Hotkey Recording Guide

TanStack Hotkeys provides the createHotkeyRecorder function for building shortcut customization UIs in Svelte.

Basic Usage#

<script lang="ts">
  import {
    createHotkeyRecorder,
    formatForDisplay,
  } from '@tanstack/svelte-hotkeys'

  const recorder = createHotkeyRecorder({
    onRecord: (hotkey) => {
      console.log('Recorded:', hotkey)
    },
  })
</script>

<div>
  <button onclick={recorder.startRecording}>
    {recorder.isRecording
      ? 'Press a key combination...'
      : recorder.recordedHotkey
        ? formatForDisplay(recorder.recordedHotkey)
        : 'Click to record'}
  </button>
  {#if recorder.isRecording}
    <button onclick={() => recorder.cancelRecording()}>Cancel</button>
  {/if}
</div>

Return Value#

• isRecording: whether recording is active

• recordedHotkey: the most recently recorded hotkey

• startRecording(): start listening for key presses

• stopRecording(): stop listening and keep the current recording

• cancelRecording(): stop listening and discard the in-progress recording

Options#

createHotkeyRecorder({
  onRecord: (hotkey) => {},
  onCancel: () => {},
  onClear: () => {},
})

Options can also be reactive:

<script lang="ts">
  import { createHotkeyRecorder } from '@tanstack/svelte-hotkeys'

  let actionName = $state('Save')

  const recorder = createHotkeyRecorder(() => ({
    onRecord: (hotkey) => {
      console.log(`${actionName}:`, hotkey)
    },
  }))
</script>

ignoreInputs#

The HotkeyRecorderOptions supports an ignoreInputs option (defaults to true). When true, the recorder will not intercept normal typing in text inputs, textareas, selects, or contentEditable elements -- keystrokes pass through to the input as usual. Pressing Escape still cancels recording even when focused on an input. Set ignoreInputs: false if you want the recorder to capture keys from within input elements.

createHotkeyRecorder({
  ignoreInputs: false, // record even from inside inputs
  onRecord: (hotkey) => console.log(hotkey),
})

Recording Behavior#

• Modifier-only presses do not complete a recording.
• Modifier plus key combinations record the full shortcut.
• Escape cancels recording.
• Backspace and Delete clear the shortcut.
• Recorded values are normalized to portable Mod format.