🧿Top Questions About TailorKey
Last updated november 29, 2025

Capabilities

Glorious Engrammer difference?

TailorKey is heavily inspired by Sunaku’s Glorious Engrammer (GE)—all credit for the design goes to Sunaku!
Rather than relying on custom code, it’s recreated in the GUI to be easy to understand, adjust, and use—accessible for beginners and powerful enough for pros.

Key Differences:

• • Zero-code vs Custom Code: GE relies on Custom Defined Behaviors (code).
    TailorKey rebuilds many of its best concepts using only the GUI—easy to understand, modify, and use.

  • Ready-to-use features: Home-Row Modifiers, Autoshift, Symbol, Cursor, Mouse, and Gaming layers—all work out of the box. Default QWERTY layout, easily swapped to other layouts. Dual-OS support included for both macOS and Windows.

  • What’s not included (and not will be): World & Emoji layers (OS already provides this), Function key & Number layers (optional to add).

    • What you can add: sticky_key_modtap (oneshot shift)

    • Enhium alpha layer?  Included in the alphaswap tool on the 'Get it now' page

In short: TailorKey gives you the power and ideas of Glorious Engrammer, but in a zero-code, beginner-friendly, and fully customizable layout. You can use it as-is or tailor every detail to your workflow.  
📌 For more details, see: What is the difference between Custom and Native Behaviors
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What is Bilateral HRM?

Home-row modifiers (Ctrl, Shift, Alt) only “work” when pressed with a key from the opposite hand. It’s like teamwork for your fingers—typing becomes smoother, more comfortable, and less mistakes!
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Why the finger layers?

This is required to support Bilateral HRM and is explained in detail on the Glove80 and Go60 pages.
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Curious about the latest updates?

Check the update history to see a full log of all changes.
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Only interested in certain parts?

A: Simply copy the layers you need. Check out this video for guidance.
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Why modifiers on the thumb?

TailorKey places modifiers on the home row for convenience. The thumb modifiers are optional—you can keep them as they are, use the default MoErgo layout, or customize them to whatever you prefer.
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Windows & MacOS—advice?

When setting up a dual-OS keyboard layout, you’ve got two solid paths to choose from:

1) Separate layers for each OS

Create dedicated layers—one for Windows, one for macOS—and flip between them as needed. This mirrors how the TailorKey Dual-OS layout works and keeps each system’s shortcuts perfectly intact. To automatically switch layer, when switching bluetooth profle, see this Discord post.
There’s no TK Bilateral version for this approach, since it would require duplicating every layer.

2) Make both OSes play nicely together

macOS lets you remap modifier keys per external keyboard, which means you can tune your modifiers to match Windows shortcuts. Once set up, your keyboard will feel almost identical across both systems without constantly switching layers.  See the Apple how-to here.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

My keys feel laggy with HRM?

The Issue: You press a key, but the letter appears on screen a split-second later.
The Cause: This is usually the "Home-Row Mods" logic at work. The keyboard waits a tiny fraction of a second to decide if you are tapping (typing a letter) or holding (using Shift/Ctrl). Home-row mods function based on a tap-vs-hold decision, which inherently introduces a slight delay. This small latency is normal and unavoidable. Sunaku’s default settings are optimized for most users, providing smooth typing out of the box.

Troubleshooting Steps:

1. Check Bluetooth: Plug in via USB. If the lag vanishes, it is a Bluetooth issue.

2. Test Typing Mode: Turn off Home-Row Mods by pressing [Magic] + [=] on Glove80. If it feels snappy again, the "lag" is just the normal processing time.

3. Check your Computer: Sometimes USB 3.0 ports or OS power-saving settings cause input lag. Try a USB 2.0 port and/or another PC.
   
   When it comes to HRM, a one-size-fits-all set of settings just doesn’t exist. The ZMK HRM Best Practice Values provides best practice configuration options to fine-tune key hold timings, activation thresholds, and ergonomic adjustments for optimal performance.
   
   

💡Tuning Resources

• Advanced HRM Tuning Table: The HRM Tuning Sheet provides recommended thresholds for each key based on the Sunaku's GE DIFFICULTY_LEVELS
  ⭐ I created a tool to help you change these settings. Export to JSON and import in  this  🔥HRM Tuning Tool.
  
  Tap-preferred flavor assumes a tap by default, so ZMK waits before activating the hold behavior. This waiting time causes the modifier to feel delayed, which users describe as “lag.”

Balanced flavor tries to decide earlier based on key timing and other key presses. Because of this, modifiers activate faster and feel more responsive. The trade-off is that balanced can sometimes trigger a modifier accidentally.

