# App Hotkeys Guide

`useHotkey` and `useHotkeys` register a hotkey while its component is mounted. A cheat sheet built from live registrations therefore misses hotkeys on routes that have not rendered yet, and a settings screen has nowhere to change them. App hotkeys solve both: you declare every hotkey in one place, pass the declarations to `HotkeysProvider` (or `provideHotkeysContext` in a root component's setup), and attach callbacks where the work happens. Users can then customize any of them, and your app decides how to save their choices.

A declaration holds a hotkey's id, default hotkey, metadata, and options. It never holds a callback; `useHotkey` and `useHotkeys` still attach the callbacks.

## Declare app hotkeys

Use `defineAppHotkeys` in a module that contains only declarations. Keep it free of components and handlers, because it loads with your app shell:

```ts
// app-hotkeys.ts
import { defineAppHotkeys } from '@tanstack/vue-hotkeys'

export const appHotkeys = defineAppHotkeys({
  'doc.save': { hotkey: 'Mod+S', meta: { name: 'Save', group: 'Document' } },
  'doc.find': {
    hotkey: 'Mod+F',
    meta: { name: 'Find', group: 'Document' },
    context: 'editor',
  },
  'nav.home': {
    hotkey: ['G', 'H'],
    meta: { name: 'Go home', group: 'Navigation' },
    options: { timeout: 800 },
  },
  'palette.open': { hotkey: null, meta: { name: 'Command palette' } },
})

declare module '@tanstack/vue-hotkeys' {
  interface Register {
    appHotkeys: typeof appHotkeys
  }
}
```

- The object key is the app hotkey's id. Treat ids as a stable contract, because saved custom hotkeys use them as keys.
- `hotkey` is the default: a chord, a sequence, or `null` for an action without a default. An unbound app hotkey registers nothing until the user assigns one.
- `options` describe the hotkey itself: `conflictBehavior`, `eventType`, `ignoreInputs`, `preventDefault`, `stopPropagation`, plus `requireReset` for a chord default or `timeout` for a sequence default. Options that don't match the default's kind are type errors. Pass `target` and `enabled` where you register the hotkey.
- `context` labels where a hotkey applies, such as `'editor'`. App hotkeys with different contexts may share a hotkey. It is used only for conflict checks and does not affect matching.

The `Register` augmentation types the app hotkeys you read back, the ids accepted when changing custom hotkeys, and the `CustomHotkeys` type.

## Provide app hotkeys

```vue
<script setup lang="ts">
import { HotkeysProvider } from '@tanstack/vue-hotkeys'
import { appHotkeys } from './app-hotkeys'
</script>

<template>
  <HotkeysProvider :app-hotkeys="appHotkeys">
    <App />
  </HotkeysProvider>
</template>
```

## Register app hotkeys

Pass an app hotkey wherever you pass a hotkey:

```ts
import { useAppHotkeys, useHotkey, useHotkeys } from '@tanstack/vue-hotkeys'

const hotkeys = useAppHotkeys()

useHotkey(() => hotkeys.value['doc.save'], () => save(), () => ({
  enabled: isDirty.value,
}))
useHotkeys(() => [
  { hotkey: hotkeys.value['nav.home'], callback: () => router.push('/') },
  { hotkey: 'Escape', callback: close },
])
```

`useAppHotkeys()` returns a computed ref. You can also import an app hotkey directly, such as `useHotkey(appHotkeys['doc.save'], save)`. Without provided app hotkeys, the declared default is used.

The registration takes `meta` and `options` from the declaration. Options merge in this order: default options, then declared options, then call-site options. `meta` comes only from the declaration, so the cheat sheet and the registration cannot disagree. Call-site options are typed by the declared default's kind, so `timeout` is accepted for `nav.home` but not for `doc.save`.

When the user changes a hotkey, registered app hotkeys move to the new hotkey immediately, even if it changes from a chord to a sequence.

