🔥 ZMK Config for Corne v3 with E-Paper Display

An ergonomically optimized ZMK configuration for the Corne v3 keyboard (3x6+3) featuring e-paper display, RGB underglow, and workflow-tuned keymaps designed specifically for vim, tmux, and tiling window managers.

✨ Features

• 🏠 Home Row Modifiers - Reduces pinky strain with balanced timing (280ms)
• 👍 Optimized Thumb Cluster - All 4 layers accessible via dedicated thumb keys
• ⚡ Smart Combos - Quick access to Escape and Tab via key combinations
• 🎯 Numpad Layout - Proper 3x3 numpad with calculator operators
• ⚙️ Dedicated Settings Layer - Easy Bluetooth and RGB control
• 📱 E-Paper Status Display - Custom battery, connectivity, and layer indicators
• 🌈 RGB Underglow - Full color and effect control
• ⌨️ Colemak-DH Primary - Optimized for typing comfort
• 🔧 Workflow-Optimized - Tailored for development with vim, tmux, and window management

🎯 Optimized For

This configuration is specifically tuned for development workflows including:

• Vim/Neovim - Escape on Caps Lock tap, N+E combo for quick Escape
• tmux - Ctrl+Q prefix with thumb Ctrl, Ctrl+hjkl navigation via home row
• Hyprland/i3/Sway - One-keypress workspace switching with Super+numbers
• Terminal-heavy development with multiple Ctrl access points
• Coding with optimized symbol and function key layers

📋 Layer Overview

Layer 0: Colemak-DH (Base Layer)

┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐   ┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐
│ TAB │  Q  │  W  │  F  │  P  │  B  │   │  J  │  L  │  U  │  Y  │  ;  │CTRL/│
│     │     │     │     │     │     │   │     │     │     │     │     │BKSP │
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│CTRL/│ A/  │ R/  │ S/  │ T/  │  G  │   │  M  │ N/  │ E/  │ I/  │ O/  │  '  │
│ ESC │GUI  │ALT  │CTRL │SHFT │     │   │     │SHFT │CTRL │ALT  │GUI  │     │
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│SHFT/│  Z  │  X  │  C  │  D  │  V  │   │  K  │  H  │  ,  │  .  │  /  │GUI/ │
│CAPS │     │     │     │     │     │   │     │     │     │     │     │SPC  │
└─────┴─────┴─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┴─────┴─────┘
                  │ TAB │ SYM │GUI/ │   │NUM/ │ KBD │ NAV │
                  │     │  ↓  │SPC  │   │ENTR │  ↓  │  ↓  │
                  └─────┴─────┴─────┘   └─────┴─────┴─────┘

Key Improvements:

• Caps Lock: Tap for Escape (vim!), Hold for Ctrl (terminal!)
• Left Thumbs: Tab | Symbols | Super/Space
• Right Thumbs: Numbers+Enter | Keyboard Settings | Functions/Nav
• Bottom Right: Tap for Space, Hold for Super (alternative Super access)
• All 4 layers accessible via dedicated thumb keys

Layer 1: Symbols & Media

┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐   ┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐
│     │  !  │  @  │  #  │  $  │  %  │   │  ^  │  &  │  *  │  (  │  )  │ DEL │
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│     │PREV │PLAY │NEXT │MUTE │VOL+ │   │  -  │  =  │  '  │  [  │  ]  │  `  │
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│     │     │     │     │     │VOL- │   │  _  │  +  │  ~  │  {  │  }  │  |  │
└─────┴─────┴─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┴─────┴─────┘
                  │     │ ▼▼▼ │     │   │ INS │ DEL │     │
                  └─────┴─────┴─────┘   └─────┴─────┴─────┘

Features:

• Symbols for coding on top row
• Media controls (prev/play/next, mute, volume) on home row left
• Paired brackets and operators easily accessible

Layer 2: Navigation & Functions

┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐   ┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐
│     │ F1  │ F2  │ F3  │ F4  │ F5  │   │ F6  │ F7  │  ↑  │ F8  │ F9  │ F10 │
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│     │ F11 │ F12 │ F13 │ F14 │ F15 │   │ F16 │  ←  │  ↓  │  →  │HOME │PGUP │
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│     │     │     │     │     │     │   │     │     │     │     │ END │PGDN │
└─────┴─────┴─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┴─────┴─────┘
                  │     │     │     │   │ ▼▼▼ │     │     │
                  └─────┴─────┴─────┘   └─────┴─────┴─────┘

Features:

• All 16 function keys (F1-F16) for development tools
• Arrow keys in vim-style HJKL positions
• Home/End/PgUp/PgDn for document navigation

Layer 3: Numbers

┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐   ┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐
│     │     │     │     │     │     │   │  +  │  7  │  8  │  9  │  *  │PRSCR│
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│     │     │     │     │     │     │   │  -  │  4  │  5  │  6  │  =  │     │
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│     │     │     │     │     │     │   │  /  │  1  │  2  │  3  │  .  │     │
└─────┴─────┴─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┴─────┴─────┘
                  │     │     │     │   │ ▼▼▼ │  0  │     │
                  └─────┴─────┴─────┘   └─────┴─────┴─────┘

Features:

• Numpad layout: 7/8/9, 4/5/6, 1/2/3, 0 - natural number typing
• Calculator operators: +, -, *, /, =, . for quick calculations
• Workspace switching: Hold Super (middle thumb) + number for Super+[number]
• Move window: Hold Super + Shift (home row) + number for Super+Shift+[number]

