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Input

The Input namespace contains functions and hooks for responding to player input. Lean more about how to use the Input system in our Binding Sets reference.

Class Functions

Class Function Name Return Type Description Tags
Input.GetActionValue(Player, string actionName) value Returns the current input value associated with the specified action. This will return a Vector2 for direction bindings, a number for basic and axis bindings, or nil for invalid bindings. nil may also be returned when called on the server with a non-networked action name or a networked action which simply hasn't been pressed yet. None
Input.IsActionHeld(Player, string actionName) boolean Returns true if the specified action is currently being held by the player, otherwise returns false. None
Input.GetCurrentInputType() InputType Returns the current active input type. Client-Only
Input.IsYAxisInverted(InputType) boolean Returns true if the player has inverted the Y axis in their settings for the given input type, otherwise returns false. Client-Only
Input.GetActionDescription(string actionName) string Returns the description set in the Bindings Manager for the specified action. Returns nil if given an invalid action name. Client-Only
Input.GetActions() Array<string> Returns a list of the names of each action from currently active binding sets. Actions are included in this list regardless of whether the action is currently held or not. Client-Only
Input.GetActionInputLabel(string actionName, [table parameters]) string Returns a string label indicating the key or button assigned to the specified action. Returns nil if actionName is not a valid action or if an invalid direction parameter is specified for axis and direction bindings. Returns "None" for valid actions with no control bound.
Supported parameters include:
direction (string): Required for axis and direction bindings, specifying "positive" or "negative" for axis bindings, or "up", "down", "left", or "right" for direction bindings.
inputType (InputType): Specifies whether to return a label for keyboard and mouse or controller. Defaults to the current active input type.
secondary (boolean): When true and returning a label for keyboard and mouse, returns a label for the secondary input.
Client-Only
Input.IsInputTypeEnabled(InputType) boolean Returns true when the current device supports the given input type. For example, Input.IsInputEnabled(InputType.CONTROLLER) will return true if a gamepad is connected. Client-Only
Input.IsActionEnabled(string actionName) boolean Returns true if the specified action is enabled. Returns false if the action is disabled or does not exist. Client-Only
Input.EnableAction(string actionName) None Enables the specified action, if the action exists. Client-Only
Input.DisableAction(string actionName) None Disables the specified action, if the action exists. If the action is currently held, this will also release the action. Client-Only
Input.GetCursorPosition() Vector2 Returns a Vector2 with the x, y coordinates of the mouse cursor on the screen. May return nil if the cursor position cannot be determined. Client-Only
Input.GetTouchPosition([integer touchIndex]) Vector2 Returns a Vector2 with the x, y coordinates of a touch input on the screen. An optional touch index may be provided to specify which touch to return on multitouch devices. If not specified, index 1 is used. Returns nil if the requested touch index is not currently active. Client-Only
Input.GetPointerPosition([integer touchIndex]) Vector2 When the current input type is InputType.TOUCH, returns a Vector2 with the x, y coordinates of a touch input on the screen. When the current input type is not InputType.TOUCH, returns the cursor position. An optional touch index may be provided to specify which touch to return on multitouch devices. If not specified, index 1 is used. Returns nil if the requested touch index is not currently active. The touch index is ignored for other input types. Client-Only
Input.GetPinchValue() number During a pinch gesture with touch input, returns a value indicating the relative progress of the pinch gesture. Pinch gestures start with a pinch value of 1 and approach 0 when pinching together, or increase past 1 when touches move apart from each other. Returns 0 if no pinch is in progress. Client-Only
Input.GetRotateValue() number During a rotate gesture with touch input, returns a value indicating the angle of rotation from the start of the gesture. Returns 0 if no rotate is in progress. Client-Only
Input.EnableVirtualControls() None Enables display of virtual controls on devices with touch input, or in preview mode if device emulation is enabled. Virtual controls default to enabled when using touch input. Client-Only
Input.DisableVirtualControls() None Disables display of virtual controls on devices with touch input, or in preview mode with device emulation enabled. Client-Only

