KeyCode

Description

Key codes returned by Event.keyCode. These map directly to a physical key on the keyboard. If "Use Physical Keys" is enabled in Input Manager settings, these map directly to a physical key on the keyboard. If "Use Physical Keys" is disabled these map to language dependent mapping, different for every platform and cannot be guaranteed to work. "Use Physical Keys" is enabled by default from 2022.1

Key codes can be used to detect key down and key up events, using Input.GetKeyDown and Input.GetKeyUp:

using UnityEngine;

public class KeyCodeExample : MonoBehaviour
{
    void Update()
    {
        if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.Space))
        {
            Debug.Log("Space key was pressed.");
        }

        if (Input.GetKeyUp(KeyCode.Space))
        {
            Debug.Log("Space key was released.");
        }
    }
}

Keyboard events can also be captured within OnGUI:

using UnityEngine;

public class KeyCodeOnGUIExample : MonoBehaviour
{
    void OnGUI()
    {
        if (Event.current.Equals(Event.KeyboardEvent(KeyCode.Space.ToString())))
        {
            Debug.Log("Space key is pressed.");
        }
    }
}

For joystick and gamepad button presses, consider using Input.GetButtonDown and Input.GetButtonUp instead of the KeyCode. These methods allow you to check input state using a descriptive action string, e.g. "fire" or "jump", instead of the hardware button number.

The Input pages provide details about accessing keyboard, mouse and joystick input.

Properties