Hotswap
Ergonomic
Mechanical
Super compact
Until you see an Atreus in person, it's hard to comprehend just how compact it is. But don't let that tiny package fool you. This is a real mechanical keyboard, with full-travel keyswitches mounted in an anodized aluminum plate and the same generous 19mm key spacing you'll find on a traditional desktop keyboard. Inside, it's powered by the same chip that's inside an Arduino Leonardo. It's completely customizable and comes with firmware source code, as well as a graphical configuration tool.
Hotswap
Ergonomic
Mechanical
Super compact
Couldn't load pickup availability
Speed Copper Tactile
Kailh Speed Copper switches have an early actuation point and a nice tactile feel.
BOX White Clicky
Kailh BOX White switches make a satisfying click when you press them. Don't get these if you work in an open-plan office.
BOX Silent Linear
Kailh BOX Silent Linear switches are whisper-silent with a smooth keypress. They're great for gaming and steno.
No switches
If you love the Atreus form-factor, but want to install your own MX-mount switches and have a favorite keycap set already picked out, this is the choice for you. This keyboard comes with no switches or keycaps.
Kailh Speed Bronze
These 50g switches are lightweight, tactile, and clicky. All "Speed" switches feature an early actuation point, which means that your computer notices your presses sooner.
Kailh Noble Yellow Switches
These heavier 65g tactile, clicky switches are incredibly satisfying to press, but aren't dead silent.
The standard keycaps shipped with the Keyboardio Atreus are black, laser-engraved keys in the XDA profile. They're made out of PBT, a high-quality plastic beloved by keyboard enthusiasts for their resilience. The standard F and J keys installed on the keyboard include homing bars, but we also include extra F and J keys without homing bars with each Atreus.
The firmware powering all our keyboards, Kaleidoscope, is open source and freely available on Github. If you want to build complex macros, add in joystick emulation, change how the Atreus speaks USB, or make keys do things we haven't thought of yet, Kaleidoscope is where you'd start.
Kaleidoscope is incredibly powerful, but we've done our best to make it newbie-friendly. We built it on top of the Arduino core, to make it easy for folks who aren't familiar with embedded development or C++ to be able to do amazing things. At the same time, you're not restricted to the Arduino IDE when working with it. If vi or Emacs is your weapon of choice, everything's set up to build from the command line using standard tooling.
Kaleidoscope supports all the things you'd expect, like layouts stored in EEPROM, serial communications, full NKRO, mousekeys, and crazy USB tricks. Most new features can be added to Kaleidoscope as plugins, of which we have many already.
QMK, another popular open-source keyboard firmware also fully supports the Keyboardio Atreus.
Unless you're buying the 'barebones' model which comes with neither switches nor keycaps, your atreus comes fully assembled with your choice of several different kinds of switches.
All of our switches are made by Kailh, one of the best switch makers in the world. Kailh rates all of these switches for at least 70 million keypresses.
The Keyboardio Atreus features hot-swap sockets designed to let you remove the switches with a standard keyswitch puller (not included) and replace them with just about any MX-style switch, no soldering or disassembly required.
Very. At just 24.3 x 10 x 2.8cm (9.6 x 3.9 x 1.1 inches), it's easy to bring your keyboard with you everywhere.
To get a better sense of just how compact the Keyboardio Atreus is, you can print out this PDF:
Downloadable papercraft Keyboardio Atreus
(Make sure your computer is set to print things at actual size, rather than shrinking or stretching them to fit on a sheet of paper. It should fit on a standard sheet of A4 or letter / 8.5"x11" paper.)
Thanks to its customizable layout and layers (that work just like your laptop's "function" key, but better), the Atreus can fit far more than 104 keys of functionality in to just 44 keys. Read an introduction to the Atreus layout.
Until you see an Atreus in person, it's hard to comprehend just how compact it is. But don't let that tiny package fool you. This is a real mechanical keyboard, with full-travel keyswitches mounted in an anodized aluminum plate and the same generous 19mm key spacing you'll find on a traditional desktop keyboard. It connects to your computer or tablet over USB.