Events

Event Name Return Type Description Tags
Input.actionPressedEvent Event<Player player, string actionName, value value> Fired when a player starts an input action by pressing a key, button, or other input control. The third parameter, value, will be a Vector2 for direction bindings, or a number for axis and basic bindings. None
Input.actionReleasedEvent Event<Player player, string actionName> Fired when a player stops an input action by releasing a key, button, or other input control. None
Input.inputTypeChangedEvent Event<Player player, InputType inputType> Fired when the active input device has changed to a new type of input. None
Input.touchStartedEvent Event<Vector2 location, integer touchIndex> Fired when the player starts touching the screen on a touch input device. Parameters are the screen location of the touch and a touch index used to distinguish between separate touches on a multitouch device. Client-Only
Input.touchStoppedEvent Event<Vector2 location, integer touchIndex> Fired when the player stops touching the screen on a touch input device. Parameters are the screen location from which the touch was released and a touch index used to distinguish between separate touches on a multitouch device. Client-Only
Input.tappedEvent Event<Vector2 location, integer touchIndex> Fired when the player taps on a touch input device. Parameters are the screen location of the tap and the touch index with which the tap was performed. Client-Only
Input.flickedEvent Event<number angle> Fired when the player performs a quick flicking gesture on a touch input device. The angle parameter indicates the direction of the flick. 0 indicates a flick to the right. Values increase in degrees counter-clockwise, so 90 indicates a flick straight up, 180 indicates a flick to the left, etc. Client-Only
Input.pinchStartedEvent Event Fired when the player begins a pinching gesture on a touch input device. Input.GetPinchValue() may be polled during the pinch gesture to determine how far the player has pinched. Client-Only
Input.pinchStoppedEvent Event Fired when the player ends a pinching gesture on a touch input device. Client-Only
Input.rotateStartedEvent Event Fired when the player begins a rotating gesture on a touch input device. Input.GetRotateValue() may be polled during the rotate gesture to determine how far the player has rotated. Client-Only
Input.rotateStoppedEvent Event Fired when the player ends a rotating gesture on a touch input device. Client-Only
Input.pointerMovedEvent Event<Vector2 delta, integer touchIndex> Fired when the pointer (either the mouse or a touch input) has moved. Parameters include the change in position since the last time pointerMovedEvent was fired for the given pointer, and an optional touch index indicating which touch input moved. touchIndex will be nil when the mouse has moved. Client-Only
Input.mouseButtonPressedEvent Event<Vector2 position, MouseButton> Fired when the user has pressed a mouse button. Parameters indicate the screen position of the cursor when the button was pressed, and an enum value indicating which mouse button was pressed. Client-Only
Input.mouseButtonReleasedEvent Event<Vector2 position, MouseButton> Fired when the user has released a mouse button. Parameters indicate the screen position of the cursor when the button was released, and an enum value indicating which mouse button was released. Client-Only

Hooks

Hook Name Return Type Description Tags
escapeHook Hook<Player player, table parameters> Hook called when the local player presses the Escape key. The parameters table contains a boolean named "openPauseMenu", which may be set to false to prevent the pause menu from being opened. Players may press Shift-Esc to force the pause menu to open without calling this hook. Client-Only
actionHook Hook<Player player, table actionList> Hook called each frame with a list of changes in action values since the previous frame. The actionList table is an array of tables with the structure {action = "actionName", value = number or Vector2} for each action whose value has changed since the last frame. If no values have changed, actionList will be empty, even if there are actions currently being held. Entries in the table can be added, removed, or changed and will affect whether pressed and released events fire. If a non-zero value is changed to zero then Input.actionReleasedEvent will fire for that action. If a zero value changes to non-zero then Input.actionPressedEvent will fire. Client-Only

Examples

Example using:

DisableVirtualControls

EnableVirtualControls

In this example, a trigger is setup to display a UI dialog to any player who walks over it. When this happens, virtual touch controls are disabled. Simultaneously, we tell Core to enable cursor controls. This dual approach broadens the game's support for different types of devices. If the device doesn't support touch or a cursor the corresponding command has no effect. We also setup a UI button that can be used for closing the dialog. When the dialog is closed the touch/cursor controls are set back to normal.

local TRIGGER = script:GetCustomProperty("Trigger"):WaitForObject()
local UIPANEL = script:GetCustomProperty("UIPanel"):WaitForObject()
local CLOSE_BUTTON = script:GetCustomProperty("CloseButton"):WaitForObject()

