qmk-firmware/docs/feature_bootmagic.md

12 KiB

Bootmagic

There are three separate but related features that allow you to change the behavior of your keyboard without reflashing. While each of them have similar functionality, it is accessed in different ways depending on how your keyboard is configured.

Bootmagic is a system for configuring your keyboard while it initializes. To trigger a Bootmagic command, hold down the Bootmagic key and one or more command keys.

Bootmagic Keycodes are prefixed with MAGIC_, and allow you to access the Bootmagic functionality after your keyboard has initialized. To use the keycodes, assign them to your keymap as you would any other keycode.

Command, formerly known as Magic, is another feature that allows you to control different aspects of your keyboard. While it shares some functionality with Bootmagic, it also allows you to do things that Bootmagic does not, such as printing version information to the console. For more information, see Command.

On some keyboards Bootmagic is disabled by default. If this is the case, it must be explicitly enabled in your rules.mk with:

BOOTMAGIC_ENABLE = full

?> You may see yes being used in place of full, and this is okay. However, yes is deprecated, and ideally full (or lite) should be used instead.

Additionally, you can use Bootmagic Lite (a scaled down, very basic version of Bootmagic) by adding the following to your rules.mk file:

BOOTMAGIC_ENABLE = lite

Hotkeys

Hold down the Bootmagic key (Space by default) and the desired hotkey while plugging in your keyboard. For example, holding Space+B should cause it to enter the bootloader.

Hotkey Description
Escape Ignore Bootmagic configuration in EEPROM
B Enter the bootloader
D Toggle debugging over serial
X Toggle key matrix debugging
K Toggle keyboard debugging
M Toggle mouse debugging
L Set "Left Hand" for EE_HANDS handedness
R Set "Right Hand" for EE_HANDS handedness
Backspace Clear the EEPROM
Caps Lock Toggle treating Caps Lock as Left Control
Left Control Toggle swapping Caps Lock and Left Control
Left Alt Toggle swapping Left Alt and Left GUI
Right Alt Toggle swapping Right Alt and Right GUI
Left GUI Toggle the GUI keys (useful when gaming)
` Toggle swapping ` and Escape
\ Toggle swapping \ and Backspace
N Toggle N-Key Rollover (NKRO)
0 Make layer 0 the default layer
1 Make layer 1 the default layer
2 Make layer 2 the default layer
3 Make layer 3 the default layer
4 Make layer 4 the default layer
5 Make layer 5 the default layer
6 Make layer 6 the default layer
7 Make layer 7 the default layer

Keycodes :id=keycodes

Key Aliases Description
MAGIC_SWAP_CONTROL_CAPSLOCK CL_SWAP Swap Caps Lock and Left Control
MAGIC_UNSWAP_CONTROL_CAPSLOCK CL_NORM Unswap Caps Lock and Left Control
MAGIC_CAPSLOCK_TO_CONTROL CL_CTRL Treat Caps Lock as Control
MAGIC_UNCAPSLOCK_TO_CONTROL CL_CAPS Stop treating Caps Lock as Control
MAGIC_SWAP_LCTL_LGUI LCG_SWP Swap Left Control and GUI
MAGIC_UNSWAP_LCTL_LGUI LCG_NRM Unswap Left Control and GUI
MAGIC_SWAP_RCTL_RGUI RCG_SWP Swap Right Control and GUI
MAGIC_UNSWAP_RCTL_RGUI RCG_NRM Unswap Right Control and GUI
MAGIC_SWAP_CTL_GUI CG_SWAP Swap Control and GUI on both sides
MAGIC_UNSWAP_CTL_GUI CG_NORM Unswap Control and GUI on both sides
MAGIC_TOGGLE_CTL_GUI CG_TOGG Toggle Control and GUI swap on both sides
MAGIC_SWAP_LALT_LGUI LAG_SWP Swap Left Alt and GUI
MAGIC_UNSWAP_LALT_LGUI LAG_NRM Unswap Left Alt and GUI
MAGIC_SWAP_RALT_RGUI RAG_SWP Swap Right Alt and GUI
MAGIC_UNSWAP_RALT_RGUI RAG_NRM Unswap Right Alt and GUI
MAGIC_SWAP_ALT_GUI AG_SWAP Swap Alt and GUI on both sides
MAGIC_UNSWAP_ALT_GUI AG_NORM Unswap Alt and GUI on both sides
MAGIC_TOGGLE_ALT_GUI AG_TOGG Toggle Alt and GUI swap on both sides
MAGIC_NO_GUI GUI_OFF Disable the GUI keys
MAGIC_UNNO_GUI GUI_ON Enable the GUI keys
MAGIC_SWAP_GRAVE_ESC GE_SWAP Swap ` and Escape
MAGIC_UNSWAP_GRAVE_ESC GE_NORM Unswap ` and Escape
MAGIC_SWAP_BACKSLASH_BACKSPACE BS_SWAP Swap \ and Backspace
MAGIC_UNSWAP_BACKSLASH_BACKSPACE BS_NORM Unswap \ and Backspace
MAGIC_HOST_NKRO NK_ON Enable N-key rollover
MAGIC_UNHOST_NKRO NK_OFF Disable N-key rollover
MAGIC_TOGGLE_NKRO NK_TOGG Toggle N-key rollover
MAGIC_EE_HANDS_LEFT EH_LEFT Set the master half of a split keyboard as the left hand (for EE_HANDS)
MAGIC_EE_HANDS_RIGHT EH_RGHT Set the master half of a split keyboard as the right hand (for EE_HANDS)

Configuration

If you would like to change the hotkey assignments for Bootmagic, #define these in your config.h at either the keyboard or keymap level.

