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https://github.com/jamiebuilds/tinykeys

A tiny (~400 B) & modern library for keybindings.
https://github.com/jamiebuilds/tinykeys

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A tiny (~400 B) & modern library for keybindings.

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# `tinykeys`



> A tiny (~400 B) & modern library for keybindings.

> [See Demo](https://jamiebuilds.github.io/tinykeys/)



## Install



```sh

npm install --save tinykeys

```



Or for a CDN version, you can use it on [unpkg.com](https://unpkg.com/tinykeys)



## Usage



```js

import { tinykeys } from "tinykeys" // Or `window.tinykeys` using the CDN version



tinykeys(window, {

  "Shift+D": () => {

    alert("The 'Shift' and 'd' keys were pressed at the same time")

  },

  "y e e t": () => {

    alert("The keys 'y', 'e', 'e', and 't' were pressed in order")

  },

  "$mod+KeyD": event => {

    event.preventDefault()

    alert("Either 'Control+d' or 'Meta+d' were pressed")

  },

})

```



Alternatively, if you want to only create the keybinding handler, and register

it as an event listener yourself:



```js

import { createKeybindingsHandler } from "tinykeys"



let handler = createKeybindingsHandler({

  "Shift+D": () => {

    alert("The 'Shift' and 'd' keys were pressed at the same time")

  },

  "y e e t": () => {

    alert("The keys 'y', 'e', 'e', and 't' were pressed in order")

  },

  "$mod+KeyD": event => {

    event.preventDefault()

    alert("Either 'Control+d' or 'Meta+d' were pressed")

  },

})



window.addEventListener("keydown", handler)

```



### React Hooks Example



If you're using tinykeys within a component, you should also make use of the

returned `unsubscribe()` function.



```js

import { useEffect } from "react"

import { tinykeys } from "tinykeys"



function useKeyboardShortcuts() {

  useEffect(() => {

    let unsubscribe = tinykeys(window, {

      // ...

    })

    return () => {

      unsubscribe()

    }

  })

}

```



## Commonly used `key`'s and `code`'s



Keybindings will be matched against

[`KeyboardEvent.key`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/key)

and[`KeyboardEvent.code`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/code/code_values)

which may have some names you don't expect.



| Windows       | macOS           | `key`         | `code`                         |

| ------------- | --------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------ |

| N/A           | `Command` / `⌘` | `Meta`        | `MetaLeft` / `MetaRight`       |

| `Alt`         | `Option` / `⌥`  | `Alt`         | `AltLeft` / `AltRight`         |

| `Control`     | `Control` / `^` | `Control`     | `ControlLeft` / `ControlRight` |

| `Shift`       | `Shift`         | `Shift`       | `ShiftLeft` / `ShiftRight`     |

| `Space`       | `Space`         | N/A           | `Space`                        |

| `Enter`       | `Return`        | `Enter`       | `Enter`                        |

| `Esc`         | `Esc`           | `Escape`      | `Escape`                       |

| `1`, `2`, etc | `1`, `2`, etc   | `1`, `2`, etc | `Digit1`, `Digit2`, etc        |

| `a`, `b`, etc | `a`, `b`, etc   | `a`, `b`, etc | `KeyA`, `KeyB`, etc            |

| `-`           | `-`             | `-`           | `Minus`                        |

| `=`           | `=`             | `=`           | `Equal`                        |

| `+`           | `+`             | `+`           | `Equal`\*                      |



Something missing? Check out the key logger on the

[demo website](https://jamiebuilds.github.io/tinykeys/)



> _\* Some keys will have the same code as others because they appear on the

> same key on the keyboard. Keep in mind how this is affected by international

> keyboards which may have different layouts._



## Key aliases



In some instances, tinykeys will alias keys depending on the platform to

simplify cross-platform keybindings on international keyboards.



### `AltGraph` (modifier)



On Windows, on many non-US standard keyboard layouts, there is a key named

`Alt Gr` or `AltGraph` in the browser, in some browsers, pressing `Control+Alt`

will report `AltGraph` as being pressed instead.



Similarly on macOS, the `Alt` (`Option`) key will sometimes be reported as the

`AltGraph` key.



**Note:** The purpose of the `Alt Gr` key is to type "Alternate Graphics" so you

will often want to use the `event.code` (`KeyS`) for letters instead of

`event.key` (`S`)



```js

tinykeys(window, {

  "Control+Alt+KeyS": event => {

    // macOS: `Control+Alt+S` or `Control+AltGraph+S`

    // Windows: `Control+Alt+S` or `Control+AltGraph+S` or `AltGraph+S`

  },

  "$mod+Alt+KeyS": event => {

    // macOS: `Meta+Alt+S` or `Meta+AltGraph+S`

    // Windows: `Control+Alt+S` or `Control+AltGraph+S` or `AltGraph+S`

  },

})

```



## Keybinding Syntax



Keybindings are made up of a **_sequence_** of **_presses_**.



A **_press_** can be as simple as a single **_key_** which matches against

[`KeyboardEvent.code`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/code/code_values)

and

[`KeyboardEvent.key`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/key)

(case-insensitive).



```js

// Matches `event.key`:

"d"

// Matches: `event.code`:

"KeyD"

```



Presses can optionally be prefixed with **_modifiers_** which match against any

valid value to

[`KeyboardEvent.getModifierState()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/getModifierState).



```js

"Control+d"

"Meta+d"

"Shift+D"

"Alt+KeyD"

"Meta+Shift+D"

```



There is also a special `$mod` modifier that makes it easy to support cross

platform keybindings:



- Mac: `$mod` = `Meta` (⌘)

- Windows/Linux: `$mod` = `Control`



```js

"$mod+D" // Meta/Control+D

"$mod+Shift+D" // Meta/Control+Shift+D

```



### Keybinding Sequences



Keybindings can also consist of several key presses in a row:



```js

"g i" // i.e. "Go to Inbox"

"g a" // i.e. "Go to Archive"

"ArrowUp ArrowUp ArrowDown ArrowDown ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowLeft ArrowRight B A"

```



Each press can optionally be prefixed with modifier keys:



```js

"$mod+K $mod+1" // i.e. "Toggle Level 1"

"$mod+K $mod+2" // i.e. "Toggle Level 2"

"$mod+K $mod+3" // i.e. "Toggle Level 3"

```



Each press in the sequence must be pressed within 1000ms of the last.



### Display the keyboard sequence



You can use the `parseKeybinding` method to get a structured representation of a

keyboard shortcut. It can be useful when you want to display it in a fancier way

than a plain string.



```js

import { parseKeybinding } from "tinykeys"



let parsedShortcut = parseKeybinding("$mod+Shift+K $mod+1")

```



Results into:



```js

[

  [["Meta", "Shift"], "K"],

  [["Meta"], "1"],

]

```



## Additional Configuration Options



You can configure the behavior of tinykeys in a couple ways using a third

`options` parameter.



```js

tinykey(

  window,

  {

    M: toggleMute,

  },

  {

    event: "keyup",

  },

)

```



### `options.event`



Valid values: `"keydown"`, `"keyup"`



Key presses will listen to this event (default: `"keydown"`).



> **Note:** Do not pass `"keypress"`, it is deprecated in browsers.



### `options.timeout`



Keybinding sequences will wait this long between key presses before cancelling

(default: `1000`).



> **Note:** Setting this value too low (i.e. `300`) will be too fast for many of

> your users.