UIPANEL.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_OFF

local function OnBeginOverlap()
    Input.DisableVirtualControls()
    UI.SetCursorVisible(true)
    UI.SetCanCursorInteractWithUI(true)
    UIPANEL.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_ON
end

local function OnButtonClicked()
    Input.EnableVirtualControls()
    UI.SetCursorVisible(false)
    UI.SetCanCursorInteractWithUI(false)
    UIPANEL.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_OFF
end

TRIGGER.beginOverlapEvent:Connect(OnBeginOverlap)
CLOSE_BUTTON.clickedEvent:Connect(OnButtonClicked)

See also: Trigger.beginOverlapEvent | UIButton.clickedEvent | UI.SetCursorVisible | CoreObject.visibility | CoreObjectReference.WaitForObject


Example using:

GetCursorPosition

In this client script we listen for the player's shoot action (left mouse click) then print the position of their cursor to the event log.

local function OnActionPressed(player, action)
    if action == "Shoot" then
        local cursorPos = Input.GetCursorPosition()
        if cursorPos then
            print("Clicked at: " .. cursorPos.x .. ", " .. cursorPos.y)
        else
            print("Clicked at an undefined position.")
        end
    end
end

Input.actionPressedEvent:Connect(OnActionPressed)

See also: Game.GetLocalPlayer | Input.actionPressedEvent | Vector2.x


Example using:

GetTouchPosition

GetPinchValue

GetRotateValue

pinchStartedEvent

pinchStoppedEvent

rotateStartedEvent

rotateStoppedEvent

In this example we manipulate an image with a multi-touch pinching gesture. The pinch gesture is used to move, scale and rotate a 2D image on screen.

local UIIMAGE = script:GetCustomProperty("UIImage"):WaitForObject()

UIIMAGE.anchor = UIPivot.MIDDLE_CENTER

local isPinching = false
local isRotating = false
local startingWidth
local startingHeight
local startingAngle

function Tick()
    -- Position
    local touch1 = Input.GetTouchPosition(1)
    local touch2 = Input.GetTouchPosition(2)

    if touch1 ~= nil and touch2 ~= nil then
        local position = (touch1 + touch2) / 2
        UIIMAGE:SetAbsolutePosition(position)
    end

    -- Scale
    if isPinching then
        local pinchPercent = Input.GetPinchValue()
        UIIMAGE.width = CoreMath.Round(startingWidth * pinchPercent)
        UIIMAGE.height = CoreMath.Round(startingHeight * pinchPercent)
    end

    -- Rotate
    if isRotating then
        local angle = Input.GetRotateValue()
        UIIMAGE.rotationAngle = startingAngle + angle
    end
end

local function PinchStarted()
    isPinching = true
    startingWidth = UIIMAGE.width
    startingHeight = UIIMAGE.height
end

local function PinchStopped()
    isPinching = false
end

-- Detect pinch gesture start/end
Input.pinchStartedEvent:Connect(PinchStarted)
Input.pinchStoppedEvent:Connect(PinchStopped)

local function RotateStarted()
    isRotating = true
    startingAngle = UIIMAGE.rotationAngle
end

local function RotateStopped()
    isRotating = false
end

-- Detect rotation gesture start/end
Input.rotateStartedEvent:Connect(RotateStarted)
Input.rotateStoppedEvent:Connect(RotateStopped)

See also: UIControl.SetAbsolutePosition | CoreObject.GetCustomProperty | CoreObjectReference.WaitForObject


Example using:

mouseButtonPressedEvent

mouseButtonReleasedEvent

A power meter is a common mechanic in games, especially sports. For this example, detecting when the mouse buttons are pressed and released will control the progress of a UIProgressBar.

local POWER_METER = script:GetCustomProperty("PowerMeter"):WaitForObject()
local POWER_SPEED = script:GetCustomProperty("PowerSpeed")

local mouseDown = false

function Tick(deltaTime)
    if mouseDown then
        POWER_METER.progress = POWER_METER.progress + deltaTime / POWER_SPEED
    end
end

local function OnMousePressed()
    POWER_METER.progress = 0
    mouseDown = true
end

local function OnMouseReleased()
    mouseDown = false
end

Input.mouseButtonPressedEvent:Connect(OnMousePressed)
Input.mouseButtonReleasedEvent:Connect(OnMouseReleased)

