Tanstack Hotkeys Guide

Purpose

TanStack Hotkeys is a type-safe, framework-agnostic library for handling keyboard shortcuts. It provides React hooks for registering hotkeys, multi-key sequences, recording custom shortcuts, tracking key state, and platform-aware display formatting. The library uses event.key as its primary API with event.code fallback for letter/digit keys. Currently in alpha -- API may change.

When NOT to use: For a single shortcut listener, a plain addEventListener('keydown', ...) may suffice. Reach for TanStack Hotkeys when you need multiple shortcuts, cross-platform Mod handling, sequences, recording, or key-state tracking.

Instructions

• Always use Mod instead of platform-specific Meta or Control for cross-platform shortcuts
• Import from @tanstack/react-hotkeys for React projects (it re-exports everything from @tanstack/hotkeys)
• Import from @tanstack/hotkeys only for vanilla JS without React
• Prefer the string form ('Mod+S') over RawHotkey objects unless the hotkey is dynamic or built programmatically
• Always add tabIndex={0} to elements used as target refs -- they must be focusable to receive keyboard events
• When building shortcut customization UIs, combine useHotkeyRecorder with formatForDisplay for recording and display
• The recorder auto-converts platform keys to portable Mod format -- do not manually convert recorded hotkeys
• Do NOT combine Mod with Control or Mod with Meta -- these create duplicate modifiers on one platform
• Avoid Alt+letter shortcuts for cross-platform apps -- macOS produces special characters with Option+letter
• Avoid Shift+number and Shift+punctuation shortcuts -- results are keyboard-layout-dependent
• Warn the user that TanStack Hotkeys is in alpha when recommending it for production use
• Default preventDefault: true and stopPropagation: true are intentional -- override explicitly only when needed
• Use conflictBehavior: 'allow' for intentional duplicate hotkeys, not to silence bugs

Installation

npm install @tanstack/react-hotkeys

The React package re-exports everything from @tanstack/hotkeys. No separate core install needed. For vanilla JS only, install @tanstack/hotkeys directly.

Optional devtools:

npm install @tanstack/react-devtools @tanstack/react-hotkeys-devtools

Quick Start

import { useHotkey } from '@tanstack/react-hotkeys'

function App() {
  useHotkey('Mod+S', () => saveDocument())
  return <div>Press Cmd+S (Mac) or Ctrl+S (Windows) to save</div>
}

Mod resolves to Meta (Cmd) on macOS and Control on Windows/Linux.

React Hooks Reference

useHotkey(hotkey, callback, options?)

Register a keyboard shortcut. Auto-syncs callback every render (no stale closures). Auto-unregisters on unmount.

useHotkey('Mod+S', (event, { hotkey, parsedHotkey }) => {
  save()
})

Accept a string ('Mod+S') or RawHotkey object ({ key: 'S', mod: true }).

useHotkeySequence(sequence, callback, options?)

Register Vim-style multi-key sequences. Each step can include modifiers.

useHotkeySequence(['G', 'G'], () => scrollToTop())
useHotkeySequence(['Mod+K', 'Mod+C'], () => commentSelection())

Options: { timeout: 1000, enabled: true }.

useHotkeyRecorder(options)

Record custom keyboard shortcuts for settings UIs. Auto-converts to portable Mod format.

const { isRecording, recordedHotkey, startRecording, stopRecording, cancelRecording } =
  useHotkeyRecorder({ onRecord: (hotkey) => setShortcut(hotkey) })

Options: { onRecord, onCancel?, onClear? }. Escape cancels. Backspace/Delete clears.

useHeldKeys()

Return a reactive string[] of currently held key names.

useHeldKeyCodes()

Return a reactive Record<string, string> mapping key names to event.code values.

useKeyHold(key)

Return boolean for a specific key's hold state. Only re-renders when that key changes.

const isShiftHeld = useKeyHold('Shift')

useDefaultHotkeysOptions()

Return the current default options from HotkeysProvider context.

useHotkeysContext()

Return the full hotkeys context value, or null if outside a provider.