## Build a cheat sheet

`useAppHotkeyList` returns every app hotkey in declaration order, with its live status:

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `'active'` | At least one enabled registration |
| `'disabled'` | Registered, but every registration has `enabled: false` |
| `'inactive'` | Has a hotkey, but nothing has registered it |
| `'unbound'` | No hotkey assigned |

```vue
<script setup lang="ts">
import { formatForDisplay, useAppHotkeyList } from '@tanstack/vue-hotkeys'

const items = useAppHotkeyList()
</script>

<template>
  <ul>
    <li v-for="{ appHotkey, status, isCustom } in items" :key="appHotkey.id" :data-status="status">
      {{ appHotkey.meta?.name }}:
      {{ appHotkey.hotkey ? formatForDisplay(appHotkey.hotkey) : 'Unassigned' }}
      <span v-if="isCustom">(custom)</span>
    </li>
  </ul>
</template>
```

An app hotkey registered by many components, such as one per list row, appears once. Its `registrations` array holds each live registration. Devtools also list declared app hotkeys that are not registered.

## Customize and persist hotkeys

TanStack Hotkeys does not store anything. Pass the user's saved custom hotkeys in and save them when they change:

```vue
<script setup lang="ts">
import { HotkeysProvider } from '@tanstack/vue-hotkeys'
import type { CustomHotkeys } from '@tanstack/vue-hotkeys'

const saved: CustomHotkeys = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('hotkeys') ?? '{}')
const save = (custom: CustomHotkeys) =>
  localStorage.setItem('hotkeys', JSON.stringify(custom))
</script>

<template>
  <HotkeysProvider
    :app-hotkeys="appHotkeys"
    :custom-hotkeys="saved"
    @custom-hotkeys-change="save"
  >
    <App />
  </HotkeysProvider>
</template>
```

The provider emits `customHotkeysChange` with the complete custom hotkeys after every change. With `provideHotkeysContext`, pass `customHotkeys` and `onCustomHotkeysChange` in its options instead.

- `customHotkeys` holds only the hotkeys that differ from the declared defaults, keyed by id. `null` means the user unbound that hotkey. Saving differences means users who never changed a hotkey get new defaults when you change them.
- `customHotkeys` is read once; afterwards the shared store owns the state. Saved data can outlive the code that wrote it, so unknown ids and invalid hotkeys are ignored with a warning.
- `onCustomHotkeysChange` receives the complete custom hotkeys after every change, ready to save. Storage can be anything: local storage, a server, or a user profile.

Recorded hotkeys use `Mod` rather than platform-specific modifiers, so a hotkey saved on one platform works on others.

### Change hotkeys

`useCustomHotkeys` reads and changes the user's custom hotkeys:

```vue
<script setup lang="ts">
import { computed } from 'vue'
import {
  formatForDisplay,
  useAppHotkeys,
  useCustomHotkeys,
  useHotkeyRecorder,
} from '@tanstack/vue-hotkeys'
import type { AppHotkeyId } from '@tanstack/vue-hotkeys'

const props = defineProps<{ id: AppHotkeyId }>()
const hotkeys = useAppHotkeys()
const appHotkey = computed(() => hotkeys.value[props.id])
const { setCustomHotkey, resetCustomHotkey, findConflicts } = useCustomHotkeys()

const recorder = useHotkeyRecorder({
  maxSteps: 3,
  validate: (hotkey) => {
    const conflicts = findConflicts(props.id, hotkey)
    return conflicts.length === 0 || `Used by ${conflicts[0]?.meta?.name}`
  },
  onRecord: (hotkey) => setCustomHotkey(props.id, hotkey),
  onClear: () => setCustomHotkey(props.id, null),
})
</script>

<template>
  <div>
    {{ appHotkey.meta?.name }}:
    {{ appHotkey.hotkey ? formatForDisplay(appHotkey.hotkey) : 'Unassigned' }}
    <button @click="recorder.startRecording">Change</button>
    <button @click="resetCustomHotkey(id)">Reset</button>
  </div>
</template>
```

| Member | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `customHotkeys.value` | The hotkeys that differ from the defaults |
| `setCustomHotkey(id, hotkey)` | Sets a hotkey, or unbinds with `null`. Returns conflicting app hotkeys; when there are any, nothing changes. |
| `findConflicts(id, hotkey)` | App hotkeys that would collide if `id` used `hotkey` |
| `resetCustomHotkey(id)` | Restores one default |
| `resetCustomHotkeys()` | Restores every default |

Two app hotkeys conflict when their contexts match or either has no `context`, and their hotkeys collide: equal chords, or one sequence starts with the other, including a sequence whose first step equals a chord. Conflicts are checked across every declaration, whether or not it is registered.

Each app hotkey's `defaultHotkey` holds its declared default, and each cheat sheet item's `isCustom` reports whether the effective hotkey differs from it.