See also: CoreObject.GetCustomProperty | CoreObjectReference.WaitForObject | UIProgressBar.progress | CoreLua.Tick


Example using:

pointerMovedEvent

In this example, the script will print to the Event Log the distance the mouse cursor or touch index traveled.

local function OnPointerMoved(offsetVector, touchIndex)
    local distance = offsetVector.size

    if touchIndex == nil then
        print("Mouse traveled " .. distance)
    else
        print("Touch index " .. touchIndex .. " traveled " .. distance)
    end
end

Input.pointerMovedEvent:Connect(OnPointerMoved)

See also: Vector2 | Event.Connect


Example using:

tappedEvent

flickedEvent

In this example we listen for the tapped and flicked touch gestures. When one of those events is triggered, the pertinent information is printed to the screen.

function OnTappedEvent(location, touchIndex)
    UI.PrintToScreen("Tap ".. touchIndex ..": ".. tostring(location))
end

function OnFlickedEvent(angle)
    UI.PrintToScreen("Flick: " .. angle)
end

Input.tappedEvent:Connect(OnTappedEvent)
Input.flickedEvent:Connect(OnFlickedEvent)

See also: UI.PrintToScreen | Event.Connect


Example using:

touchStartedEvent

touchStoppedEvent

In this example, touch inputs are tracked in two different ways, with a counter and with a table. Each time the amount of touches change a summary of the touch information is printed to screen.

local touchCount = 0
local activeTouches = {}

function OnTouchStarted(screenPosition, touchId)
    touchCount = touchCount + 1
    activeTouches[touchId] = true
    PrintTouchInfo()
end

function OnTouchStopped(screenPosition, touchId)
    touchCount = touchCount - 1
    activeTouches[touchId] = nil
    PrintTouchInfo()
end

Input.touchStartedEvent:Connect(OnTouchStarted)
Input.touchStoppedEvent:Connect(OnTouchStopped)

function PrintTouchInfo()
    local str = touchCount .. ": ["
    local addComma = false
    for id,_ in pairs(activeTouches) do
        if addComma then
            str = str .. ", "
        end
        addComma = true
        str = str .. id
    end
    str = str .. "]"
    UI.PrintToScreen(str)
end

See also: UI.PrintToScreen | Event.Connect


Example using:

actionHook

In this example we override the jump action to make all players automatically jump every second.

local JUMP_PERIOD = 1
local nextJumpTime = 0

function OnAction(player, actionList)
    -- Verbose output of all actions to the Event Log
    for k,v in ipairs(actionList) do
        print(tostring(k), tostring(v.action), tostring(v.value))
    end

    -- Everyone periodically jumps automatically
    if time() > nextJumpTime then
        -- Jump
        nextJumpTime = time() + JUMP_PERIOD
        actionList[1] = {
            action = "Jump",
            value = 1.0
        }
    else
        -- No jump
        actionList[1] = {
            action = "Jump",
            value = 0.0
        }
    end
end

Input.actionHook:Connect(OnAction)

See also: Hook.Connect


Example using:

IsActionEnabled

EnableAction

DisableAction

In this example players are prevented from jumping while moving. Also, a UI element is toggled on/off to indicate when jump is available.

local JUMP_ICON = script:GetCustomProperty("JumpIcon"):WaitForObject()

function Tick()
    if Input.IsActionEnabled("Jump") then
        JUMP_ICON.visibility = Visibility.INHERIT
    else
        JUMP_ICON.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_OFF
    end
end

function OnAction(player, actionList)
    for k,v in ipairs(actionList) do
        -- Verbose output of all actions to the Event Log
        print(tostring(k), tostring(v.action), tostring(v.value))

        -- Toggle jump on/off, depending on movement
        if v.action == "Move" then
            if v.value == Vector2.ZERO then
                Input.EnableAction("Jump")
            else
                Input.DisableAction("Jump")
            end
        end
    end
end

Input.actionHook:Connect(OnAction)

See also: CoreObject.visibility | CoreObjectReference.WaitForObject | Hook.Connect


Example using:

GetActionInputLabel

This client script shows how to get the "display name" for the jump action. It may usually say "Space Bar". However, the user could bind different keys to their inputs, or the value may differ due to localization. If you were to hardcode the words "Space Bar" into the user interface, it would be misleading for some users. Instead, call Input.GetActionInputLabel() and use the returned value to populate the UI.

