Online Tool Store
Keyboard Event Tester
Press any key to see key, code, keyCode, location, modifiers, and repeat state live, with a full press/release event log and copy-as-JSON.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to a server.
- key
- —
- code
- —
- keyCode
- —
- location
- —
Event log
Nothing yet — key events appear here as you press and release keys.
How it works
- Click the focus box, then press any key on your keyboard.
- The box captures the browser's
keydownandkeyupevents and reads theirkey,code,keyCode, andlocationproperties. - Active modifier keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Meta) and the auto-repeat state light up while held.
- Every press and release lands in the event log below, and "Copy event JSON" copies the full raw fields of the most recent one.
FAQ
What's the difference between key and code?
"key" reflects the character produced (affected by Shift and layout), while "code" reports the physical key position regardless of layout or modifiers — code is what you want for game controls.
Why is keyCode shown if it's deprecated?
keyCode is still returned by browsers and shows up in a lot of legacy code you might be debugging, even though key/code are the modern replacements.
What does the location value mean?
0 is a standard key, 1 is a left-side key (like left Shift), 2 is right-side, and 3 is the numeric keypad.
Is anything I type recorded?
No — key events are read directly from the browser's KeyboardEvent object and never stored or transmitted. The event log lives only in this page's memory and clears when you leave or click "Clear log".
What does the repeat indicator mean?
It reflects the KeyboardEvent.repeat property — true while a key is held down and the operating system is auto-repeating keydown events for it. It is not meaningful on release (keyup), only on keydown.
Why does the event log skip some keydown events?
Auto-repeat can fire dozens of keydown events per second while a key is held, which would flood the log. Only the initial press and every release (keyup) are logged; the live key/code/modifier display above still updates on every single event, repeats included.
How we compare
| Feature | Online Tool Store | Toptal's keycode tool | Browser console |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shows key, code, keyCode and location together | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live modifier and auto-repeat indicators | ✓ | Modifiers only, no repeat | ✗ |
| Copy the raw event as JSON | ✓ | Shown, not copyable | Manual, from a logged object |
| Event log of presses and releases | ✓ | ✗ (latest key only) | ✓, if you add a listener |
| No console/devtools knowledge needed | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
If you're wiring up keyboard shortcuts and need to confirm exactly what a browser reports for a key, this tester shows every relevant field at once.