This is a non-exhaustive checklist of what the QMK Collaborators will be checking when reviewing submitted PRs.
If there are any inconsistencies with these recommendations, you're best off creating an issue against this document, or getting in touch with a QMK Collaborator on Discord.
- PR should be submitted using a non-
master
branch on the source repository- this does not mean you target a different branch for your PR, rather that you're not working out of your own master branch
- if submitter does use their own
master
branch, they'll be given a link to the "how to git" page after merging -- (end of this document will contain the contents of the message) - Note, frequently merging upstream with your branch is not needed and is discouraged. Valid reason for updating your branch may be resolving merge conflicts and pulling in new changes relevant to your PR.
- PRs should contain the smallest amount of modifications required for a single change to the codebase
- multiple keyboards at the same time is not acceptable
- the smaller the PR, the higher likelihood of a quicker review, higher likelihood of quicker merge, and less chance of conflicts
- newly-added directories and filenames must be lowercase
- the lowercase requirement may be relaxed if upstream sources originally had uppercase characters (e.g. LUFA, ChibiOS, or imported files from other repositories etc.)
- if there is valid justification (i.e. consistency with existing core files etc.) this can be relaxed
- a board designer naming their keyboard with uppercase letters is not enough justification
- valid license headers on all
*.c
and*.h
source files- GPL2/GPL3 recommended for consistency
- an example GPL2+ license header may be copied (and author modified) from the bottom of this document
- other licenses are permitted, however they must be GPL-compatible and must allow for redistribution. Using a different license will almost certainly delay a PR getting merged
- missing license headers will prevent PR merge due to ambiguity with license compatibility
- simple assignment-only
rules.mk
files should not need a license header - where additional logic is used in an*.mk
file a license header may be appropriate
- simple assignment-only
- QMK Codebase "best practices" followed
- this is not an exhaustive list, and will likely get amended as time goes by
#pragma once
instead of#ifndef
include guards in header files- no "old-school" or other low-level GPIO/I2C/SPI functions may be used -- must use QMK abstractions unless justifiable (and laziness is not valid justification)
- timing abstractions should be followed too:
wait_ms()
instead of_delay_ms()
(remove#include <util/delay.h>
too)timer_read()
andtimer_read32()
etc. -- see timer.h for the timing APIs
- if you think a new abstraction is useful, you're encouraged to:
- prototype it in your own keyboard until it's feature-complete
- discuss it with QMK Collaborators on Discord
- refactor it as a separate core change
- remove your specific copy in your board
- fix all merge conflicts before opening the PR (in case you need help or advice, reach out to QMK Collaborators on Discord)
- PR submitters will need to keep up-to-date with their base branch, resolving conflicts along the way
!> Note that personal keymap submissions will no longer be accepted. This section applies to manufacturer-supported keymaps. Please see this issue for more information.
- PRs for vendor specific keymaps will be permitted. The naming convention for these should be
default_${vendor}
,via_${vendor}
i.e.via_clueboard
.- vendor specific keymaps do not necessarily need to be "vanilla" and can be more richly featured than
default
orvia
stock keymaps.
- vendor specific keymaps do not necessarily need to be "vanilla" and can be more richly featured than
#include QMK_KEYBOARD_H
preferred to including specific board files- prefer layer enums to #defines
- custom keycode enums must have first entry =
QK_USER
- some care with spacing (e.g., alignment on commas or first char of keycodes) makes for a much nicer-looking keymap. Spaces are preferred to tabs
Closed PRs (for inspiration, previous sets of review comments will help you eliminate ping-pong of your own reviews): https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed+label%3Akeyboard
- keyboard moves within the repository must go through the
develop
branch instead ofmaster
, so as to ensure compatibility for usersdata/mappings/keyboard_aliases.hjson
must be updated to reflect the move, so users with pre-created configurator keymap.json files continue to detect the correct keyboard
- keyboard updates and refactors (eg. to data driven) must go through
develop
to reducemaster
->develop
merge conflicts - PR submissions from a
kbfirmware
export (or equivalent) will not be accepted unless converted to new QMK standards -- tryqmk import-kbfirmware
first info.json
- With the move to data driven keyboard configuration, we encourage contributors to utilise as many features as possible of the info.json schema.
- the mandatory elements for a minimally complete
info.json
at present are:- valid URL
- valid maintainer
- valid USB VID/PID and device version
- displays correctly in Configurator (press Ctrl+Shift+I to preview local file, turn on fast input to verify ordering)
layout
definitions must include matrix positions, so thatLAYOUT
macros can be generated at build time- should use standard definitions if applicable
- use the Community Layout macro names where they apply (preferred above
LAYOUT
/LAYOUT_all
) - If the keyboard only has a single electrical/switch layout:
- use
LAYOUT
as your macro name, unless a community layout already exists
- use
- If the keyboard has multiple electrical/switch layouts:
- include a
LAYOUT_all
which specifies all possible layout positions in the electrical matrix - use alternate layout names for all other possible layouts, preferring community layout names if an equivalent is available (e.g.
