Studio will not function in those browsers.
For most users, Studio is all you need. The only reason to rebuild firmware is if you want to change encoder rotation behavior, add or modify firmware macros, or use a ZMK feature not included in the current build. See Firmware and Studio for a full comparison of what each approach offers.