wtf is funkeyshifter?

jlynx/funkeyshifter — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 1C++Audience · generalComplexity · 4/5Setup · hard

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((FunkeyShifter))
    What it does
      Emulates MegaByte USB hub
      Web controlled Funkey selection
      Bluetooth to USB bridge
    How it works
      ESP32 firmware
      Web Bluetooth site
      BLE to USB translation
    Project areas
      Firmware src
      Nextjs web app
      Protocol docs
    Tech stack
      ESP32-S3
      Cplusplus firmware
      Nextjs on Cloudflare
    Audience
      Retro toy collectors
      Hobbyist hardware makers

mindmap root((FunkeyShifter)) What it does Emulates MegaByte USB hub Web controlled Funkey selection Bluetooth to USB bridge How it works ESP32 firmware Web Bluetooth site BLE to USB translation Project areas Firmware src Nextjs web app Protocol docs Tech stack ESP32-S3 Cplusplus firmware Nextjs on Cloudflare Audience Retro toy collectors Hobbyist hardware makers

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Flash an ESP32-S3 board so a game recognizes it as the original U.B. Funkeys USB hub

REASON 2

Use a browser to switch which Funkey character is active over Bluetooth instead of swapping physical figures

REASON 3

Study the USB and Bluetooth protocol documentation to build a similar toy emulation device

REASON 4

Deploy the included Next.js controller site to Cloudflare Workers for your own hardware

What's in the stack?

C++ESP32-S3Next.jsWeb BluetoothCloudflare Workers

How it stacks up

	jlynx/funkeyshifter	allentdan/shape_based_matching	amu2mod/radeonmon
Stars	1	1	1
Language	C++	C++	C++
Last pushed	—	2019-03-01	—
Maintenance	—	Dormant	—
Setup difficulty	hard	moderate	moderate
Complexity	4/5	3/5	3/5
Audience	general	developer	vibe coder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Requires an ESP32-S3 board, firmware flashing tools, and a Chrome or Edge browser for Web Bluetooth.

The README excerpt does not state a license for this repository.

Wtf does this do

FunkeyShifter is a hardware and web project that recreates the U.B. Funkeys toy hub using a small ESP32-S3 microcontroller board. U.B. Funkeys were collectible figures that plugged into a special USB hub to unlock characters in an online game. This project lets a computer running that game see what looks like the original MegaByte-style hub, while a companion website lets you swap which Funkey character is active without needing the physical figures at all. The ESP32 board presents itself to the computer as the same kind of USB portal device the original hardware used, so the game reads it the normal way over USB. Separately, a website talks to the ESP32 over Bluetooth Low Energy to control which Funkey is currently selected, so the game keeps working through USB the whole time while the browser changes things in the background. When you pick a Funkey on the website, it sends that choice to the ESP32 over Bluetooth, and the firmware translates it into the raw data packet format the game expects and serves it over USB. Removing a Funkey works the same way in reverse. To use it, you flash the provided firmware onto an ESP32-S3 board, plug the board into the computer running the game, then open the project's website in Chrome or Edge, since Web Bluetooth only works in those browsers over a secure connection. From there you connect to the board over Bluetooth and choose a Funkey from the site to change what the game sees. The repository is organized into firmware code for the ESP32, a Next.js web app for the Bluetooth controller deployed on Cloudflare Workers, documentation covering the USB and Bluetooth protocol and firmware toolchain, and some development utilities. The README does not state a license for the project.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1

Walk me through flashing the FunkeyShifter firmware onto an ESP32-S3 board

Prompt 2

Explain how the website communicates with the ESP32 over Bluetooth to change the active Funkey

Prompt 3

Help me understand the raw USB hub packet format this project emulates

Prompt 4

Show me how the Next.js web controller in this repo is structured

Frequently asked questions