Where does the System Controller live?

Is it part of the keyboard?

I see the standalone keyboard also comes with a RP2040 and the same OLED display as the laptop, so I figure it is the System Controller, only with the battery and power control bits disabled in the firmware in the standalone keyboard.

I’m asking because I plan on doing some development on that processor - which will almost inevitably involve bricking it and reflashing it - and I’d rather not brick the entire laptop in the process. So I’d like to buy a second one just for that purpose.

Could I simply purchase a standalone keyboard to do this?

Also, does it have JTAG or SWD? The RP2040 has SWD, so hopefully so does the keyboard.

On both the MNT Pocket Reform and MNT Reform, the respective System Controller lives on the motherboard, independent from the keyboard. The two controllers (keyboard/motherboard) talk to each other over a dedicated UART.

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Oh right okay, I didn’t realize there was more than one helper MCU.

So I’m guessing the one that drives the OLED display and provides the menu options is the keyboard controller, right?

That’s really the one I’m interested in adding things to. In which case, would an external keyboard still be a valid option to develop something for the MNT laptop’s keyboard controller without bricking the real thing?