qmk_firmware-mirror/docs/quantum_keycodes.md

Quantum Keycodes

All keycodes within quantum are numbers between 0x0000 and 0xFFFF. Within your keymap.c it may look like you have functions and other special cases, but ultimately the C preprocessor will translate those into a single 4 byte integer. QMK has reserved 0x0000 through 0x00FF for standard keycodes. These are keycodes such as KC_A, KC_1, and KC_LCTL, which are basic keys defined in the USB HID specification.

On this page we have documented keycodes between 0x00FF and 0xFFFF which are used to implement advanced quantum features. If you define your own custom keycodes they will be put into this range as well. Keycodes above 0x00FF may not be used with any of the mod/layer-tap keys listed

QMK keycodes

Name	Description
RESET	Put the keyboard into DFU mode for flashing
DEBUG	Toggles debug mode
KC_GESC/GRAVE_ESC	Acts as escape when pressed normally but when pressed with Shift or GUI will send a ~
KC_LSPO	Left shift when held, open paranthesis when tapped
KC_RSPC	Right shift when held, close paranthesis when tapped
KC_LEAD	The leader key
FUNC(n)/F(n)	Call fn_action(n)
M(n)	to call macro n
MACROTAP(n)	to macro-tap n idk FIXME

Bootmagic Keycodes

Shortcuts for bootmagic options (these work even when bootmagic is off.)

Name	Description
MAGIC_SWAP_CONTROL_CAPSLOCK	Swap Capslock and Left Control
MAGIC_CAPSLOCK_TO_CONTROL	Treat Capslock like a Control Key
MAGIC_SWAP_LALT_LGUI	Swap the left Alt and GUI keys
MAGIC_SWAP_RALT_RGUI	Swap the right Alt and GUI keys
MAGIC_NO_GUI	Disable the GUI key
MAGIC_SWAP_GRAVE_ESC	Swap the Grave and Esc key.
MAGIC_SWAP_BACKSLASH_BACKSPACE	Swap backslack and backspace
MAGIC_HOST_NKRO	Force NKRO on
MAGIC_SWAP_ALT_GUI/AG_SWAP	Swap Alt and Gui on both sides
MAGIC_UNSWAP_CONTROL_CAPSLOCK	Disable the Control/Capslock swap
MAGIC_UNCAPSLOCK_TO_CONTROL	Disable treating Capslock like Control
MAGIC_UNSWAP_LALT_LGUI	Disable Left Alt and GUI switching
MAGIC_UNSWAP_RALT_RGUI	Disable Right Alt and GUI switching
MAGIC_UNNO_GUI	Enable the GUI key
MAGIC_UNSWAP_GRAVE_ESC	Disable the Grave/Esc swap
MAGIC_UNSWAP_BACKSLASH_BACKSPACE	Disable the backslash/backspace swap
MAGIC_UNHOST_NKRO	Force NKRO off
MAGIC_UNSWAP_ALT_GUI/AG_NORM	Disable the Alt/GUI switching
MAGIC_TOGGLE_NKRO	Turn NKRO on or off

Backlight

These keycodes control the backlight. Most keyboards use this for single color in-switch lighting.

Name	Description
BL_x	Set a specific backlight level between 0-9
BL_ON	An alias for BL_9
BL_OFF	An alias for BL_0
BL_DEC	Turn the backlight level down by 1
BL_INC	Turn the backlight level up by 1
BL_TOGG	Toggle the backlight on or off
BL_STEP	Step through backlight levels, wrapping around to 0 when you reach the top.

RGBLIGHT WS2818 LEDs

This controls the RGBLIGHT functionality. Most keyboards use WS2812 (and compatible) LEDs for underlight or case lighting.

Name	Description
RGB_TOG	toggle on/off
RGB_MOD	cycle through modes
RGB_HUI	hue increase
RGB_HUD	hue decrease
RGB_SAI	saturation increase
RGB_SAD	saturation decrease
RGB_VAI	value increase
RGB_VAD	value decrease

Thermal Printer (experimental)

Name	Description
PRINT_ON	Start printing everything the user types
PRINT_OFF	Stop printing everything the user types

Keyboard output selection

This is used when multiple keyboard outputs can be selected. Currently this only allows for switching between USB and Bluetooth on keyboards that support both.

Name	Description
OUT_AUTO	auto mode
OUT_USB	usb only
OUT_BT	bluetooth (when BLUETOOTH_ENABLE)

Modifiers

These are special keycodes that simulate pressing several modifiers at once.

Name	Description
KC_HYPR	Hold down LCTL + LSFT + LALT + LGUI
KC_MEH	Hold down LCTL + LSFT + LALT

/* FIXME: Should we have these in QMK too?

