Use keyboard events for commands and navigation, but use beforeinput and input to track text changes. Treat event.key as the interpreted key—not a promise about a physical key or a particular keyboard layout—and decide explicitly whether holding a key should repeat an action.
Choose the right event for the job
A key press can trigger several events, and those events answer different questions. A keydown tells you that a key interaction began; it does not reliably tell you exactly what text ended up in a field.
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- For commands and navigation: listen for
keydownwhen an interaction depends on a key such asArrowDown,Enter, orEscape. - For text changes: listen for
beforeinputorinputon a text control or editable region. Read the control’s resulting value when you need to know what is there. - For the end of a key interaction: use
keyupwhen your behavior needs to know that the key was released.
For character insertion into an input, textarea, or contenteditable element, the usual sequence begins with keydown, continues with beforeinput and input, and ends with keyup. Not every key interaction inserts text, so do not treat that sequence as a one-to-one mapping from keydown to a character. See MDN’s KeyboardEvent.key documentation.
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Track the resulting text, not a guessed character
To respond to edits in a field, observe its input event and inspect its current value:
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const search = document.querySelector("input[type=search]");
search.addEventListener("input", (event) => {
updateResults(event.currentTarget.value);
});This approach follows changes to the field rather than assuming each keydown corresponds to one inserted character. Keep keyboard handlers for shortcuts and navigation; use input events for the text the control actually contains.
Interpret keys without assuming a keyboard layout
KeyboardEvent.key gives the key’s interpreted value, taking modifiers and keyboard layout into account. For example, the same physical key combined with Shift can produce different values on US and UK layouts. A shortcut that assumes a particular character will therefore not necessarily behave the same for every user.
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For a command based on the interpreted key, compare event.key with values such as "Enter" or "ArrowDown". For character-based commands, consider which character the user’s layout actually produces instead of hardcoding a US-layout assumption.
document.addEventListener("keydown", (event) => {
if (event.key === "ArrowDown") {
moveSelection(1);
}
});This listens for the interpreted arrow key and does not assume which physical key produced it. MDN documents the layout distinction and key values in its KeyboardEvent.key reference.
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Decide whether holding a key should repeat
When a user holds a character key, the browser can fire repeated keydown events and repeated text input events. That may be useful for actions such as moving through a list, but undesirable for a one-time action such as opening a dialog.
Use event.repeat to distinguish an automatically repeated keydown from the initial one when supported. For an action that should happen only once per press:
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document.addEventListener("keydown", (event) => {
if (event.key === "Enter" && !event.repeat) {
openDialog();
}
});Do not suppress repeats indiscriminately: a held arrow key may be expected to move repeatedly. MDN describes repeat as indicating automatic repetition and notes that it may not work on older browsers or devices. Check support against the browsers and devices your application must serve; see MDN’s KeyboardEvent.repeat documentation.
Keep custom interactions operable and predictable
Prefer native controls when they fit the interaction. Their familiar platform behavior is easier to learn than a custom control with unexpected keys or focus movement. If you build a custom widget, provide clear focus and keyboard behavior that follows conventions users are likely to know.
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WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.1.1 requires that all functionality be operable through a keyboard interface without requiring specific timings for individual keystrokes, except where the underlying function depends on the path of movement rather than just its endpoints. A keyboard interface also includes alternatives such as speech input, on-screen keyboards, and scanning software—not only a physical keyboard. See W3C’s explanation of the Keyboard criterion.
- Make every feature available without a pointer-only action.
- Keep focus visible and provide a way to move it away from each interactive region.
- Avoid keyboard focus traps.
- Preserve expected platform conventions unless the interaction has a good reason to differ.
W3C’s accessibility principles explain keyboard access and focus traps. Its development tips, updated July 16, 2024, recommend checking that application functionality can be reached and used with a keyboard alone.
Test the complete keyboard path
- Put away the pointer and navigate through the app using the keyboard. Check that every control and feature can be reached.
- Operate each feature using its keyboard interaction, including actions that would otherwise be triggered by a pointer-specific event.
- Move focus out of every interactive region and confirm it does not become trapped.
- Check text entry separately from commands: typing, editing, and other field changes should be handled through input events, while shortcuts and navigation use the appropriate keyboard events.
- Hold keys that might repeat and confirm that repeatable actions continue while one-shot actions occur only once.
W3C’s G90 technique describes associating keyboard-triggered handlers with functionality otherwise triggered by non-keyboard UI events, or providing a redundant keyboard mechanism. Techniques are examples, not the only way to meet WCAG; the essential check is that all functionality is operable by keyboard. Read W3C’s keyboard-accessibility tips.
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