MX Keys on Linux
What OpenLogi does with a Logitech MX Keys, MX Keys S or MX Keys Mini on Linux: battery, device details, key remapping, and what is not supported yet.
MX Keys, MX Keys S, MX Keys Mini
The MX Keys family works as a normal keyboard on Linux without any software. What is missing without Options+ is everything Logitech layers on top: battery level, remapping the function-row keys, and backlight settings. OpenLogi covers part of that over HID++.
Connections
MX Keys keyboards connect over a Logitech receiver (Unifying or Bolt, depending on the model) or Bluetooth. OpenLogi reaches both the same way: it finds the keyboard's HID++ endpoint by its report-descriptor shape, not by product id.
What works today
Battery and device details. Charge level, charging state, model name, firmware version and serial number, read from the keyboard.
Remapping keys the firmware allows. Keyboards list their reprogrammable
keys through the same HID++ feature as mice (0x1B04). OpenLogi shows each
one that is marked divertable — typically function-row keys — and lets you bind
it to a keystroke, a media key, a shell command, a URL or a workspace action.
Which keys qualify is decided by the keyboard's firmware, and keyboards
generally expose fewer than mice.
The probe shows the list for your unit:
./target/release/logi-probe
What does not work yet
| Feature | HID++ | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Backlight brightness and timeout | 0x1982 | Not implemented |
| Fn-lock toggle | — | Not implemented |
| Easy-Switch host selection | 0x1814 | Not implemented |
| Per-application profiles | — | Designed, not implemented |
Using it with Solaar
Solaar can run at the same time as OpenLogi, and offers keyboard settings OpenLogi does not have yet. It is also the way to pair the keyboard with a receiver, which OpenLogi does not do. See Compared with Solaar and logiops.
Install
OpenLogi is built from source for now; see Installation for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Arch. If the keyboard does not show up, Troubleshooting covers the usual causes.