Keyboard

GDevelop gives access to all inputs made on the keyboard. This includes conditions to check if a key is pressed or released.

Warning

Keyboard conditions do not work with the on-screen keyboard of touch devices. When making a game for mobile or touchscreen devices, use the mouse/touch conditions instead.

Selecting a key

When setting a "Key pressed" or "Key released" condition, you choose the key to check from a drop-down list (for example Left, Space, Return, LShift...). If you need the key to be dynamic, click "Use an expression" to instead provide the key name as a text expression, which is useful for customizable controls (for example, reading the key name from a variable).

Key pressed

This condition is true as long as the selected key is held down. Use it for continuous actions, such as moving a character while an arrow key stays pressed.

Key just pressed

This condition is true only during the frame in which the key is pressed down. Use it for one-shot actions that should happen once per press, such as jumping or opening a menu, so that holding the key does not trigger the action repeatedly.

Key released

This condition is true during the frame in which the selected key is released.

Any key pressed

This condition is true if any key on the keyboard is pressed.

Any key released

This condition is true if any key on the keyboard was just released.

Last pressed key

The "Last pressed key" expression returns the name of the latest key pressed on the keyboard, as a string. For example, if the last key pressed is the left arrow key, the expression returns "Left". This is handy for building key-rebinding screens that capture the key a player presses.

Reference

All actions, conditions and expressions are listed in the keyboard reference page.