Takahē is an open-source mechanical keyboard firmware. It is written in C language and provides various features such as macros, layers, and keymaps customization. In this tutorial, I will guide you on how to install Takahē on Debian Latest using the command line.
Before proceeding with the installation steps, make sure that your Debian system is up to date by running the following command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
To build and flash the Takahē firmware on your keyboard, you need to install the following dependencies:
avr-gcc: For building the firmwareavr-libc: Standard C library for AVR microcontrollersdfu-programmer: USB AVR programmerTo install these dependencies, run the following command:
sudo apt install avr-gcc avr-libc dfu-programmer
Once the dependencies are installed, you can clone the Takahē repository using Git. Run the following command to install Git if it is not already installed, and then clone the repository:
sudo apt install git
git clone https://github.com/diimdeep/takahe.git
This command will create a directory named takahe in your current working directory.
Now, navigate inside the takahe directory and run the following command to compile the firmware:
cd takahe
make
This command will compile the firmware and generate a file named takahe.hex inside the takahe directory.
To flash the Takahē firmware on your keyboard, you need to enter the bootloader mode on your keyboard. The bootloader mode can be different depending on the keyboard model. Refer to your keyboard's manual or website to know how to enter the bootloader mode.
Once you are in the bootloader mode, run the following command to flash the takahe.hex file onto your keyboard:
sudo dfu-programmer atmega32u4 erase --force
sudo dfu-programmer atmega32u4 flash takahe.hex
sudo dfu-programmer atmega32u4 reset
This command will erase the existing firmware, flash the Takahē firmware, and reset the keyboard.
The Takahē firmware comes with a default keymap that you can customize according to your needs. To customize the keymap, you need to modify the keymap.c file inside the takahe directory.
Open the file using a text editor and modify it according to your needs. Save the file and then run the following command to recompile the firmware with the new keymap:
make clean && make
Once the firmware is compiled, you can flash it onto your keyboard following the same steps as described in Step 4.
That's it. You have successfully installed and flashed the Takahē firmware on your keyboard. You can now enjoy the various customization features offered by the firmware.
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