Keychron is building an open-source gaming mouse firmware called ZGM

Q: How does ZGM's modular architecture handle sensors, buttons, scroll wheels, and lighting?

ZGM uses a modular architecture where sensors, buttons, scroll wheels, and lighting drivers are implemented as decoupled layers. Those layers can be swapped or extended without rewriting the firmware, enabling support for multiple hardware variants and making the firmware potentially usable on hardware beyond Keychron’s own products.

Q: How is Keychron involving the community in ZGM's development process?

Keychron is handling ZGM development publicly on GitHub, where the repository and project scaffolding are available for the community to view. The project is being shaped by community feedback, and the firmware is published under the GPL 3.0 license to allow remixing, repackaging, and redistribution.

Built on Zephyr RTOS with a modular architecture, ZGM is published under GPL 3.0 and designed to support hardware beyond Keychron's own products.

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Hassam Nasir

Tech Reporter

Published Jul 31, 2026 3:10 PM CDT

1 minute & 30 seconds read time

TL;DR: Keychron announced ZGM, an open-source gaming mouse firmware built on Zephyr RTOS with a modular architecture. Released under GPL 3.0, it targets low-latency wired and wireless input, aims to support varied hardware beyond Keychron, and will debut on the G6 HE in Q1 2027 with public GitHub development.

Voice: Hassam NasirSpeed

0:00 / 2:43

Keychron has announced ZGM, an open-source gaming mouse firmware project that aims to do for mice what QMK and ZMK did for mechanical keyboards by turning closed hardware into something enthusiasts can actually tinker with. The company plans to launch ZGM in Q1 2027, with its upcoming G6 HE wireless gaming mouse set to be the first product to ship with the firmware.

"Every gaming mouse on the market runs firmware you can't read, can't audit, can't change," Keychron wrote in its announcement on X. "So we built it ourselves." Gaming mice have historically been black boxes, with sensor tuning, polling behaviour, and click processing all locked behind manufacturer firmware that users have no way to inspect or modify.

ZGM is built on Zephyr RTOS, the same real-time operating system that underpins ZMK, a popular open-source keyboard firmware. The architecture is designed to be modular, meaning sensors, buttons, scroll wheels, and lighting drivers are decoupled layers that can be swapped or extended without rewriting the firmware from scratch.

This should allow it to support multiple hardware variants and, in theory, make it usable on hardware beyond Keychron's own products. The firmware is published on GitHub under the GPL 3.0 license, which permits remixing, repackaging, and redistribution, including for commercial use.

Keychron is building an open-source gaming mouse firmware called ZGM 1

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In terms of performance, ZGM is being built with low-latency input processing in mind and will support both wired and wireless mice. For those who want to keep an eye on the project, the GitHub repository is still in its early setup phase, containing project scaffolding and policy files rather than finished firmware. The development process is being handled publicly, with the project also being shaped by community feedback.

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Question #1

On which RTOS is ZGM built and how does that relate to existing keyboard firmware?

ZGM is built on the Zephyr RTOS. This is the same real-time operating system that underpins ZMK, a popular open-source keyboard firmware, and Keychron already uses QMK and ZMK for its keyboards, so ZGM should provide a shared foundation and more unified firmware language across Keychron mice and keyboards.

Answered

Question #2

How does ZGM's modular architecture handle sensors, buttons, scroll wheels, and lighting?

Question #3

How is Keychron involving the community in ZGM's development process?

Have a question not listed here? Ask below and TweakBot will answer it.

That said, Keychron already has a strong open-source foundation. The company uses QMK and ZMK for its keyboards, publishes 3D blueprints for its hardware, and runs an Open Source Design Project. Bringing that same philosophy to gaming mice feels like a natural next step, especially in a category that still lacks an established open-source firmware ecosystem. It would also give users a unified language across their Keychron mouse and keyboard.