Vendors, communities, and further reading

Everything this book has pointed at, gathered in one annotated list. One caution before the links: URLs rot. Shops close, projects move, domains lapse. If a link here is dead, search the project or shop name; the community usually knows where it went.

The Lily58 itself

  • Official Lily58 repository (github.com/kata0510/Lily58): the original design files, schematic, and the official build guide. The schematic PDF here is what Chapter 13 means by "the kit's schematic."
  • Your kit vendor's build guide: whichever shop sold you the kit almost certainly publishes its own guide for its exact PCB revision. Read it alongside this book; where they disagree on a detail, the vendor knows their board.

Firmware

  • QMK documentation (docs.qmk.fm): the reference for everything firmware. The "Newbs" guide and the pages on debounce, handedness, and the OLED driver are the ones this book leaned on.
  • QMK Configurator (config.qmk.fm): the browser-based firmware builder from Chapter 12. No installation, no toolchain.
  • QMK Toolbox (search "QMK Toolbox" on GitHub, under the qmk organization): the flashing helper for ATmega32u4 boards.
  • Vial (get.vial.today): the live-remapping fork of QMK, its browser app, and its list of supported keyboards and prebuilt firmware.
  • VIA (usevia.app): the other live-remapping app, for VIA-enabled firmware.
  • ZMK documentation (zmk.dev): the wireless firmware. Only needed if you took or later take the nice!nano route.
  • Typeractive documentation (typeractive.xyz, docs section): the clearest beginner-facing ZMK walkthroughs, written for their Corne kits but useful for any ZMK build.

Keyboard kit shops (ship to Canada)

  • Boardsource (boardsource.xyz): US shop with Lily58 kits and their own controllers; clear product pages that state exactly what is included.
  • Little Keyboards (littlekeyboards.com): US shop specializing in split kits, with good per-kit build notes.
  • Keebio (keeb.io): US shop, long-running, known for split boards and reliable stock of parts like TRRS jacks and controllers.
  • Custom KBD (customkbd.com): Australian shop with a wide split-kit catalogue; shipping to Canada is slower but the selection is deep.

Canadian shops

Ordering domestically dodges customs entirely, per Chapter 4.

  • Clickety Split (clicketysplit.ca): Canadian and split-keyboard focused, the closest thing to a home-team shop for this exact book.
  • Deskhero (deskhero.ca): Canadian storefront for switches, keycaps, and accessories.
  • Apex Keyboards (apexkeyboards.ca): Canadian shop for switches, keycaps, and group buys.
  • Ashkeebs (ashkeebs.com): Canadian shop carrying kits, switches, and parts, including split-board stock.

Tools, electronics, and parts

  • Digi-Key Canada (digikey.ca): the giant electronics distributor; bills in CAD and clears customs for you. The place for diodes, sockets, and TRRS jacks by the exact part number.
  • Mouser Canada (mouser.ca): the other giant distributor, same idea; whichever has stock wins.
  • Lee's Electronics (Vancouver, leeselectronic.com): a real walk-in electronics shop; handy for solder, wick, and flux without shipping delays if you are local.
  • Creatron (Toronto, creatroninc.com): Toronto's equivalent, with hobbyist boards and soldering supplies.
  • amazon.ca: the tool bench from Chapter 5; irons, multimeters, safety glasses, and consumables with fast domestic shipping.
  • AliExpress (aliexpress.com): the cheapest source for switches, keycaps, controllers, and even whole Lily58 kits, at the price of two-to-four-week shipping and variable quality control. Read reviews, order early.
  • Etsy (etsy.ca): small makers for custom cables, cases, and wrist rests; filter by seller location to find Canadian makers and skip cross-border shipping.

Communities

  • r/ErgoMechKeyboards: the split and ergonomic keyboard subreddit; the best single place to ask a Lily58 question with photos.
  • r/olkb: the DIY and QMK-adjacent build subreddit; strong on firmware and matrix debugging.
  • r/MechanicalKeyboards: the big general subreddit; more showcase than support, but the wiki and buying guides are useful.
  • r/mkcanada: Canadian mechanical keyboard community; domestic buy/sell/trade and up-to-date chatter on which Canadian vendors have stock.
  • keebtalk (keebtalk.com): a slower-paced forum with long-form build logs and deep switch discussion.
  • Your kit vendor's Discord: linked from the vendor's site; the people most likely to recognize your exact PCB revision's quirks.

Learning to solder (beyond this book)

  • Adafruit's Guide to Excellent Soldering (learn.adafruit.com, search the title): the classic illustrated joint-quality reference; their good-versus-bad joint photo gallery pairs perfectly with Chapter 6.
  • EEVblog soldering tutorials (YouTube, search "EEVblog soldering tutorial"): a three-part video series by a veteran electronics engineer; watching solder flow in video fills the gap no book can.
  • blog.splitkb.com: splitkb's learning articles on split keyboards, soldering, sockets, and layouts. Written for their own kits but excellent for any split build, the Lily58 included.

Testing and practice

  • Browser keyboard testers: search "keyboard tester" for several free sites that light up each key as it registers; any of them serves the tweezer test in Chapter 12. Vial's app also includes a matrix tester that shows raw key positions, which is even better for split-board debugging.
  • monkeytype.com: clean, configurable typing practice; the daily driver for the two-week dip in Chapter 14.
  • keybr.com: adaptive typing lessons that target your weakest letters; the more methodical retraining tool.

Further down the rabbit hole

  • QMK source repository (github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware): where the Lily58's default keymap actually lives, when you want to read one.
  • Ergogen (ergogen.xyz): describes a keyboard in a short text file and generates the design; the modern entry into making your own board.
  • KiCad (kicad.org): free, professional circuit-board design software, for the day the ladder in Chapter 14 reaches "design your own PCB."