Layer 4: Keyboard Settings

┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐   ┌─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐
│BTCLR│ BT1 │ BT2 │ BT3 │ BT4 │ BT5 │   │     │     │     │     │     │     │
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│     │RGB  │RGB  │RGB  │RGB  │RGB  │   │     │     │     │     │     │     │
│     │ ON  │EFF  │HUE+ │SAT+ │BRI+ │   │     │     │     │     │     │     │
├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│     │RGB  │RGB  │RGB  │RGB  │RGB  │   │     │     │     │     │     │     │
│     │OFF  │EFR  │HUE- │SAT- │BRI- │   │     │     │     │     │     │     │
└─────┴─────┴─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤   ├─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┴─────┴─────┘
                  │     │     │     │   │     │ ▼▼▼ │     │
                  └─────┴─────┴─────┘   └─────┴─────┴─────┘

Features:

• Bluetooth profiles: Switch between 5 paired devices (BT1-BT5)
• BT Clear: Clear all Bluetooth pairings
• RGB underglow control:
  • Toggle on/off
  • Cycle effects (forward/reverse)
  • Adjust hue, saturation, brightness
  • All controls on left side for easy access

🏠 Home Row Modifiers

Ergonomic modifiers reduce finger travel and pinky strain:

Left Hand (Colemak):

• A → GUI/Super (hold)
• R → Alt (hold)
• S → Ctrl (hold)
• T → Shift (hold)

Right Hand (Colemak):

• N → Shift (hold)
• E → Ctrl (hold)
• I → Alt (hold)
• O → GUI/Super (hold)

Timing: 280ms tap-hold threshold with quick-tap enabled for balanced response.

⚡ Combos

Quick access key combinations that activate when pressed simultaneously:

Keys	Result	Use Case
N + E	Escape	Vim muscle memory (like JK in insert mode)
Q + W	Tab	Quick tab without reaching

Combo Timing: 50ms window for simultaneous key presses

🎯 Smart Key Positions

Caps Lock → Escape/Ctrl

• Tap: Escape (essential for vim users!)
• Hold: Ctrl (for terminal commands)
• Eliminates pinky strain from corner Ctrl

Left Inner Thumb → Tab/Super

• Tap: Tab (autocomplete, window switching)
• Hold: Super/GUI (window management commands)
• Most frequently used thumb position

Right Inner Thumb → Delete

• Quick access to forward delete
• Replaces redundant layer toggle

Bottom Right Corner → Space/Super

• Tap: Space (alternative access)
• Hold: Super/GUI (for one-handed window mgmt)

⚙️ Key Behaviors

• Tap-Dance: Shift/Caps on left pinky (tap twice for Caps Lock)
• Hold-Tap: Optimized 280ms timing for home row mods
• Balanced Flavor: Prevents accidental modifier activation during fast typing
• Quick-Tap: 175ms window for repeated taps without triggering hold
• Combos: 50ms simultaneous press window for combo triggers

🔧 Hardware

• Board: Corneish Zen v2 (left/right split)
• Layout: Corne v3 (3x6+3 keys)
• Display: E-paper with custom status widgets
• RGB: Full underglow with 16+ effects
• MCU: Nice Nano v2 compatible
• Wireless: Bluetooth 5.0 with 5 profile support
• Battery: Built-in rechargeable with e-paper battery indicator

📦 Installation

1. Fork this repository
2. Enable GitHub Actions in your fork's settings
3. Push changes to trigger automatic firmware build
4. Download firmware from the Actions tab (artifacts)
5. Flash to keyboard:
   • Put keyboard half into bootloader mode (double-tap reset)
   • USB drive appears named "NICENANO" or similar
   • Drag corneish_zen_v2_left-zmk.uf2 to left half
   • Drag corneish_zen_v2_right-zmk.uf2 to right half
   • Drive auto-ejects when complete
6. Pair Bluetooth (if wireless)
7. Enjoy your optimized workflow!

🎨 Customization

The layout is highly customizable. Edit config/corneish_zen.keymap to adjust:

Common Tweaks

• Tap-hold timings: Change tapping-term-ms values in behaviors section
• Combo timeout: Adjust timeout-ms in combo definitions
• Layer arrangements: Reorder or modify layer bindings
• RGB effects: Configure colors, brightness, and patterns
• Workspace macros: Customize Super+number combinations

Files to Modify

• corneish_zen.keymap - Main keymap and behavior definitions
• corneish_zen.conf - System settings (sleep timeout, RGB, etc.)
• widgets/*.c - Custom e-paper display widgets

💡 Usage Tips

For Vim Users

• Use Caps Lock (tap) for Escape - no more pinky reach!
• N+E combo provides quick Escape from home row
• Ctrl on home row (S/E) makes Ctrl+[ easy to reach
• Tab on thumb makes autocomplete (Ctrl+N/Ctrl+P) comfortable

For Tmux Users

• Caps Lock (hold) gives Ctrl for Ctrl+Q prefix
• Home row Ctrl (S/E) makes Ctrl+hjkl navigation natural
• Space on thumb keeps prefix combos comfortable

For Window Management

• Single-press workspace switching: Just press Layer 3 + number
• No more awkward Super+Layer+number combinations!
• Tab on thumb (hold for Super) enables easy Super+Tab window switching

🙏 Credits

• Built with ZMK Firmware
• Inspired by the Corne keyboard
• Home row mod timings from Miryoku
• Corneish Zen hardware by Darryl deHaan

📝 License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details