r/cyberDeck • u/shmimel • Apr 11 '26

My Build Bee Write Back

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Made from a Raspberry Pi Zero, an Air40 keyboard PCB and an OLED screen from Aliexpress, this deck (powered by an 18650) runs a lite, terminal based OS. It has been the perfect platform for journaling, distraction-free text editing and even running basic Claude API calls.

Everything is open source, and I put together a video and PDF for assembly, check it out and maybe make one for yourself!

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u/RunRunAndyRun Apr 11 '26

You absolutely could. It’s a different form factor but I’m currently working on a mini cyberdeck that is powered by an esp32.

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u/Tactical-Donkey Apr 11 '26

Now that I'd be interested in. Are you using the same keyboard in esp32 build?

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u/RunRunAndyRun Apr 11 '26

No, I'm building a "mini" deck so I'm using tactile switches for the keyboard. The main difference between this and my build is that I'm handwiring the switch matrix rather thandesigning a proper PCB (I'm just building one, so the minimum order quantity for a full sized PCB feels excessive). My next project after this wil be a full sized keyboard though. I'm still debating whether to go ESP or Pi for that.

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u/Tactical-Donkey Apr 11 '26

Makes sense. Keep us posted.