Keychron announces first open-source firmware for gaming mice

Keychron 宣布推出首款游戏鼠标开源固件

ZGM. That’s the name of peripheral manufacturer Keychron’s upcoming open-source gaming mouse firmware, announced today and planned to release in the first quarter of 2027 for the G6 HE hybrid magnetic switch gaming mouse (pictured above). This model is notable for being one of the first competitors to the Logitech X2 SuperStrike, but custom firmware support would be an impressive second string to its bow.

ZGM。这就是外设制造商 Keychron 即将推出的开源游戏鼠标固件的名称。该固件于今日宣布，计划于 2027 年第一季度发布，适配 G6 HE 混合磁轴游戏鼠标（见上图）。该型号作为罗技 X2 SuperStrike 的首批竞争对手之一而备受瞩目，而对自定义固件的支持将成为其又一大亮点。

The ZGM firmware is essentially a mouse equivalent to the QMK and ZMK projects for mechanical keyboards. If you’ve never run across these, they’re pretty useful - keyboards made using these firmwares can be freely amended with a range of tools, freeing you of the obligation to use only the manufacturer’s preferred software and unlocking some advanced functionality. More importantly, the firmware is written to the keyboard’s internal memory, so you don’t need to have any programs running in the background for things to remain functional.

ZGM 固件本质上相当于机械键盘领域的 QMK 和 ZMK 项目。如果你从未接触过这些，它们非常实用——使用这些固件制作的键盘可以通过一系列工具自由修改，让你不必受限于制造商指定的软件，并能解锁一些高级功能。更重要的是，固件是写入键盘内部存储器的，因此你无需在后台运行任何程序即可保持功能正常。

The ZGM firmware is intended to offer much the same advantages, but in a space where open-source firmware is far from the norm. The ZGM page is pretty light on details, but it does enshrine some sensible standards - including a focus on low-latency operation, modular layers for different components like sensor, buttons, scroll wheel and lights, and support for a wide range of microcontrollers and both wired and wireless mice.

ZGM 固件旨在提供几乎相同的优势，但在开源固件远非主流的领域中，这显得尤为特别。ZGM 页面上的细节目前还比较少，但它确实确立了一些合理的标准，包括专注于低延迟操作、针对传感器、按键、滚轮和灯光等不同组件的模块化层级，以及对多种微控制器和有线/无线鼠标的支持。

Keychron was last in the headlines here at Digital Foundry for its open-source keyboard efforts, which saw both firmware and .step CAD files being released to the community. Other manufacturers like analogue keyboard experts Wooting have also released a portion of their work under permissive licenses, but this is far from a common occurrence - I’d never expect to see similar efforts from giants like Razer or Logitech, for example.

Keychron 上次登上 Digital Foundry 的头条是因为其在开源键盘方面的努力，当时他们向社区发布了固件和 .step 格式的 CAD 文件。其他制造商，如模拟键盘专家 Wooting，也以宽松的许可协议发布了部分成果，但这远非普遍现象——例如，我从未指望雷蛇（Razer）或罗技（Logitech）等巨头会做出类似的举动。

If you’re interested, I would suggest having a look at the ZGM GitHub page, which includes details like the GNU General Public License being used, the project’s goals and so on. Keychron says that the project is “currently in its early setup phase”, but it intends for the setup to take place in public and shaped by feedback. It’ll be interesting to see how ZGM fares once it reaches a releasable state, as QMK quickly became the base-line standard for boutique mechanical keyboards. If ZGM is able to achieve similar levels of success, it would be a huge deal for Keychron and the community as a whole.

如果你感兴趣，建议查看 ZGM 的 GitHub 页面，其中包含了所使用的 GNU 通用公共许可证（GPL）、项目目标等详细信息。Keychron 表示该项目“目前处于早期筹备阶段”，但他们打算在公开环境下进行开发，并根据反馈进行调整。一旦 ZGM 达到可发布状态，其表现将非常值得期待，毕竟 QMK 很快就成为了精品机械键盘的基准标准。如果 ZGM 能取得类似的成功，这对 Keychron 和整个社区来说都将是一件大事。