The Atreus’ layout puts all the keys in columns aligned to your fingers, so you never need to stretch or twist to reach a key. The keys are the same size as on a regular desktop keyboard, but they're laid out in a much more compact way that matches how your hands work. Everything you need is easy to reach.
The Keyboardio Atreus fits all the same functionality of a 104 key Keyboard into just 44 keys. The secret? Layers. With up to nine customizable layers available, you have access to every key you need (and then some), and can assign them where you want them.
With uniform DSA keycaps, you can customize your Atreus' physical layout just by popping off the keycaps and rearranging them.
From there, just open up Chrysalis, our free online configuration tool and tell the keyboard where you want each key. Dvorak, Colemak, or the layout that you just invented are all just moments away.
So…Is the Keyboardio Atreus your type?
I started using my Atreus maybe 2 years ago, and I am so used to it, that actually I barely can work on normal keyboard/laptops anymore. I work as a software developer, so I use it ~8 hours/day or even more.
I am using a custom colemak layout. Configuring the key is easy and well documented.
I tried out different ortholinear or even split keyboards, but Atreus is still my favourite. I am actually planning to buy another one for backup, because I honestly cannot type anymore on other keyboards or laptops.
The angle at which the columns are layed, the distance between the buttons, the size of the keyboard, and the layout of the buttons are just perfect. Again, I tried many other brands, and it was disappointing how easily a typing experience can be ruined if any of those properties does not fit.
I also like its small size, I travel a lot and I can easily take it with myself. Actually I like it better then some split keyboards. In theory split keyboards is easier to carry, but in practice it is much better to have a single, solid body keyboard without extra cables.
The number of keys are perfect for me, I don't even use the lower 2-2 buttons on the edges. Not having an extra upper row is really beneficial, it forced me to put the numbers on an extra layer, where I could configure them to have the same layout as a numeric pad, (3x3 layout), which is more ergonomic and straightforward then the usual single row layout on keyboards.
Only thing I could improve maybe is a…
I ordered the Atreus configured as follows:
- Qwerty keycaps
- Maple palmrest
- Kailh Box White switches
- Travel case
Currently I still run default layout as it comes in the box with one modification. I swapped the space and backspace keys. It turned out I am very much a left thumb spacer.
My initial impression were very mixed. Build quality and everything is very nice. The device looks clean, has some decent weight to it and it feels sturdy. Also the palm rest, I instantly was very happy I added it to my order.
But usage wise it does have a steep learning curve. What it most of all did was tell me what bad typing habits I learned over the years. And I really had to do some deliberate training to adjust to this keyboard. A nice side effect is that my typing technique on standard Qwerty layout has drastically improved as well.
I looked into learning an alternative typing layout called Colemak, but after some initial trials I felt I would be better of sticking with standard Qwerty to keep decent interoperability when this thing is not around.
Typing wise it looks and sounds like you expect from a mechanical keyboard. It is loud, especially with the clicky box white switches I have on it. I did experiment with a number of other switches. I tried Cherry browns and Kailh Speed Copper. But on the Atreus I was really missing the clicks with the browns and the speed switches were just too sensitive. Just laying down a finger would register a keypress and I did not like it at…
I use the Atreus all the time. Funnily enough, even though the layout is very different from my laptop, I have no problem switching muscle memory between the keyboards. I think that comes down to the feel of the keys—my hands know what they’re about because the keys feel different.
The keyboard is also pretty durable. I haven’t really abused it or anything, but I also certainly haven’t babied it. I toss it into my backpack all the time when I bike to the coffee shop to get out of the house. Every once in a while a key will pop off and I have to fish around in my backpack to find it, but it goes right back on.
Absolutely no complaints.
I've had this for 3 years now and it's great, no more pain in my pinkies and up the sides of my wrists from reaching for keys off to the sides of the keyboard, my thumbs can do that work. I find it a lot more comfortable with a wrist rest. I got the speed copper switches and I really like them.
Good structure, working without problem, just nice all around. I have 2. One quit keys for work, and one clicky for home. Software is good, home grown. Updates to software are somewhat slow.
I wish they would made v2, the same keyboard but only 1. Split 2. More Thumb keys and in more angle for the thumbs.
