Keyboard

Low-level keyboard input commands for typing text and dispatching key events.

keyboard type

Type text by dispatching individual key events (keyDown/keyUp) for each character. This triggers keyboard event listeners that some applications depend on.

terminal 
pinchtab keyboard type "hello world"
pinchtab keyboard type "hello world"

Performance note: For strings longer than 20 characters, PinchTab uses a hybrid approach to avoid CDP timeouts: the first and last 5 characters are typed with real key events, while the middle portion uses Input.insertText. This provides realistic keystroke simulation at boundaries while keeping performance acceptable for long strings.

keyboard inserttext

Insert text directly without dispatching key events. Equivalent to pasting text — faster but won’t trigger keydown/keypress/keyup listeners.

terminal 
pinchtab keyboard inserttext "test@pinchtab.com"
pinchtab keyboard inserttext "test@pinchtab.com"

Use inserttext when:

  • You need maximum speed
  • The target doesn’t rely on key event listeners
  • You’re filling forms programmatically

Use type when:

  • The application validates input on keypress
  • You need to trigger autocomplete or live search
  • You’re simulating realistic user input

keydown / keyup

Hold or release individual keys. Useful for modifier keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt) or testing key-hold behaviors.

terminal 
pinchtab keydown Shiftpinchtab keyboard type "abc"   # Types "ABC" (shift held)pinchtab keyup Shift
pinchtab keydown Shiftpinchtab keyboard type "abc"   # Types "ABC" (shift held)pinchtab keyup Shift

API Equivalent

terminal 
curl -X POST http://localhost:9867/action \  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \  -d '{"kind":"keyboard-type","text":"hello world"}'curl -X POST http://localhost:9867/action \  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \  -d '{"kind":"keyboard-inserttext","text":"hello world"}'
curl -X POST http://localhost:9867/action \  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \  -d '{"kind":"keyboard-type","text":"hello world"}'curl -X POST http://localhost:9867/action \  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \  -d '{"kind":"keyboard-inserttext","text":"hello world"}'
  • Type — Type into a specific element by selector/ref
  • Fill — Set input value directly
  • Press — Press a single key