One Handed Keyboard
29 comments
·November 15, 2025mechanicum
zero0529
Okay I must say, the production quality of that video is insane.
scatbot
From the submission title I expected some kind of chorded keyboard. This is just a tiny regular keyboard. What a bummer.
This reminds me how I once spend months trying to track down a Frogpad for a cyberpunk-inspired wearable computing project. I found one on eBay but got outbid at the last second. It still hurts a little.
attila-lendvai
i believe that a crucial feature of good keyboards is that your wrist is stationary. this enables a better form of "muscle memory".
i've been using such a keyboard for two decades.
othomp
Matias has a neat one-handed keyboard. It's quite expensive for what it is, especially considering these days where it's so easy to get a keyboard with remappable keys. There's a simulator on the sidebar at the link, and IMO it's quite intuitive.
eloeffler
Just leaving some links here because I had been researching this intensively before a planned shoulder surgery:
(Definitely adding this to my list)
Frogpad: German language one handed keyboard. Unfortunately discontinued http://frogpad.com/
Mirrorboard (my favorite): Intruiging mirror solution that builds upon the assumption that it is easier to access muscle memory from the other hand when you've learned it before https://blog.xkcd.com/2007/08/14/mirrorboard-a-one-handed-ke...
Mistel Barocco fully split Keyboard: Can (and unfortunately must) be programmed without software. Right half is the main keyboard. Left side connects to it, works also in standalone mode but is not programmable then. https://mistelkeyboard.com/products/bd20945a731491407807e80d...
stray
I lost the use of my right hand in '06.
It's amazing how quickly you adapt. I have to put my mouse to the left of my keyboard and whereas before I was a touch typist, I now have to look.
And I can use a standard keyboard without undue hassle.
Symbiote
I was maintaining [1] which might be useful to you, but it's become outdated. It doesn't have a filter for one handed keyboards, but some of the "two halves" ones might be appropriate.
(If someone is interested in taking the site over and bringing it up to date, please open an issue.)
swannodette
Some research on this topic http://edgarmatias.com/papers/hci96/
On OS X you can achieve this with Keyb, Karabiner Elements, etc. It's also easy to do with a programmable keyboard with ZMK/QMK. I've set up my Kinesis 360 Pro this way, being symmetrical means I can access every key easily. Hardware support for sticky keys also helps quite a bit.
GlumWoodpecker
Just being pedantic and off-topic here, but macOS hasn't been called OS X for nearly ten years:
binaryturtle
Some of us still use OS X and haven't made the unnecessary switch to any of the macOS that followed it. :)
larusso
The mirror board is an interesting idea as it allows to start with a normal keyboard and one could then switch to a smaller board with the muscle memory trained. I would prefer a different switch key though. I use cap lock as a layer switch on my keyboards. But I will think about it and try out a few things. It could already be useful in situation where I need to keep my hand over the mousepad.
pimlottc
Twiddler is an older design from the first wave of wearable computers, there are newer revisions that are still being sold afaik
znpy
The frogpad is most likely the best one. So sad to see it’s been discontinued.
ok_craig
About 20 years ago I wrote a little program to turn my own standard keyboard into something I could type on one hand with. It's basically just T9, with every basic letter key bound to two letters instead of one. (The mirror counterpart from the other side of the keyboard.)
It's a shit demo from college and I always wanted to share the concept but never made it presentable.
keyle
I'm trying to understand why this isn't a thing already. It seems there would be a market for it; when you consider all the different keyboards shapes and sizes...
jimlikeslimes
Check out chorded keyboards. They've been a thing for a very long time. At least since early 00s or 90s when I saw them first. They are held one handed have 5 keys and you get different letters by chording multiple keys together.
clort
first consumer device I ever saw was the Microwriter, back in the 1980's .. but court stenographers have been using chorded keyboards for a century or more
Symbiote
A UK company had produced them for decades, which probably serves most injured non-geek users.
https://www.maltron.com/store/p19/Maltron_Single_Hand_Keyboa...
victorbjorklund
You can just buy a split keyboard and put all the keys on layers on one side.
ekjhgkejhgk
"Hi, would you like some RSI?"
"Yes, just the one thank you."
block_dagger
This already happened to me because of mouse usage. I’ve longed for a keyboard like this so I cam rest my right arm/hand which has significant damage and pain.
rnentjes
I am using this mouse because of that, and it works for me:
https://www.contourdesign.com/collection/contour-slidermouse
hsbauauvhabzb
Iirc this keyboard was custom made for a user that only has one hand. A layered design would be better but harder for the average user to adapt to.
Their video on YouTube, in English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vW12gQ4Klc