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Converters

This page documents the automated process for converting keyboards to use drop-in replacement controllers. This process is designed to be easy to use and can be completed in a few simple steps.

Supported Converters

The following converters are available at this time:

From	To
`promicro`	`proton_c`
`promicro`	`kb2040`
`promicro`	`promicro_rp2040`
`promicro`	`blok`
`promicro`	`bit_c_pro`
`promicro`	`stemcell`
`promicro`	`bonsai_c4`
`promicro`	`rp2040_ce`
`promicro`	`elite_pi`
`promicro`	`helios`
`promicro`	`liatris`
`promicro`	`imera`
`promicro`	`michi`
`elite_c`	`stemcell`
`elite_c`	`rp2040_ce`
`elite_c`	`elite_pi`
`elite_c`	`helios`
`elite_c`	`liatris`

Overview

Each converter category is broken down by its declared pin compatibility. This ensures that only valid combinations are attempted. You can generate the firmware by appending -e CONVERT_TO=<target> to your compile/flash command. For example:

qmk flash -c -kb keebio/bdn9/rev1 -km default -e CONVERT_TO=proton_c

You can also add the same CONVERT_TO=<target> to your keymap's rules.mk, which will accomplish the same thing.

::: tip If you get errors about PORTB/DDRB, etc not being defined, you'll need to convert the keyboard's code to use the GPIO Controls that will work for both ARM and AVR. This shouldn't affect the AVR builds at all. :::

Conditional Configuration

Once a converter is enabled, it exposes the CONVERT_TO_<target_uppercase> flag that you can use in your code with #ifdefs, For example:

#ifdef CONVERT_TO_PROTON_C
    // Proton C code
#else
    // Pro Micro code
#endif

Pin Compatibility

To ensure compatibility, provide validation, and enable future workflows, a keyboard should declare its pin compatibility. For legacy reasons, this is currently assumed to be promicro. The following pin compatibility interfaces are currently defined:

Pin Compatibility	Notes
`promicro`	Includes RX/TX LEDs
`elite_c`	Includes bottom row pins, no LEDs

To declare the base for conversions, add this line to your keyboard's rules.mk:

PIN_COMPATIBLE = elite_c

Pro Micro

If a board currently supported in QMK uses a Pro Micro (or compatible board), the supported alternative controllers are:

Device	Target
Proton C	`proton_c`
Adafruit KB2040	`kb2040`
SparkFun Pro Micro - RP2040	`promicro_rp2040`
Blok	`blok`
Bit-C PRO	`bit_c_pro`
STeMCell	`stemcell`
customMK Bonsai C4	`bonsai_c4`
Elite-Pi	`elite_pi`
0xCB Helios	`helios`
Liatris	`liatris`
Imera	`imera`
Michi	`michi`

Converter summary:

Target	Argument	`rules.mk`	Condition
`proton_c`	`-e CONVERT_TO=proton_c`	`CONVERT_TO=proton_c`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_PROTON_C`
`kb2040`	`-e CONVERT_TO=kb2040`	`CONVERT_TO=kb2040`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_KB2040`
`promicro_rp2040`	`-e CONVERT_TO=promicro_rp2040`	`CONVERT_TO=promicro_rp2040`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_PROMICRO_RP2040`
`blok`	`-e CONVERT_TO=blok`	`CONVERT_TO=blok`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_BLOK`
`bit_c_pro`	`-e CONVERT_TO=bit_c_pro`	`CONVERT_TO=bit_c_pro`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_BIT_C_PRO`
`stemcell`	`-e CONVERT_TO=stemcell`	`CONVERT_TO=stemcell`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_STEMCELL`
`bonsai_c4`	`-e CONVERT_TO=bonsai_c4`	`CONVERT_TO=bonsai_c4`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_BONSAI_C4`
`rp2040_ce`	`-e CONVERT_TO=rp2040_ce`	`CONVERT_TO=rp2040_ce`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_RP2040_CE`
`elite_pi`	`-e CONVERT_TO=elite_pi`	`CONVERT_TO=elite_pi`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_ELITE_PI`
`helios`	`-e CONVERT_TO=helios`	`CONVERT_TO=helios`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_HELIOS`
`liatris`	`-e CONVERT_TO=liatris`	`CONVERT_TO=liatris`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_LIATRIS`
`imera`	`-e CONVERT_TO=imera`	`CONVERT_TO=imera`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_IMERA`
`michi`	`-e CONVERT_TO=michi`	`CONVERT_TO=michi`	`#ifdef CONVERT_TO_MICHI`

Proton C

The Proton C only has one on-board LED (C13), and by default, the TXLED (D5) is mapped to it. If you want the RXLED (B0) mapped to it instead, add this line to your config.h:

#define CONVERT_TO_PROTON_C_RXLED

The following defaults are based on what has been implemented for STM32 boards.

Feature	Notes
Audio	Enabled
RGB Lighting	Disabled
Backlight	Forces task driven PWM until ARM can provide automatic configuration
USB Host (e.g. USB-USB converter)	Not supported (USB host code is AVR specific and is not currently supported on ARM)
Split keyboards	Partial - heavily dependent on enabled features

Adafruit KB2040

The following defaults are based on what has been implemented for RP2040 boards.

Feature	Notes
RGB Lighting	Enabled via `PIO` vendor driver
Backlight	Forces task driven PWM until ARM can provide automatic configuration
USB Host (e.g. USB-USB converter)	Not supported (USB host code is AVR specific and is not currently supported on ARM)
Split keyboards	Partial via `PIO` vendor driver - heavily dependent on enabled features

SparkFun Pro Micro - RP2040, Blok, Bit-C PRO and Michi

Feature set is identical to Adafruit KB2040.

STeMCell

Feature set currently identical to Proton C. There are two versions of STeMCell available, with different pinouts:

v1.0.0
v2.0.0 (pre-release v1.0.1, v1.0.2) Default official firmware only supports v2.0.0 STeMCell.

STeMCell has support to swap UART and I2C pins to enable single-wire uart communication in STM chips. The following additional flags has to be used while compiling, based on the pin used for split communication:

Split Pin	Compile flags
D3	-e STMC_US=yes
D2	Not needed
D1	-e STMC_IS=yes
D0	Not needed

Bonsai C4

The Bonsai C4 only has one on-board LED (B2), and by default, both the Pro Micro TXLED (D5) and RXLED (B0) are mapped to it. If you want only one of them mapped, you can undefine one and redefine it to another pin by adding these line to your config.h:

#undef B0
// If VBUS detection is unused, we can send RXLED to the Vbus detect pin instead
#define B0 PAL_LINE(GPIOA, 9)

RP2040 Community Edition - Elite-Pi, Helios, and Liatris

Feature set is identical to Adafruit KB2040. VBUS detection is enabled by default for superior split keyboard support. For more information, refer to the Community Edition pinout docs.

Elite-C

If a board currently supported in QMK uses an Elite-C, the supported alternative controllers are:

Device	Target
STeMCell	`stemcell`
Elite-Pi	`elite_pi`
0xCB Helios	`helios`
Liatris	`liatris`