Glorious GMMK Compact RGB Modular Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - Barebone Edition - 61 Key / US Layout / Mechanical Switch - Required, Not Included / Switches - Required, Not Included / Keycaps - Required, Not Included / / GMMK-COMPACT-RGB / GMMK-COMPACT-RGB

The Glorious GMMK Compact RGB is a modular mechanical gaming keyboard in a 61-key US layout, supplied here as the Barebone Edition. Switches and keycaps are chosen and fitted separately, which is the point of the design: the board is a platform rather than a finished product. RGB backlighting and a compact footprint come built in.

Any combination of Cherry, Kailh or Gateron switches drops into the GMMK Compact without soldering, so switch choice is not a permanent decision made at purchase. Mixing brands across the board is possible too, which is how people put heavier switches under the modifiers and lighter ones under the keys they press most often.

Keycaps and switches both pull off the GMMK Compact by hand, and any compatible MX switch brand and model can go back in their place. Changing how the keyboard sounds and feels therefore takes minutes rather than a soldering iron and an afternoon, and it can be done repeatedly as your preferences shift over time.

The GMMK Compact keeps its 61 keys in a refined, minimalistic frame with no wasted border around the edges. That footprint suits a small desk, a shared workspace or a bag for travel, and the restrained styling means the board fits a work setup as readily as a gaming one. Nothing about the design competes for attention.

RGB backlighting on the GMMK Compact spans 16.8 million colours with a wide range of combinations and lighting effects, and all of it is adjusted on the keyboard itself without installing software. That matters on a machine you do not control, such as a work PC or a LAN rig, where the lighting still works with nothing installed.

Glorious specifies ABS double-shot injection for the bottom row keycaps on the GMMK Compact, a moulding method that puts the legend into the plastic instead of printing it on the surface so it cannot wear away. This listing is the Barebone Edition, so keycaps and switches are supplied separately and the set you fit is your choice.

This video shows a GMMK Compact running, with the RGB backlighting cycling through effects across the 61-key layout and the board seen from several angles. A compact keyboard is easier to judge in motion than in a photograph, because the video gives a truer sense of how small the footprint actually is on a desk.