🎉 Some reported that changing Flavor to Balanced solved it for them. You can use the 🔥HRM Tuning Tool.
Sunaku: "Urob uses the balanced flavor (which can short-circuit the required holding time if you type a certain way) whereas I use tap-preferred (which is always time-based and cannot be short-circuited) and have additional special handling for home row shifts (which is useful for CamelCase)."

• Expert Tuning: David (@dsifry) created a Python HRM tuner that analyzes your real-world typing behavior to measure per-key tap and hold times and generates personalized HRM threshold
  I

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Windows error when copy .uf2 file?

Don’t worry! This error happens because the MoErgo keyboard restarts very quickly after updating the layout.
Windows sometimes misses the completion signal and shows an error.

The layout has been copied successfully, and your keyboard will work normally.

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Go60: key delay after touchpad use

In TailorKey, touching the touchpad automatically turns on the mouse layer for 2 seconds (2000 ms). While the mouse layer is active, you can move the cursor by holding Warp, Slow, or any other key from the mouse layer. The mouse layer can also be turned on manually using the right thumb key.

Because the mouse layer remains active after touchpad use, normal typing is delayed for 2 seconds. (2000 ms)

How to change or disable this behavior

• Click the touchpad

• Adjust the mouse layer settings:

  • Remove or reduce the 2000 ms delay, and/or remove the mouse layer activation entirely.

If you have suggestions on how this behavior or documentation could be improved, feel free to let me know. @moosy

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Wrong Symbols when on non-US

If you change the country/language in the Layout Editor, you may notice that your Symbol Layer no longer matches the original.

Why this happens:
TailorKey is designed for the en-US keyboard layout. Keyboards send key positions, not characters. Your operating system determines which symbols appear based on the keyboard layout.

For example, if your computer is set to a German layout, many symbols may appear in unexpected locations.

How to fix it:

1. Set both the Layout Editor and your OS keyboard layout to US

2. Manually adjust the Symbol Layer - You can search the catalog for a adjusted symbol layer and copy a layer to fix mismatched symbols.

3. Consider using an alternative OS layout such as EURkey, which may better match your locale.

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Bksp and Space key won't repeat?

The Issue: Holding Backspace doesn't delete multiple characters; holding Space doesn't make a long gap.
The Cause: This is a feature! In TailorKey, holding Space or Backspace activates a Layer (like Symbols or Cursor Layer).

How to repeat keys:

• Backspace: Tap it once quickly, release, then immediately hold it down. Alternatively, use Backspace on the Cursor layer (R).

• Space: Activate the Symbol Layer (Hold Space). The Space key on that layer (L) will repeat normally.
  
  

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Using App/Window Switcher?

Press the two left thumb keys together and use the arrow keys on the right side of the home row to navigate between open applications or windows.
How this works: Mod-Tap macro is activated from the Cursor layer / Combo.  For Glove80, see the shortcut page. This text should be improved for Go60.

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Layer Tuning (Cursor/Symbol)?

Difficulty with Cursor or Symbol layer when held?
If the thumb keys feel "sticky" or don't activate fast enough, you need to adjust the timing. You can change these hold-tap values in your Layout Editor for &space and/or &thumb.  Also see the TailorKey tuning sheet with best practise values from Sunaku's Glorious Engrammer for &thumb and &space.

Tips & Tweaks

How do I switch layers?

Short answer: You usually don't. TailorKey is designed around momentary layers—you hold a key to access the layer, and release to go back. This builds muscle memory faster and does not confuse users.

Exceptions: The Gaming, Typing, and OS layers can be toggled permanently using the Magic Layer.

Visual Aid: If you enable RGB (PR36), the keys will change color (e.g., Yellow for Autoshift) to show you which mode you are in.
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I need an AltGr key?

You have multiple options to add an AltGr key:

1. Combo Method: Create a combo (e.g., pressing W + S together) that acts as RALT.

2. The "Sticky" Method: Add &sk RALT (Sticky Right Alt) to your base layer. Tap it once, and your next keypress will have RALT applied.

3. Add a hold-tap

4. Add a normal &kp key

If you prefer a US keyboard layout —and just need quick access to European characters—EUR Key might be something for you.
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Layers switch on Bluetooth?

See this Discord post
Example Summary: You can assign macro to a key that executes &bt BT_SEL 0 followed by a &to [Layer Number] command to ensure your layout matches the connected device (e.g., switching to your macOS layer when connecting to Bluetooth Profile 1).

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Per-Key/Layer RGB Lighting

See the howto guide

Interesting thumb issue from GE user:

answer from Sunaku:
Make the LeftMiddy layer's thumb key a &mo LAYER_Cursor instead of &trans to avoid additional hold-tap timing requirements
https://discord.com/channels/877392805654306816/1438453055421939856/1460664315265945603