Entropy

Modern app for programmable keyboards and input devices, built by Ergohaven.

Entropy is a desktop app with a modern, minimalist, and intuitive interface for configuring programmable input devices running Vial-QMK or Vial-RMK firmware: split keyboards, macropads, trackballs, touchpad modules, and other hardware that exposes keyboard-style firmware features through HID.

It is designed to feel direct and predictable: connect a device, pick it from the device list, and work through layout, keycodes, macros, lighting, pointing controls, and firmware settings from one coherent interface.

Screenshots

Main Features

• Modern, minimalist, intuitive design for complex device configuration
• Complete Vial workflow: layouts, keycodes, macros, combos, tap dance, key overrides, RGB, pointing controls, and firmware settings
• Support for keyboards, macropads, trackballs, touchpads, encoders, displays, and modular input devices
• Text Expander for local shortcuts from programmable devices
• Universal Symbols for typography, arrows, math, currency, and custom characters
• Fast keycode picker with layouts, symbols, modifiers, macros, and smart filtering
• Custom names for layers, combos, macros, tap dance entries, and other device objects
• Live Features as a built-in qmk-hid-host replacement for firmware host data
• Matrix Tester and Layout Indicator for testing and daily layer visibility
• Layer hover preview, encoder controls, custom labels, and multilingual legends
• Advanced pages for Auto Shift, Mouse Keys, Tap-Hold, One Shot, Grave Escape, Magic, Layer LEDs, touchpad settings, and modules
• Light/dark themes, accent color, UI scaling, settings import/export, and tray mode
• Linux udev helper plus optional IBus/Fcitx5 integrations for Wayland input workflows

Platforms

Platform	Status	Package
Linux x86_64	Primary target	AppImage
Windows x86_64	Release target	Portable EXE
macOS arm64 (Apple Silicon)	Release target	Unsigned DMG
macOS x86_64 (Intel)	Release target	Unsigned DMG

Public builds are published for Linux, Windows, and macOS. macOS builds are unsigned and not notarized for now.

Downloads

Release builds are published on the GitHub Releases page:

• entropy-v0.2.0-x86_64.AppImage
• entropy-v0.2.0-windows-x86_64.exe
• entropy-v0.2.0-macos-arm64.dmg
• entropy-v0.2.0-macos-x86_64.dmg

Stable tags such as v0.2.0 publish a regular GitHub release and mark it as latest. Tags with a suffix, such as v0.2.0-rc.1, publish the same artifacts as a GitHub prerelease.

Windows builds are unsigned for now, so Windows SmartScreen may warn before launching the app.

macOS DMG builds are unsigned and not notarized for now. On Apple Silicon, use the macos-arm64 build; the macos-x86_64 build is for Intel Macs. To run a downloaded DMG on macOS:

1. Open the .dmg
2. Drag Entropy.app to /Applications
3. Remove the quarantine flag:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Entropy.app

4. Launch Entropy:

open /Applications/Entropy.app

Quick Start

1. Download the build for your platform from GitHub Releases
2. Connect a Vial-compatible device
3. On Linux, install Vial udev rules if Entropy cannot open the device and install the IBus backend if you want Wayland text expansion
4. Launch Entropy
5. Select the device from the top-left device dropdown
6. Edit layers, keycodes, advanced firmware features, or app settings
7. Save/write changes when the edited feature requires it

Linux Device Access

Vial devices use hidraw access on Linux. If your device appears but cannot be opened, use the Install Vial udev rules action in Entropy settings, or install the included udev rule manually from a source checkout:

./linux/udev/install-vial-rules.sh

Replug the device after installing the rule.

Linux IBus Backend

On Wayland, Entropy uses IBus for Universal Symbols and Text Expander input. Use the Install IBus action in Entropy settings to install the bundled Entropy IBus engine. The AppImage includes the installer and engine, so a separate source checkout is not required.

IBus itself and its Python bindings must still be installed by the system package manager. On Debian/Ubuntu-like systems:

sudo apt-get install ibus python3-gi gir1.2-ibus-1.0

After installation, restart IBus if Entropy did not do it automatically, then add Entropy Universal Symbols as an input source in your desktop input settings.

Universal Symbols

Universal Symbols let a keyboard type the same punctuation, typography, math, currency, and Cyrillic characters regardless of the active OS keyboard layout. They are intended for characters that are inconvenient or inconsistent across language layouts.

Entropy implements this by using F13-F24 as transport keys. Firmware sends F13-F24, optionally with Shift, Ctrl, and/or Alt; Entropy catches those carrier events and types the mapped Unicode character through the native OS input backend.

Because of that, F13-F24 must be treated as reserved when Universal Symbols are enabled:

• Do not assign F13-F24 to personal firmware actions, macros, combos, tap dance entries, key overrides, or OS/application shortcuts
• Do not use modified F13-F24 chords such as Alt+F13, Ctrl+F13, or Ctrl+Alt+F13 for unrelated firmware behavior
• Assign Universal Symbols from Entropy's key picker instead of manually reusing raw F13-F24 keycodes
• Keep Entropy running while using Universal Symbols; without Entropy, the OS will receive raw F13-F24 events

This reservation avoids conflicts where browsers, mail clients, or other desktop apps interpret raw or modified F13-F24 events as interface shortcuts instead of text input.

Compatibility

Entropy currently communicates with Vial-compatible HID devices. Its UI is designed for programmable keyboards and adjacent input devices such as macropads, trackballs, touchpads, and encoder/display modules when those features are exposed by firmware.

Best-tested hardware is Ergohaven hardware and Vial-compatible QMK/RMK-style devices. Firmware support varies by device; Entropy hides firmware-gated pages when the connected device does not expose the required capability.

Not in scope for this release:

• Browser-only configuration
• Mobile platforms

Development

Install a stable Rust toolchain, then build the desktop app:

cargo run
cargo build --release

Linux builds require native GUI/HID dependencies. On Debian/Ubuntu-like systems:

sudo apt-get install \
  libhidapi-dev \
  libudev-dev \
  libxcb-render0-dev \
  libxcb-shape0-dev \
  libxcb-xfixes0-dev \
  libxkbcommon-dev \
  libssl-dev \
  libgtk-3-dev

Build a macOS app bundle and DMG on macOS:

scripts/build_macos_app.sh

Build a Windows release binary from Linux with the GNU target:

cargo build --release --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

Changelog

• CHANGELOG.md

License

Entropy is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later. See LICENSE.