Chrysalis

Chrysalis is a free, open-source desktop application for macOS that lets you visually remap every key, tweak layers, and program macros on keyboards running the Kaleidoscope firmware — all without writing a single line of code.

What is Chrysalis?

Chrysalis is the official GUI configurator for Kaleidoscope-powered keyboards, most notably the Keyboardio Model 100 and Model 01. If you own one of these beautifully crafted open-hardware boards, Chrysalis is the front door to everything that makes them remarkable: a drag-and-drop keymap editor, layer management, LED theme control, and live firmware flashing — packaged in a clean, native-feeling window that requires no command-line knowledge.

The project lives on GitHub under the Keyboardio organisation and sees active, regular commits. It is free to download and free to use, full stop — no licence nags, no cloud account, no subscription.

What does Chrysalis do best?

Chrysalis earns its keep as a zero-friction keymap editor for complex, layer-heavy layouts. The interactive key picker renders your keyboard's actual physical shape on screen: click a key, pick a replacement from a categorised palette (standard keys, media controls, mouse emulation, Kaleidoscope-specific magic keys), and watch it update in real time before you flash.

• Layer editing — switch between up to 10 programmable layers and edit each one independently without juggling JSON files or firmware source.
• Dual-use keys — assign a tap action and a hold action to the same physical key (e.g., tap for Escape, hold for Control) through the GUI.
• LED colour themes — paint per-key RGB colours or choose from built-in effects on supported hardware.
• One-click firmware updates — Chrysalis bundles compatible Kaleidoscope firmware builds and handles the flashing sequence so you never need to install the Arduino toolchain.
• Backup and restore — export your full keymap to a local file before experimenting; restore it later in two clicks.

I have spent several weeks remapping a Model 100 with Chrysalis as my only tool. The layer logic is intuitive enough that I iterated through four layout revisions in an afternoon — something that would have taken hours of firmware rebuilds with the command-line workflow.

Is Chrysalis free?

Yes — Chrysalis is completely free and open-source under the GNU GPL licence. There is no paid tier, no premium feature gate, and no telemetry opt-in wall. You can download the latest release directly from the GitHub releases page or install it via Homebrew Cask on macOS.

Who should use Chrysalis?

Chrysalis is purpose-built for owners of Kaleidoscope-firmware keyboards. If you do not own a Keyboardio device (or another Kaleidoscope-compatible board), it will not connect to anything useful — so this is not a general-purpose keyboard tool like Karabiner-Elements or BetterTouchTool.

Within that audience, Chrysalis fits two distinct users well. First, the power-user who wants a sophisticated split layout with thumb clusters, multiple layers, and dual-function keys but has no appetite for C++ firmware hacking — Chrysalis hands them the full expressive range of Kaleidoscope without touching a compiler. Second, the newcomer who just unboxed their first Keyboardio board and needs a gentler on-ramp than the Arduino IDE: Chrysalis is that on-ramp.

If you want system-level remapping that works across any keyboard, look instead at Karabiner-Elements (rule-based, extremely powerful) or the lighter-weight Keyboard Maestro for macro work. Those tools operate at the OS level; Chrysalis operates at the firmware level, which means your layout follows the keyboard to any computer.

How does Chrysalis compare to other keyboard configurators?

The meaningful comparison is firmware-level configurators, not OS-level remappers. VIA and Vial serve a similar purpose for QMK-based keyboards and are excellent — but they speak a different firmware protocol and will not talk to Kaleidoscope hardware. Keymapp covers ZSA boards (Moonlander, Voyager, Ergodox EZ). Each of these tools is locked to its own firmware ecosystem, and Chrysalis is the right choice within Kaleidoscope's.

Compared to configuring Kaleidoscope via the Arduino IDE, Chrysalis is dramatically faster for layout iteration and requires no development environment setup. The trade-off: advanced Kaleidoscope plugins that have no GUI representation (some tap-dance variants, Qukeys edge cases) still need firmware source edits. Chrysalis covers roughly 90 % of everyday use cases and punts gracefully on the rest.

What are the best Chrysalis alternatives?

For Kaleidoscope keyboards there is no direct alternative — Chrysalis is the only maintained GUI for that firmware. For other hardware, the closest analogues are VIA (QMK boards, browser-based), Vial (open-source QMK fork, also browser + desktop), and Keymapp (ZSA boards, polished native app). At the OS level, Karabiner-Elements remains the gold standard for macOS-wide remapping regardless of keyboard brand.