# Keyball is a family of split keyboards with the trackball in the middle, and the firmware is QMK > The Keyball series covers four split keyboards with 38 to 61 keys, each carrying a trackball, with per model build guides and firmware in a QMK tree. It is a hardware project where the repository is the documentation, the firmware and the design files rather than an application. **Yowkees/keyball** — keyball is split keyboard has 100% track ball - Repository: https://github.com/Yowkees/keyball - Stars: 1,052 · Forks: 1,009 - Language: C - License: GPL-3.0 - Published: 2026-10-19 · Updated: 2026-10-19 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/yowkees-keyball ## A split layout where the pointing device never leaves the home row The defining trait of the Keyball series is stated in a single line: it is a keyboard family that has a 100 percent track ball. The family is split, and the trackball is part of the keyboard rather than an accessory. The repository description is blunt about it, calling keyball a split keyboard with a 100 percent trackball, and the primary language of the repository is C, which is the language a firmware tree is written in rather than a mechanical design file. What the repository is, then, is a hardware project in the open source sense. The top level holds a directory per model, a qmk_firmware directory, a Keybit8 directory, a bin directory and a LICENSE. There is no application here, no web service and no library to install. The deliverable is a keyboard you build, and the repository exists so that the design, the documentation and the firmware are all readable and copyable. ## Four models are on sale, and two more are remembered The catalogue is split into what you can actually buy and what the project has moved past. Four models are listed as available. Keyball39 is a split layout with 39 keys and a trackball, Keyball44 has 44 keys, Keyball61 has 61 keys, and Keyball+ is the compact one at 38 or 39 keys. Two more are listed as unavailable. Keyball46 is annotated as the first one, which identifies it as the model's original, and One47 is the other discontinued entry. That availability table matters for anyone reading the repository, because the directories and the documentation cover models that are no longer produced, and a build guide for an unavailable model is a historical document rather than an instruction set for a kit you can order. The key counts also tell you the family covers three quite different layouts, from a 38 key compact board to a 61 key board that is the largest in the family, all with the same trackball concept. ## Each model carries its own revision-numbered build guide in two languages The documentation strategy is worth copying, because it is the part of the repository that makes the project usable by someone other than the designer. Every available model has a build guide that lives inside its own model directory under a doc/rev1 path, and each one is published in two languages, English and Japanese, with the file names buildguide_en.md and buildguide_jp.md. So the Keyball39 guide is at keyball39/doc/rev1/buildguide_en.md, the Keyball44 guide sits at keyball44/doc/rev1/buildguide_en.md, the Keyball61 guide at keyball61/doc/rev1/buildguide_en.md, and the Keyball+ guide at keyballplus/doc/rev1/buildguide_en.md. The rev1 in the path is a revision marker, which tells you the project expects hardware revisions to change and to need their own documentation. The build guides for the discontinued Keyball46 and One47 are not listed, which is consistent with those models no longer being built. ## The firmware is a QMK keyboard definition, not a standalone program The firmware for the whole family lives in one place inside the repository, under qmk_firmware, and the pointer to it is a document for the firmware source code at qmk_firmware/keyboards/keyball/readme.md. That path is informative on its own, since it shows the keyball directory sitting inside a QMK keyboard tree under a single shared name, which is how a family of boards with the same behaviour is usually organised. The consequence for a user is that the firmware is not an application you launch. There is no binary to run and no configuration file of your own to edit. Instead, the keymap and the board definition are part of a firmware tree that is compiled and flashed like any other QMK keyboard, and the entry point for understanding what the boards do is that readme. The readme is also what tells you where to start, since the documentation for the firmware source is the only pointer the README gives to the code itself. ## Pre-compiled firmware is still an empty section, and that is a real gap The firmware section of the README has two headings. The first points to the source code, and the second is titled Pre-compiled Firmwares, and under it sits a single line: TO BE DOCUMENTED. That is the entire content, and it is the clearest limitation in the