---
title: Keyboard
slug: Web/API/Keyboard
translation_of: Web/API/Keyboard
---
<div>{{SeeCompatTable}}{{APIRef("Keyboard API")}}</div>

<p><span class="seoSummary">The <strong><code>Keyboard</code></strong> interface of the the <a href="/docs/Web/API/Keyboard_API">Keyboard API</a> provides functions that retrieve keyboard layout maps and toggle capturing of key presses from the physical keyboard.</span></p>

<p>A list of valid code values is found in the <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/uievents-code/#key-alphanumeric-writing-system">UI Events KeyboardEvent code Values</a> spec.</p>

<h2 id="Properties">Properties</h2>

<p>None.</p>

<h2 id="Methods">Methods</h2>

<dl>
 <dt>{{domxref('Keyboard.getLayoutMap()')}} {{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{jsxref('Promise')}} that resolves with an instance of {{domxref('KeyboardLayoutMap')}} which is a map-like object with functions for retrieving the strings associated with specific physical keys.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref('Keyboard.lock()')}} {{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Returns a {{jsxref('Promise')}} after enabling the capture of keypresses for any or all of the keys on the physical keyboard.</dd>
 <dt>{{domxref('Keyboard.unlock()')}} {{experimental_inline}}</dt>
 <dd>Unlocks all keys captured by the <code>lock()</code> method and returns synchronously.</dd>
</dl>

<h2 id="Example">Example</h2>

<p>The following example demonstrates how to get the location- or layout-specific string associated with the key that corresponds to the 'W' key on an English QWERTY keyboard.</p>

<pre class="brush: js">if (navigator.keyboard) {
  var keyboard = navigator.keyboard;
  keyboard.getLayoutMap()
  .then(keyboardLayoutMap =&gt; {
    var upKey = keyboardLayoutMap.get('KeyW');
    window.alert('Press ' + upKey + ' to move up.');
  });
} else {
  // Do something else.
}</pre>

<h2 id="Specifications">Specifications</h2>

<table class="standard-table">
 <tbody>
  <tr>
   <th scope="col">Specification</th>
   <th scope="col">Status</th>
   <th scope="col">Comment</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('Keyboard Map','#keyboard-interface','Keyboard')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('Keyboard Map')}}</td>
   <td>Initial definition.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td>{{SpecName('Keyboard Lock','#keyboard-interface','Keyboard')}}</td>
   <td>{{Spec2('Keyboard Lock')}}</td>
   <td>Adds <code>lock()</code> and <code>unlock()</code>.</td>
  </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

<h2 id="Browser_compatibility">Browser compatibility</h2>



<p>{{Compat("api.Keyboard")}}</p>