JavaScript Keycode Finder

About the JavaScript Keycode Finder

Press any key and see exactly what the browser’s keydown event reports: event.key (the character or key name your layout produces), event.code (the physical key), the legacy keyCode and which, location (left, right or numpad), the modifier and lock keys, repeat and isComposing. Every press also gives you listener code to paste — JavaScript, TypeScript or a React hook — with the right modifier checks, and the matching aria-keyshortcuts value.

Below the tester are searchable tables of every key and code value in the W3C specifications and of the legacy keyCode numbers, so you can look up keys you cannot press: media keys, F13–F24, Japanese and Korean keys. Notes explain what is unusual about each event — input methods and keyCode 229, dead keys, layouts such as AZERTY, the numpad, AltGr and Option.

Common uses

• Finding the key or code value to test in a keyboard shortcut, a game control or a custom input.
• Debugging a shortcut that works on your keyboard but not on a colleague’s (layouts, Caps Lock, Option, AltGr).
• Porting old code that compares keyCode numbers to event.key and event.code.
• Checking what an IME or a phone keyboard sends before handling text input yourself.
• Writing the aria-keyshortcuts value for a button that has a shortcut.

key, code or keyCode — which to use

• **event.key** is what the key produces with the current layout and modifiers: a character ("a", "A", "é", " ") or a key name from the W3C list ("Enter", "ArrowUp", "Escape"). Use it for text and for shortcuts that should follow the letter printed on the key.
• **event.code** names the physical key after its place on a US keyboard ("KeyA", "Digit1", "ShiftRight", "NumpadEnter"), whatever the layout. Use it for controls that depend on position, such as WASD in games.
• **keyCode, which and charCode** are deprecated numbers kept for old scripts. The UI Events specification fixes only some of them (Enter 13, Escape 27, Space 32, the arrows 37–40, letters and digits by their ASCII codes); the rest follow Windows virtual-key codes, and a few differ between browsers — Firefox reports 59, 61 and 173 for ; = - where Chrome, Edge and Safari report 186, 187 and 189. Avoid them in new code.

Input methods, phone keyboards and keyCode 229

While an input method editor (IME) composes text — Japanese, Chinese or Korean input, and most phone keyboards — keydown events have key "Process" (or "Unidentified" on Android) and keyCode 229, and isComposing is true while a composition is open. Shortcuts should ignore those events: if (event.isComposing || event.keyCode === 229) return;. The text itself arrives in input events (event.data, event.inputType) and in compositionupdate and compositionend; the event log on this page shows that sequence when you type with an IME.

Keyboard layouts, AltGr and Option

code stays with the key’s position, so the key that types a on a French keyboard reports "KeyQ". key follows the layout, and Shift, AltGr and — on a Mac — Option change it: Shift + 1 types "!" on a US layout but "1" on a French one, and Option + S types "ß". On Windows, AltGr also sets both ctrlKey and altKey, so check event.getModifierState('AltGraph') before treating Ctrl + Alt as a shortcut. In Chrome and Edge the page also asks the Keyboard Map API (navigator.keyboard.getLayoutMap()) which character each key types on your layout.

aria-keyshortcuts

If a button or link has a keyboard shortcut, aria-keyshortcuts lets screen readers announce it. WAI-ARIA 1.2 asks for the modifier names of the key values specification (Control, Alt, Shift, Meta), modifiers first, and the key rather than the character Shift makes: Shift+5, not %. Use Plus for + and Space for the space bar. The tester writes the value for every combination you press.

Sources

Key and code values: the W3C Recommendations UI Events KeyboardEvent key Values and UI Events KeyboardEvent code Values; the tables on this page are taken from them under the W3C Software and Document License. Legacy keyCode rules and fixed values: W3C UI Events, §7.3 “Legacy key models”; the other numbers are Microsoft’s Windows virtual-key codes, and Firefox’s own values come from MDN’s keyCode reference. aria-keyshortcuts: WAI-ARIA 1.2.

Limitations

• The page only sees keys that the operating system and the browser pass on: system shortcuts (Alt + Tab, ⌘ + Tab, Ctrl + Alt + Del), Fn and some media keys never arrive, and browsers keep Ctrl/⌘ + W, T and N for themselves.
• Values come from your browser, keyboard and layout; another browser or system can report a different keyCode for the same key.
• Phone and tablet keyboards often report key "Unidentified" and keyCode 229 for every key; the typed text is shown from the input event instead.
• Keys chosen under Look up a key show the values a US keyboard typically sends, not a measurement.
• Tab is never captured, so keyboard users can always leave the box; its values are shown before the focus moves on.

Privacy

Everything happens in your browser. Key presses are shown on this page only and kept in memory while it is open; nothing is sent or stored. Only your snippet options are remembered on this device.