LAYOUT_tkl_ansi
,LAYOUT_ortho_4x4
etc.)
- include a
- Microcontroller and bootloader
- Diode Direction (if not using direct pins)
- the following are required to be configured in
info.json
if necessary- Direct pin configuration
- Backlight Configuration (where applicable)
- Split keyboard configuration (where applicable)
- Encoder Configuration
- Bootmagic Configuration
- LED Indicator Configuration
- RGB Light Configuration
- RGB Matrix Configuration
- Run
qmk format-json
on this file before submitting your PR. Be sure to append the-i
flag to directly modify the file, or paste the outputted code into the file.
readme.md
- must follow the template
- flash command is present, and has
:flash
at end - valid hardware availability link (unless handwired) -- private groupbuys are okay, but one-off prototypes will be questioned. If open-source, a link to files should be provided.
- clear instructions on how to reset the board into bootloader mode
- a picture about the keyboard and preferably about the PCB, too
- images are not to be placed in the
qmk_firmware
repository - images should be uploaded to an external image hosting service, such as imgur.
- image links should link directly to the image, not a "preview" -- i.e. https://imgur.com/vqgE7Ok should be https://i.imgur.com/vqgE7Ok.jpg when using imgur
- images are not to be placed in the
rules.mk
- removed
MIDI_ENABLE
,FAUXCLICKY_ENABLE
andHD44780_ENABLE
- modified
# Enable Bluetooth with the Adafruit EZ-Key HID
-># Enable Bluetooth
- no
(-/+size)
comments related to enabling features - remove the list of alternate bootloaders if one has been specified
- no re-definitions of the default MCU parameters if same value, when compared to the equivalent MCU in mcu_selection.mk
- no "keymap only" features enabled
COMBO_ENABLE
ENCODER_MAP_ENABLE
- removed
- keyboard
config.h
- no
#define DESCRIPTION
- no Magic Key Options, MIDI Options or HD44780 configuration
- user preference configurable
#define
s should not be placed at the keyboard level - default values should not be redefined, such as
DEBOUNCE
, RGB related settings, etc.- feature specific documentation contains most default values
grep
or alternative tool can be used to search for default values in core directories (e.g.grep -r "define DEBOUNCE" quantum
)
- no copy/pasted comment blocks explaining a feature and/or its caveats -- this is what the docs are for
Force NKRO to be enabled ... toggled again during a power-up
- commented-out unused defines, such as RGB effects
- no
#include "config_common.h
- no
#define MATRIX_ROWS/COLS
, unless necessary (e.g. a keyboard with a custom matrix) - bare minimum required code for a board to boot into QMK should be present
- initialisation code for the matrix and critical devices
- mirroring existing functionality of a commercial board (like custom keycodes and special animations etc.) should be handled through non-
default
keymaps
- Vial-related files or changes will not be accepted, as they are not used by QMK firmware (no Vial-specific core code has been submitted or merged)
- no
<keyboard>.c
- empty
xxxx_xxxx_kb()
,xxxx_xxxx_user()
, or other weak-defined default implemented functions removed - commented-out functions removed too
matrix_init_board()
etc. migrated tokeyboard_pre_init_kb()
, see: keyboard_pre_init*- prefer
CUSTOM_MATRIX = lite
if custom matrix used, allows for standard debounce, see custom matrix 'lite' - prefer LED indicator Configuration Options to custom
led_update_*()
implementations where possible - hardware that's enabled at the keyboard level and requires configuration such as OLED displays or encoders should have basic functionality implemented here
- empty
<keyboard>.h
#include "quantum.h"
appears at the topLAYOUT
macros are no longer accepted and should instead be moved toinfo.json
- keymap
config.h
- no duplication of
rules.mk
orconfig.h
from keyboard
- no duplication of
keymaps/default/keymap.c
QMKBEST
/QMKURL
example macros removed- if using
MO(1)
andMO(2)
keycodes together to access a third layer, the Tri Layer feature should be used, rather than manually implementing this usinglayer_on/off()
andupdate_tri_layer()
functions in the keymap'sprocess_record_user()
.
- default (and via) keymaps should be "pristine"
- bare minimum to be used as a "clean slate" for another user to develop their own user-specific keymap
- what does pristine mean? no custom keycodes. no advanced features like tap dance or macros. basic mod taps and home row mods would be acceptable where their use is necessary
- standard layouts preferred in these keymaps, if possible
- should use encoder map feature, rather than
encoder_update_user()
- default keymap should not enable VIA -- the VIA integration documentation requires a keymap called
via
- submitters can add an example (or bells-and-whistles) keymap showcasing capabilities in the same PR but it shouldn't be embedded in the 'default' keymap
- submitters can also have a "manufacturer-matching" keymap that mirrors existing functionality of the commercial product, if porting an existing board
- Do not include VIA json files in the PR. These do not belong in the QMK repository as they are not used by QMK firmware -- they belong in the VIA Keyboard Repo
- Do not include KLE json files in the PR. These have no use within QMK.
