Even before WebUSB, I was using ZSA Oryx to create my keyboard layout for my first ZSA keyboard. But back then I had to download the file and then flash it using a dedicated program on the computer. Now with WebUSB I could both create the layout for my new ZSA keyboard there, and flash it from there without any additional software other than a Chromium based desktop web browser.
Still not quite WebUSB-easy, but a massive improvement over needing dedicated programming software!
But config updates that way still suck. The best implementation I've seen will present you with an empty drive with a README explaining how to drop a uf2 + an editable config file that contains all options with comments.
That's definitely workable for us tech people, but it absolutely sucks for the vast majority of users (including us tech people). Just think about having to learn the syntax, or simple things like picking a color or mapping keys on a keyboard.
IMHO Mozilla should have at least adopted WebSerial. It wouldn't give the entire USB freedom, but it has fewer privacy and security concerns and devices would have make it work. But now it's too late, WebUSB has been adopted widely and Mozilla will eventually have to adopt it or perish.
I'm not even criticizing ZMK, btw, this is just an unbelievably obnoxious workflow. Please, nobody do this. The anger is short-circuiting my brain.
I have many expensive USB devices (cameras, musical instruments, audio and MIDI interfaces, a spectrometer) that are still useful despite being over a decade old; most will remain useful until the hardware fails. It'd be a shame if they required a long-lost web app to configure or control.
So, basically, you got seduced to loosen up your ideology a bit. You’re not alone. I likely would, too. What I would like to see instead of WebUSB is something akin to SOAP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOAP), but for USB, where device manufacturers provide a downloadable file that describes the interface of their device, and tools, including third party ones, can generate apps from those descriptions.
I think that would give us an easy way to talk to USB devices without having to rely on the forever presence and good intentions of a third party web service.
One thing that it wouldn’t allow is for a remote server to talk to a local USB device. That may be unfortunate for a few use cases, but I think overall that’s for the better.
Hope you enjoy that same sentiment is 20 years when the website to control/manage your device doesn't exist/was bought out/whatever.
One that’s been using Attestation, for bonus points.
Edit: Wait, no we didn't. Chrome added WebUSB support after all. Wtf I'm disabling that
The browser opens a popup asking you if you want to grant access to a specific device for a specific website, it's not like random websites can just run adb commands on your phone