Prepare SD card for auto-pairing with bluetooth keyboard

[Ataraxy]

I already own a bluetooth keyboard, and want to use it with my newly ordered Pi Zero W.

I don't want to buy a USB keyboard just for bootstrapping, and hope to learn something about bluetooth and Linux by avoiding the wifi/ssh route.

Given the bluetooth MAC address of my keyboard, and assuming it is in pairing mode, how would I go about setting up an SD card such that the Pi automatically connects to the keyboard?

[Ataraxy]

I posted the same question on Stack Exchange and after a month posted the above.

It's surprising, but it seems bootstrapping with a bluetooth keyboard is a dark art.

[summers]

Well it could also be that no one else runs quite that configuration.

These things can usually be done at startup, e.g. I managed to get OTG Ethernet over usb to start on a pocket beagle. Usually its a case of just reading the documentation carefully, and applying it. Obviously it would be easier to develop code on the RPi, as then you can ssh in over the ethernet - and see what went wrong. Other than that, just read the documentation carefully, and understand what its trying to do:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/bluetooth