Define Default Description
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_SALT KC_SPACE The Bootmagic key
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_SKIP KC_ESC Ignore Bootmagic configuration in EEPROM
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_EEPROM_CLEAR KC_BSPACE Clear the EEPROM configuration
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_BOOTLOADER KC_B Enter the bootloader
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEBUG_ENABLE KC_D Toggle debugging over serial
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEBUG_MATRIX KC_X Toggle matrix debugging
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEBUG_KEYBOARD KC_K Toggle keyboard debugging
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEBUG_MOUSE KC_M Toggle mouse debugging
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_EE_HANDS_LEFT KC_L Set "Left Hand" for EE_HANDS handedness
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_EE_HANDS_RIGHT KC_R Set "Right Hand" for EE_HANDS handedness
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_SWAP_CONTROL_CAPSLOCK KC_LCTRL Swap Left Control and Caps Lock
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_CAPSLOCK_TO_CONTROL KC_CAPSLOCK Toggle treating Caps Lock as Left Control
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_SWAP_LALT_LGUI KC_LALT Toggle swapping Left Alt and Left GUI (for macOS)
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_SWAP_RALT_RGUI KC_RALT Toggle swapping Right Alt and Right GUI (for macOS)
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_NO_GUI KC_LGUI Toggle the GUI keys (useful when gaming)
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_SWAP_GRAVE_ESC KC_GRAVE Toggle swapping ` and Escape
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_SWAP_BACKSLASH_BACKSPACE KC_BSLASH Toggle swapping \ and Backspace
BOOTMAGIC_HOST_NKRO KC_N Toggle N-Key Rollover (NKRO)
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEFAULT_LAYER_0 KC_0 Make layer 0 the default layer
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEFAULT_LAYER_1 KC_1 Make layer 1 the default layer
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEFAULT_LAYER_2 KC_2 Make layer 2 the default layer
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEFAULT_LAYER_3 KC_3 Make layer 3 the default layer
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEFAULT_LAYER_4 KC_4 Make layer 4 the default layer
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEFAULT_LAYER_5 KC_5 Make layer 5 the default layer
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEFAULT_LAYER_6 KC_6 Make layer 6 the default layer
BOOTMAGIC_KEY_DEFAULT_LAYER_7 KC_7 Make layer 7 the default layer

Bootmagic Lite :id=bootmagic-lite

In addition to the full blown Bootmagic feature, is the Bootmagic Lite feature that only handles jumping into the bootloader. This is great for boards that don't have a physical reset button but you need a way to jump into the bootloader, and don't want to deal with the headache that Bootmagic can cause.

To enable this version of Bootmagic, you need to enable it in your rules.mk with:

BOOTMAGIC_ENABLE = lite

Additionally, you may want to specify which key to use. This is especially useful for keyboards that have unusual matrices. To do so, you need to specify the row and column of the key that you want to use. Add these entries to your config.h file:

#define BOOTMAGIC_LITE_ROW 0
#define BOOTMAGIC_LITE_COLUMN 1

By default, these are set to 0 and 0, which is usually the "ESC" key on a majority of keyboards.

And to trigger the bootloader, you hold this key down when plugging the keyboard in. Just the single key.

!> Using bootmagic lite will always reset the EEPROM, so you will lose any settings that have been saved.

Split Keyboards

When handedness is predetermined via an option like SPLIT_HAND_PIN, you might need to configure a different key between halves. This To do so, add these entries to your config.h file:

#define BOOTMAGIC_LITE_ROW_RIGHT 4
#define BOOTMAGIC_LITE_COLUMN_RIGHT 1

By default, these values are not set.

Advanced Bootmagic Lite

The bootmagic_lite function is defined weakly, so that you can replace this in your code, if you need. A great example of this is the Zeal60 boards that have some additional handling needed.

To replace the function, all you need to do is add something like this to your code:

void bootmagic_lite(void) {
    matrix_scan();
    wait_ms(DEBOUNCE * 2);
    matrix_scan();

    if (matrix_get_row(BOOTMAGIC_LITE_ROW) & (1 << BOOTMAGIC_LITE_COLUMN)) {
      // Jump to bootloader.
      bootloader_jump();
    }
}

You can additional feature here. For instance, resetting the eeprom or requiring additional keys to be pressed to trigger bootmagic. Keep in mind that bootmagic_lite is called before a majority of features are initialized in the firmware.