repository. If you build a board from this project, you are expected to compile and flash the firmware yourself, and the repository offers no download of a ready-made image for the Keyball39, Keyball44, Keyball61 or Keyball+. For someone who already has a QMK toolchain and a soldering iron, that is a mild inconvenience. For someone who wants to flash a finished board without setting up a build environment, it is a wall. The project is not hiding this. The section exists, it is named, and it is empty, which tells you it is a known gap rather than an oversight, and it is one of the first things to check if you were counting on pre-flashed firmware. ## Version 1.3.0 added an auto mouse layer, which tells you what the trackball is for The release history is short and one entry is more informative than the others. The tagged releases are v1.3.0 on 2024-03-24, described as Auto mouse layer support, v1.3.1 on 2024-03-25 described as Small bug fixes, and v1.3.2 on the same day, 2024-03-25, with no description beyond the version number. The auto mouse layer is the interesting change, because it says something about the intended interaction model. A trackball on a split keyboard is not only a pointing device, it is a switch between typing and pointing, and an automatic layer that appears when you start using the ball is a way of handling that without a dedicated switch. The two following releases landed within about a day of each other, which is the pattern of a feature going out and then being corrected. The last push to the repository was on 2026-09-29 and the repository is not archived, so the work is not frozen even though the newest tag is from 2024. ## Two Japanese shops sell the boards, and the new compact one goes through an expo The where to buy table has two vendors, both Japanese, and the entries are per model rather than per vendor. Shirogane Lab, written in the table as Shirogane Lab with the Japanese 白銀ラボ, stocks the Keyball39, the Keyball44 and the Keyball61, each with its own product page. Yushakobo, written as 遊舎工房, carries the same three models at its own product pages. The Keyball+ is different again, because both columns point at the same place, the TOKYO KEYBOARD EXPO 2026 event page. So the newest and smallest model is not a normal shop listing but something you get at a keyboard event, which is a meaningful distinction if you were hoping to order one online. The Keyball+ is also the model with two key count options, 38 or 39, which is consistent with it being the newest design in the family and still being adjusted. ## Conclusion Keyball suits a builder who wants a split layout with a trackball they can assemble themselves, since the repository ships per model build guides in English and Japanese alongside the firmware source. It is the wrong place to look if you want pre-flashed firmware, because that section of the documentation is still marked as to be documented. Before you start, read the build guide for your exact model and revision, since each is versioned separately under its own doc directory. The licence is GPL-3.0, the last tagged release is v1.3.2 from 2024-03-25, and the last push was on 2026-09-29. ## FAQ ### What is the Keyball series? Keyball is a family of split keyboards that have a 100 percent trackball. The available models are the Keyball39 with 39 keys, the Keyball44 with 44 keys, the Keyball61 with 61 keys, and the Keyball+ with 38 or 39 keys. The Keyball46 and One47 are listed as unavailable. ### Where is the Keyball firmware source code? The firmware lives under qmk_firmware in the repository, with the entry document at qmk_firmware/keyboards/keyball/readme.md. The keyball directory sits inside a QMK keyboard tree under a shared name for the whole family. ### Can I download pre-compiled Keyball firmware? Not from this repository as it stands. The README has a Pre-compiled Firmwares section whose entire content is TO BE DOCUMENTED, so building and flashing the firmware yourself is expected. ### Where can I buy a Keyball keyboard? Shirogane Lab and Yushakobo sell the Keyball39, Keyball44 and Keyball61, each with its own product page on both sites. The Keyball+ is listed through the TOKYO KEYBOARD EXPO 2026 event page on both columns. ### Where are the Keyball build guides? Each available model has its own build guide under a doc/rev1 path inside its model directory, published in English and Japanese as buildguide_en.md and buildguide_jp.md. The Keyball39 guide, for example, is at keyball39/doc/rev1/buildguide_en.md. ## Sources - [Issues](https://github.com/Yowkees/keyball/issues) - [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/Yowkees/keyball/blob/main/LICENSE) - [README](https://github.com/Yowkees/keyball/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/Yowkees/keyball/releases) - [Yowkees/keyball on GitHub](https://github.com/Yowkees/keyball) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/yowkees-keyball