Ergohaven’s K:04 split keyboard adds modular trackball and touchpad controls

Ergohaven unveiled the K:04 with a 58-key split layout and modular pointer controls, pushing its ergonomic line beyond the usual typing-first split board. The design lets buyers start with the keyboard’s core halves and add only the navigation or cursor tools they want, instead of crowding the desk with a separate mouse, macro pad, or standalone trackball.

The add-on list is the key change. Ergohaven priced a rotary encoder module at $35, a touchpad at $55, and a 32 mm trackball at $65, turning the board into a build-your-own control surface for coding, spreadsheet work, and long office sessions where constant hand travel becomes the enemy. That matters for people trying to reduce reach, shoulder strain, and wrist extension without giving up pointer control, especially in setups where split keyboards usually solve typing comfort but leave the mouse problem untouched.

The K:04 sits inside a broader Ergohaven direction that already included pointer-aware boards and accessories. The company’s K:03 PRO shipped with a touchpad, while the Trackball Mini line gave users a separate cursor-control option meant to complement ergonomic keyboards. The Trackball Mini v2 uses a 32 mm ball, the same size tied to the K:04’s trackball add-on, and it pairs with a PMW3360 sensor, click control through the keyboard, and QMK and Vial support. Ergohaven’s K:03 v4 also supported encoders on either half, with up to three hotswap encoders per side.

Software is where the modular pitch becomes more than a hardware gimmick. Ergohaven’s wired devices run QMK firmware and are configured with Vial, which it describes as an open-source, cross-platform GUI and QMK fork for real-time keyboard configuration. Entropy, Ergohaven’s desktop app, handles Vial-QMK and RMK devices, including split keyboards, macropads, trackballs, and touchpad modules. On its High Plains Drifter documentation, Ergohaven says trackball and touchpad modules can be tuned for DPI, acceleration, invert scroll, sniper sens, scroll sens, text sens, and auto-mouse-layer behavior, and that those settings stay on the controller even if a module is removed and reinserted.

That persistence gives the K:04 a clear niche. It is built for users who want a travel-friendly split core for daily typing, then want to bolt on cursor control only when a project or desk setup demands it. Ergohaven backs its products with a 3-year warranty and community support, and its roadmap still points toward more modular hardware, including Trackball Royale and a project called Modular minds. For split-board users who are tired of the keyboard-plus-mouse sprawl, the K:04 is aiming straight at the gap.