- Do not include source files from another keyboard or vendors keyboard folder. Including core files is fine.
- For instance, only
wilba_tech
boards shall includekeyboards/wilba_tech/wt_main.c
andkeyboards/wilba_tech/wt_rgb_backlight.c
. But includingdrivers/sensors/pmw3360.c
is absolutely fine for any and all boards that require it. - Code that needs to be used by multiple boards is a candidate for core code changes, and should be separated out.
- For instance, only
Also, specific to ChibiOS:
- strong preference to using existing ChibiOS board definitions.
- a lot of the time, an equivalent Nucleo board can be used with a different flash size or slightly different model in the same family
- example: For an STM32L082KZ, given the similarity to an STM32L073RZ, you can use
BOARD = ST_NUCLEO64_L073RZ
in rules.mk
- example: For an STM32L082KZ, given the similarity to an STM32L073RZ, you can use
- QMK is migrating to not having custom board definitions if at all possible, due to the ongoing maintenance burden when upgrading ChibiOS
- a lot of the time, an equivalent Nucleo board can be used with a different flash size or slightly different model in the same family
- New board definitions must not be embedded in a keyboard PR
- See Core PRs below for the procedure for adding a new board to QMK
- if a board definition is unavoidable,
board.c
must have a standard__early_init()
(as per normal ChibiOS board defs) and an emptyboardInit()
:- see Arm/ChibiOS early initialization
__early_init()
should be replaced by eitherearly_hardware_init_pre()
orearly_hardware_init_post()
as appropriateboardInit()
should be migrated toboard_init()
- all core PRs must now target
develop
branch, which will subsequently be merged back tomaster
on the breaking changes timeline - as indicated above, the smallest set of changes to core components should be included in each PR
- PRs containing multiple areas of change will be asked to be split up and raised separately
- keyboard and keymap changes should only be included if they affect base keyboard builds, or the default-like
default
,via
,default_????
keymaps etc.- keymap modifications for anything other than the default-like keymaps should not be included in the initial PR in order to simplify the review process
- the core PR submitter should submit a followup PR affecting other keymaps after initial PR merge
- large-scale refactoring or consolidation PRs that affect other keymaps (such as renaming keycodes) should always be raised separately
- any new boards adding support for new hardware now requires a corresponding test board under
keyboards/handwired/onekey
- for new MCUs, a new "child" keyboard should be added that targets your newly-added MCU, so that builds can be verified
- for new hardware support such as display panels, core-side matrix implementations, or other peripherals, an associated keymap should be provided
- if an existing keymap exists that can leverage this functionality this may not be required (e.g. a new RGB driver chip, supported by the
rgb
keymap) -- consult with the QMK Collaborators on Discord to determine if there is sufficient overlap already
- any features adding
_kb
/_user
callbacks must return abool
, to allow for user override of keyboard-level callbacks. - where relevant, unit tests are strongly recommended -- they boost the confidence level that changes behave correctly
- critical areas of the code -- such as the keycode handling pipeline -- will almost certainly require unit tests accompanying them to ensure current and future correctness
- you should not be surprised if a QMK collaborator requests unit tests to be included in your PR if it's critical functionality
- other requirements are at the discretion of QMK collaborators
- core is a lot more subjective given the breadth of posted changes
For when people use their own master
branch, post this after merge:
For future reference, we recommend against committing to your `master` branch as you've done here, because pull requests from modified `master` branches can make it more difficult to keep your QMK fork updated. It is highly recommended for QMK development – regardless of what is being done or where – to keep your master updated, but **NEVER** commit to it. Instead, do all your changes in a branch (branches are basically free in Git) and issue PRs from your branches when you're developing.
There are instructions on how to keep your fork updated here:
[**Best Practices: Your Fork's Master: Update Often, Commit Never**](https://docs.qmk.fm/#/newbs_git_using_your_master_branch)
[Fixing Your Branch](https://docs.qmk.fm/#/newbs_git_resynchronize_a_branch) will walk you through fixing up your `master` branch moving forward. If you need any help with this just ask.
Thanks for contributing!
In general, we want to see two (or more) approvals that are meaningful (e.g. that have inspected code) before a PR will be considered for merge. These reviews are not limited to collaborators -- any community member willing to put in the time is welcomed (and encouraged). The only difference is that your checkmark won't be green, and that's fine!
Additionally, PR reviews are something that is done in our free time. We are not paid nor compensated for the time we spend reviewing, as it is a labor of love. As such, this means that it can take time for us to get to your Pull Request. Things like family, or life can get in the way of us getting to PRs, and burnout is a serious concern. The QMK firmware repository averages 200 PRs opened and 200 PRs merged every month, so please have patience.
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