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The MiRage is an open-source, DIY 60% ortholinear keyboard design by Zack Freedman. Its three intended uses are a compact keyboard, a split keyboard, and a standalone right-side “Rage Pad” for number entry, macros, or stream-deck-style controls. It is an experimental design, not a finished kit: the project README explicitly warns, “THIS PROJECT IS INCOMPLETE. DO NOT MAKE IT.”
What are the MiRage’s three functions?
1. A compact keyboard
In its assembled form, MiRage is a 60% ortholinear keyboard. Ortholinear keys sit in straight rows and columns rather than the staggered arrangement common on conventional keyboards. The compact layout omits a conventional number pad, making the right-side module useful for adding number-entry and shortcut controls.
2. A split keyboard
The custom PCB is designed with breakaway perforations, sometimes called mouse bites. It can be used as one board for testing and then separated into left and right halves, allowing the halves to be positioned apart for a split-keyboard setup. A 3.5 mm connection carries power and I2C data between the halves.
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The right half is intended to work on its own as the “Rage Pad”: a number pad, macro pad, or stream-deck-style controller. That makes the idea appealing for workflows that use shortcuts or trigger actions while streaming, but the original project’s README lists unfinished or missing Rage-board behavior. Treat standalone use as an intended function, not a confirmed, finished capability.
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What hardware does the original MiRage use?
The 2021 project design combines Kailh Choc low-profile switches, a Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 controller, three 128×64 clickable OLED modules, I/O expanders, and a custom PCB. The author chose the low-profile switches to keep the board thin and inexpensive; Hackster also reports that the XIAO RP2040 was selected for its low profile, USB-C connector, and CircuitPython workflow.
The clickable OLEDs are part of the unusual control scheme: the displays can be clicked, and the firmware defines different actions for clicks and other key events. The original README identifies the controller and describes the design and firmware: MiRage project repository. Hackster’s 2021 overview describes the components and design rationale: Hackster’s MiRage overview.
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How do the firmware and controls work?
MiRage’s custom CircuitPython firmware reads keymap files and maps inputs to ordinary keystrokes, key combinations, macros, layer changes, text entry, delays, reset, and bootloader actions. The repository documents click, double-click, hold, and release behaviors alongside layer and macro controls. This makes the design more configurable than a fixed keypad in principle, but the documented features should not be mistaken for a reliable, finished firmware release: the project author also reports parser and key-event bugs.
Can you build the original MiRage?
The design files and firmware are available in the project repository, but availability of files does not mean the design is ready to reproduce. Zack Freedman’s README says, “THIS PROJECT IS INCOMPLETE. DO NOT MAKE IT.” The warning is supported by specific problems the author lists:
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- Power pins on the PCA9505 I/O expanders are reversed.
- There are reset-line issues.
- The enclosure has access and fit problems.
- Rage-board behavior is missing or unfinished.
- Performance problems and parser or key-event bugs remain.
For now, the original MiRage is better approached as an open-source design to study or revise than as a build-ready keyboard. The sources do not establish that a finished commercial product or verified kit is currently sold.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does MiRage Mk2 differ?
Keyboard Builders’ Digest reported on July 25, 2022 that MiRage Mk2 replaced the original clickable OLEDs with a large clickable e-paper touchscreen and used Arduino on a XIAO RP2040. The report says the change followed reliability problems with the original clickable displays. That is a reported later iteration, not evidence that the original README’s unfinished hardware and firmware issues were resolved: Keyboard Builders’ Digest’s MiRage Mk2 report.
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