Setting Up a Macropad for Gemini CLI on Windows

KM16 Macropad combines an aluminium body, sixteen keycaps and three knobs. The supplier card confirms VIA remapping. It can send clear keyboard controls to Gemini CLI in Windows Terminal.

How do you bind keys for Gemini CLI on Windows?

Start in VIA and assign one pad position to a spare function key or uncommon combination. Test that output in a plain text field. Gemini CLI now documents a user keybindings file where an alternative key can be attached to a named interface command, so keep the Windows layer simple and let the CLI decide what the input means.

Add one binding at a time. Gemini's documentation notes that terminals can translate complex combinations before the application receives them. If a binding fails, use the CLI's keystroke debugging view rather than guessing which characters arrived.

What should the sixteen keys actually send?

Begin with a small navigation group: escape, page movement, input history, suggestion movement and opening an external editor. Put submit on a separate position that is difficult to hit by accident. Leave automatic approval mode changes and shell execution off the pad.

You do not need to fill sixteen positions. A labelled group you remember is more useful than several layers of commands you must look up. Keep ordinary text editing on your main keyboard unless a specific chord causes repeated strain.

Does the setup survive WSL?

Ordinary keys pass through Windows Terminal to the active program, whether Gemini CLI is running in PowerShell or inside WSL. Windows can consume a system shortcut before the terminal sees it, which is another reason to prefer spare function keys and test the exact terminal profile.

The VIA mapping lives with the device's supported configuration, while Gemini's custom keybindings belong to the environment where the CLI runs. If you move between Windows and WSL installations, confirm which home directory holds the Gemini configuration.

When is a text expander a better tool?

Use a text file or Gemini custom command for a reusable prompt. Custom commands are readable, editable and can live with a project. A hardware macro that types a long prompt is harder to audit and can paste into the wrong window.

The KM16 Macropad works best as a set of transparent controls around the prompt. Review the map after several sessions, remove unused keys and keep a written record of the VIA output and Gemini command for every position. Keep a normal keyboard route for every action while learning the pad. If the physical label and the on-screen result ever disagree, stop and fix the mapping instead of adapting to the mistake.