Customer guide

Vial quick start

Getting Started with Vial

Vial is the easiest way to remap your keys, tune your encoder, and customize your RGB in real time with no flashing required.

1

Download and install Vial

Vial is available as a free desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can also use Vial Web in a supported browser without installing the app.

Download from get.vial.today Open Vial Web Read Vial Docs
Tip: On Windows, SmartScreen may show a warning. Click More info then Run anyway. On macOS, if the app is blocked, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. Vial is open source.
2

Connect your keyboard

  • With USB unplugged, connect the TRRS cable between the two halves first.
  • Plug the left half into your PC with the USB-C cable. The left half is the master side.
  • Open Vial and your keyboard should be detected automatically.
Note: Always connect or disconnect TRRS while the keyboard is unplugged from USB. Hot-swapping TRRS can damage the controllers.
3

Navigating the interface

Once detected, you’ll see a visual layout of your keyboard. The main tabs to use:

Keymap

Remap any key on any layer from the visual layout and key picker.

Layers

Layer 0 is your base. Hold a layer key to access higher layers.

Encoder

Set scroll wheel behavior per layer, including volume, zoom, and scrolling.

Lighting

Adjust RGB effects, brightness, speed, and color directly from Vial.

Tip: Changes save instantly to the keyboard. Your layout persists when you unplug or move to another computer.
4

Remapping a key

  • Click the key you want to change on the keyboard diagram.
  • The selected key will highlight.
  • Choose the replacement key from the picker at the bottom.
  • The change applies immediately.
Pro tip: Use ANY to enter raw QMK keycodes like KC_MPLY.
5

Using layers

Layers let you keep multiple layouts on one board. Think of them like Shift: hold a layer key to access another set of bindings.

  • Your keyboard ships with a layer key pre-mapped, often MO(1).
  • Hold that key and type to use Layer 1 bindings.
  • Switch the layer number at the top of Vial to edit that layer.
  • KC_TRNS keys fall through to the layer below.

Common Questions

My keyboard isn’t showing up in Vial.

Make sure you’re plugging the correct half into your PC. Try another USB cable or port. On Linux, you may need a udev rule from the Vial docs.

Will my layout reset if I unplug the keyboard?

No. Vial saves your keymap to the keyboard’s flash memory so it survives unplugging, reboots, and moving computers.

Can I save a backup of my layout?

Yes. Use File → Save Current Layout to export a .vil file, then reload it with File → Load Saved Layout.

How do I reset everything to default?

In Vial, use File → Reset to Default to restore the original factory layout.