• |KC_LCAG|LCTL + LALT + LGUI|
• |KC_ALTG|RCTL + RALT|
• |KC_SCMD/KC_SWIN|LGUI + LSFT|
• |KC_LCA|LCTL + LALT| */

Modifiers with keys

Name	Description
LCTL(kc)	LCTL + kc
LSFT(kc)/S(kc)	LSFT + kc
LALT(kc)	LALT + kc
LGUI(kc)	LGUI + kc
RCTL(kc)	RCTL + kc
RSFT(kc)	RSFT + kc
RALT(kc)	RALT + kc
RGUI(kc)	RGUI + kc
HYPR(kc)	LCTL + LSFT + LALT + LGUI + kc
MEH(kc)	LCTL + LSFT + LALT + kc
LCAG(kc)	LCTL + LALT + LGUI + kc
ALTG(kc)	RCTL + RALT + kc
SCMD(kc)/SWIN(kc)	LGUI + LSFT + kc
LCA(kc)	LCTL + LALT + kc

One Shot Keys

Most modifiers work by being held down while you push another key. You can use OSM() to setup a "One Shot" modifier. When you tap a one shot mod it will remain is a pressed state until you press another key.

To specify a your modifier you need to pass the MOD form of the key. For example, if you want to setup a One Shot Control you would use OSM(MOD_LCTL).

Name	Description
OSM(mod)	use mod for one keypress
OSL(layer)	switch to layer for one keypress

Mod-tap keys

These keycodes will press the mod(s) when held, and the key when tapped. They only work with basic keycodes.

Name	Description
CTL_T(kc)/LCTL_T(kc)	LCTL when held, kc when tapped
RCTL_T(kc)	RCTL when held, kc when tapped
SFT_T(kc)/LSFT_T(kc)	LSFT when held, kc when tapped
RSFT_T(kc)	RSFT when held, kc when tapped
ALT_T(kc)/LALT_T(kc)	LALT when held, kc when tapped
RALT_T(kc)/ALGR_T(kc)	RALT when held, kc when tapped
GUI_T(kc)/LGUI_T(kc)	LGUI when held, kc when tapped
RGUI_T(kc)	RGUI when held, kc when tapped
C_S_T(kc)	LCTL + LSFT when held, kc when tapped
MEH_T(kc)	LCTL + LSFT + LALT when held, kc when tapped
LCAG_T(kc)	LCTL + LALT + LGUI when held, kc when tapped
RCAG_T(kc)	RCTL + RALT + RGUI when held, kc when tapped
ALL_T(kc)	LCTL + LSFT + LALT + LGUI when held, kc when tapped more info
SCMD_T(kc)/SWIN_T(kc)	LGUI + LSFT when held, kc when tapped
LCA_T(kc)	LCTL + LALT when held, kc when tapped

US ANSI Shifted symbols

These keycodes correspond to characters that are "shifted" on a standard US ANSI keyboards. They do not have dedicated keycodes but are instead typed by holding down shift and then sending a keycode.

It's important to remember that all of these keycodes send a left shift - this may cause unintended actions if unaccounted for. The short code is preferred in most situations.

Short Name	Long Name	Description
KC_TILD	KC_TILDE	tilde ~
KC_EXLM	KC_EXCLAIM	exclamation mark !
KC_AT		at sign @
KC_HASH		hash sign #
KC_DLR	KC_DOLLAR	dollar sign $
KC_PERC	KC_PERCENT	percent sign %
KC_CIRC	KC_CIRCUMFLEX	circumflex ^
KC_AMPR	KC_AMPERSAND	ampersand &
KC_ASTR	KC_ASTERISK	asterisk *
KC_LPRN	KC_LEFT_PAREN	left parenthesis (
KC_RPRN	KC_RIGHT_PAREN	right parenthesis )
KC_UNDS	KC_UNDERSCORE	underscore _
KC_PLUS		plus sign +
KC_LCBR	KC_LEFT_CURLY_BRACE	left curly brace {
KC_RCBR	KC_RIGHT_CURLY_BRACE	right curly brace }
KC_LT/KC_LABK	KC_LEFT_ANGLE_BRACKET	left angle bracket <
KC_GT/KC_RABK	KC_RIGHT_ANGLE_BRACKET	right angle bracket >
KC_COLN	KC_COLON	colon :
KC_PIPE		pipe |
KC_QUES	KC_QUESTION	question mark ?
KC_DQT/KC_DQUO	KC_DOUBLE_QUOTE	double quote "

Layer Changes

These are keycodes that can be used to change the current layer.

Name	Description
LT(layer, kc)	turn on layer (0-15) when held, kc (basic keycodes) when tapped
TO(layer)	turn on layer when depressed
MO(layer)	momentarily turn on layer when depressed (requires KC_TRNS on destination layer)
DF(layer)	sets the base (default) layer
TG(layer)	toggle layer on/off
TT(layer)	tap toggle? idk FIXME
OSL(layer)	switch to layer for one keycode

Unicode

These keycodes can be used in conjuction with the Unicode support.

|UNICODE(n)/UC(n)|if UNICODE_ENABLE, this will send characters up to 0x7FFF| |X(n)|if UNICODEMAP_ENABLE, also sends unicode via a different method|

SAFE_RANGE, or safely defining custom keycodes

Sometimes you want to define your own custom keycodes to make your keymap easier to read. QMK provides SAFE_RANGE to help you do that. SAFE_RANGE is the first available keycode in the 0x0000-0xFFFF range and you can use it when creating your own custom keycode enum:

enum my_keycodes {
  FOO = SAFE_RANGE,
  BAR
};

You can then use process_record_user() to do something with your keycode:

bool process_record_user(uint16_t keycode, keyrecord_t *record) {
  switch (keycode) {
    case FOO:
      // Do something here
      break;
    case BAR:
      // Do something here
      break;
  }
}