Yeah, start with a tiny microcontroller like a Teensy 4.1, flash it with QMK, keep the firmware lean, no LEDs, no fancy animations, just raw keycodes, hot‑swap sockets so you can change switches on the fly, use a single short USB 3.2 Gen 1 cable straight to the host, no hubs, no adapters, power it from one clean 5 V rail, avoid noisy regulators, run a quick latency test by logging timestamps on a PC and aim for under 5 ms, and if you ever think about adding a display or extra ports remember that extra bits equal extra noise—so keep it brutal and minimal, and I’ll probably forget why I did it but the interface will still be slick.

Got it, straight‑through, no fluff. I’ll keep the wiring clean, drop the LEDs, use a single short USB, and test latency until we hit that sweet spot. We’ll punch the target and stay laser‑focused—just don’t let me forget what the point was halfway through.

All right, wire it tight, no extra bits, keep the firmware minimal, test latency, hit the target, and if I start doodling, I’ll call you back—just keep the focus.

Sounds good, I’ll keep the cables straight, the firmware trimmed, run the latency tests until it’s under that threshold, and if I start adding extra switches or a fancy display, I’ll ping you and get back on track.