HotkeysProvider

Wrap the app to set global default options. Per-hook options override provider defaults.

import { HotkeysProvider } from '@tanstack/react-hotkeys'

<HotkeysProvider defaultOptions={{
  hotkey: { preventDefault: true },
  hotkeySequence: { timeout: 1500 },
  hotkeyRecorder: { onCancel: () => console.log('cancelled') },
}}>
  <App />
</HotkeysProvider>

Hotkey String Format

• Modifiers: Control, Alt, Shift, Meta
• Cross-platform: Mod (Cmd on Mac, Ctrl on Windows/Linux)
• Format: Modifier+Modifier+Key -- e.g., 'Mod+Shift+S'
• Single keys: 'Escape', 'Enter', 'F1', 'ArrowUp', 'A', '1', '/'
• RawHotkey alternative: { key: 'S', mod: true, shift: true }
• Mod+Control and Mod+Meta combinations are NOT allowed (would duplicate modifiers)

useHotkey Options

Smart ignoreInputs default: Mod+key shortcuts and Escape fire in text inputs. Single keys and Shift/Alt combos are ignored. Button-type inputs (type="button/submit/reset") are NOT ignored -- shortcuts work on them.

Display Formatting

import { formatForDisplay, formatWithLabels, formatKeyForDebuggingDisplay } from '@tanstack/react-hotkeys'

formatForDisplay('Mod+S')        // Mac: "⌘S"         Windows: "Ctrl+S"
formatWithLabels('Mod+S')        // Mac: "Cmd+S"      Windows: "Ctrl+S"
formatKeyForDebuggingDisplay('Meta') // Mac: "⌘ Mod (Cmd)"

Options: { platform: 'mac' | 'windows' | 'linux' }.

Core Utilities (Vanilla JS)

Use these without React:

import {
  parseHotkey, normalizeHotkey, validateHotkey,
  createHotkeyHandler, createMultiHotkeyHandler, createSequenceMatcher,
  getHotkeyManager, getKeyStateTracker, getSequenceManager,
} from '@tanstack/hotkeys'

• parseHotkey('Mod+S') -- return ParsedHotkey object
• normalizeHotkey('cmd+s') -- return canonical form 'Meta+S'
• validateHotkey('Alt+A') -- return { valid, warnings, errors }
• createHotkeyHandler('Mod+S', callback) -- return event handler function
• createMultiHotkeyHandler({ 'Mod+S': save, 'Mod+Z': undo }) -- return single event handler
• createSequenceMatcher(['G', 'G'], { timeout: 500 }) -- return { match(), reset(), getProgress() }

Key Rules and Gotchas

• Library is in ALPHA -- API may change
• Mod is the recommended way to write cross-platform shortcuts
• Default preventDefault: true and stopPropagation: true -- override explicitly if needed
• When using target with a ref, ensure the element has tabIndex for focus
• macOS may swallow keyup events for non-modifier keys when a modifier is held -- library handles this
• Window blur auto-clears all held keys to prevent "stuck" keys
• conflictBehavior: 'warn' is default -- logs duplicates during development
• event.key is primary. event.code is fallback for letter/digit keys when event.key produces special characters (macOS Option+letter, Shift+number)
• Alt+letter on macOS may produce special characters. validateHotkey warns about this
• Shift+number and Shift+punctuation produce layout-dependent characters (Shift+1 → !) -- avoid these combos; use Mod+number instead
• SSR: detectPlatform() defaults to 'linux' when navigator is undefined -- Mod resolves to Control during server rendering
• Canonical modifier order in normalized strings: Control → Alt → Shift → Meta

Devtools Setup

import { TanStackDevtools } from '@tanstack/react-devtools'
import { hotkeysDevtoolsPlugin } from '@tanstack/react-hotkeys-devtools'

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <TanStackDevtools plugins={[hotkeysDevtoolsPlugin()]} />
    </div>
  )
}

Devtools are no-op in production by default. Use /production import path for production debugging:

import { hotkeysDevtoolsPlugin } from '@tanstack/react-hotkeys-devtools/production'

Reference Files

• references/api-reference.md -- Full API surface with types and interfaces. Read when you need exact type signatures, constructor parameters, or constant values.
• references/patterns.md -- 25 usage patterns with complete code examples. Read when generating component code, building UIs with hotkeys, or choosing between implementation approaches.
• references/troubleshooting.md -- Platform quirks, common issues, and solutions. Read when debugging hotkey issues, when the user reports unexpected behavior, or when working with macOS/SSR edge cases.