How to Install `keyboard` in Python

v0.13.5 CLI & Utilities MIT

Hook and simulate keyboard events on Windows and Linux

Install pip install keyboard

What is keyboard?

Hook and simulate keyboard events on Windows and Linux

Take full control of your keyboard with this small Python library. Hook global events, register hotkeys, simulate key presses and much more.

- Global event hook on all keyboards (captures keys regardless of focus). - Listen and send keyboard events. - Works with Windows and Linux (requires sudo), with experimental OS X support (thanks @glitchassassin!). - Pure Python, no C modules to be compiled. - Zero dependencies. Trivial to install and deploy, just copy the files. - Python 2 and 3. - Complex hotkey support (e.g. ) with controllable timeout. - Includes high level API (e.g. record and play, addabbreviation). - Maps keys as they actually are in your layout, with full internationalization support (e.g. ). - Events automatically captured in separate thread, doesn't block main program. - Tested and documented. - Doesn't break accented dead keys (I'm looking at you, pyHook). - Mouse support available via project mouse ().

or clone the repository (no installation required, source files are sufficient):

Documentation → PyPI page → Author: BoppreH

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with keyboard:

import keyboard

print(keyboard.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install keyboard

Virtual environment (recommended)

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install keyboard

pip3

pip3 install keyboard

conda

conda install -c conda-forge keyboard

Poetry

poetry add keyboard

Dependencies

Installing keyboard will also install these packages:

pyobjc

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

python -c "import keyboard; print(keyboard.__version__)"

If this prints a version number, installation succeeded. If you see a ModuleNotFoundError, see the errors section below.

Installation Errors

Common errors when installing keyboard with pip.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'keyboard'

Cause: The package is not installed in the current Python environment.

Fix: Run pip install keyboard. If using a virtual environment, ensure it is activated first.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'keyboard' (installed but still failing)

Cause: pip installed the package into a different Python than the one running your script.

Fix: Use python -m pip install keyboard to install into the interpreter you are running.

ImportError: cannot import name 'X' from 'keyboard'

Cause: The function or class does not exist in the installed version.

Fix: Check the version with pip show keyboard and upgrade with pip install --upgrade keyboard.

pip: command not found

Cause: pip is not in PATH or Python was not added to PATH during installation.

Fix: Try python -m pip install keyboard. On macOS/Linux try pip3.

PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied

Cause: No write access to the system Python package directory.

Fix: Use a virtual environment, or add --user: pip install --user keyboard

SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED

Cause: pip cannot verify PyPI's SSL certificate — common behind corporate proxies.

Fix: Try: pip install --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org keyboard

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`0.13.5` latest	2020-03-23
`0.13.4`	2019-09-25
`0.13.3`	2019-03-18
`0.13.2`	2018-05-18
`0.13.1`	2018-03-27

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage keyboard

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade keyboard

Install a specific version

pip install keyboard==0.13.5

Uninstall

pip uninstall keyboard

Check what is installed

pip show keyboard

Last updated: 2026-04-11 • Data from PyPI

How to Install keyboard in Python