HTML <kbd> Tag

The HTML <kbd> tag represents user input. For example, text that the user should enter into their computer/device.

Note that the <kbd> tag is not to be confused with the <input> tag (which creates a form control for the user to provide input). The <kbd> tag is used when a document simply needs to display text that the user should enter into their keyboard (for any number of reasons). For example, the <kbd> tag could be used in a list of instructions for connecting to a network from your computer.

Syntax

The <kbd> tag is written as <kbd></kbd> with the user input text enclosed between the start and end tags.

Like this:

Examples

Basic tag usage

Nesting <kbd> & <samp> Tags

You can use the <kbd> tag along with the <samp> tag to represent both user input and sample output.

For example, in a list of instructions, you could instruct the user to click a button. The action of clicking is user input and therefore requires the <kbd> tag. The name of the button is sample output and therefore requires the <samp> tag.

Actually, the HTML5 specifications states that in this case, it would require two <kbd> elements (one nested inside the other), because it represents an actual key or other single unit of input.

However, the HTML5 specification says that such precision is optional, so the above example would be just as valid if you only used the <kbd> tag. Like this:

Attributes

Attributes can be added to an HTML element to provide more information about how the element should appear or behave.

The <kbd> element accepts the following attributes.

AttributeDescription
None 

Global Attributes

The following attributes are standard across all HTML elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <kbd> tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.

Event Handlers

Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain "event" occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.

Most event handler content attributes can be used on all HTML elements, but some event handlers have specific rules around when they can be used and which elements they are applicable to.

For more detail, see HTML event handler content attributes.