local UI_TEXT = script:GetCustomProperty("UIText"):WaitForObject()

local label = Input.GetActionInputLabel("jump", {inputType = InputType.KEYBOARD_AND_MOUSE})
print(tostring(label))

UI_TEXT.text = label

Example using:

actionPressedEvent

Hotbars in games are a useful way for players to access things such as abilities, weapons, or tools quickly. This example shows how the mouse wheel can be used to scroll through all the slots in a hotbar. It supports wrapping around when scrolling past the start or end of the hotbar.

-- Client script.

-- The container that holds the slots.
local SLOTS_CONTAINER = script:GetCustomProperty("SlotsContainer"):WaitForObject()

-- The color of the slot frame when it is active.
local ACTIVE_COLOR = script:GetCustomProperty("ActiveColor")

-- The color of the slot frame when it is inactive.
local INACTIVE_COLOR = script:GetCustomProperty("InactiveColor")

-- The current active slot index.
local currentSlotIndex = 1

-- All the slots in the container.
local slots = SLOTS_CONTAINER:GetChildren()

-- Total slots, just caching it here for use later.
local totalSlots = #slots

-- Sets a slot to become active based on the index passed in.
local function SetActiveSlot(index)
    slots[index]:FindChildByName("Frame"):SetColor(ACTIVE_COLOR)
end

-- Clears the last active slot based on the index passed in.
local function ClearActiveSlot(index)
    slots[index]:FindChildByName("Frame"):SetColor(INACTIVE_COLOR)
end

local function OnActionPressed(player, action, value)
    -- Checks to see if the action is the Zoom action.
    -- This could be a custom action, doesn't need to be named "Zoom".
    if action == "Zoom" then
        -- Need to store the old slot to compare later on.
        local oldSlotIndex = currentSlotIndex

        -- Scroll wheel will either be -1 or 1.
        if value > 0 then
            currentSlotIndex = currentSlotIndex == totalSlots and 1 or (currentSlotIndex + 1)
        elseif value < 0 then
            currentSlotIndex = currentSlotIndex == 1 and totalSlots or (currentSlotIndex - 1)
        end

        -- If the slot has changed, clear the old one and set the new one.
        if oldSlotIndex ~= currentSlotIndex then
            ClearActiveSlot(oldSlotIndex)
            SetActiveSlot(currentSlotIndex)
        end
    end
end

-- Listens for when an action is pressed.
Input.actionPressedEvent:Connect(OnActionPressed)

-- Set the active slot from the start (1 in this case).
SetActiveSlot(currentSlotIndex)

See also: CoreObject.GetCustomProperty | CoreObjectReference.WaitForObject | UIImage.SetColor


Example using:

actionPressedEvent

actionReleasedEvent

This client script demonstrates how to listen for all input actions being pressed/released. Results appear in the Event Log.

function OnActionPressed(player, action, value)
    print("Action: " .. action .. ", value: " .. tostring(value))
end

function OnActionReleased(player, action)
    print("Action: " .. action)
end

Input.actionPressedEvent:Connect(OnActionPressed)
Input.actionReleasedEvent:Connect(OnActionReleased)

Example using:

escapeHook

Core has a default pause menu that appears when a player presses the ESC key. This client script demonstrates how to prevent Core's default pause from occurring and replace it with a custom menu. As a fallback in case your UI gets stuck, Shift + ESC allows you to access Core's default pause, even with the escape hook in place.

-- "MenuPanel" is a UI Panel assigned as a custom property to the script.
local CUSTOM_MENU = script:GetCustomProperty("MenuPanel"):WaitForObject()
-- "ExitButton" is a UI Button within that panel. Also assigned as a custom property.
local EXIT_BUTTON = script:GetCustomProperty("ExitButton"):WaitForObject()

CUSTOM_MENU.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_OFF
local isShowingMenu = false

function ShowMenu()
    -- Show our custom menu and enable mouse control
    isShowingMenu = true
    CUSTOM_MENU.visibility = Visibility.INHERIT
    UI.SetCanCursorInteractWithUI(true)
    UI.SetCursorVisible(true)
end

function HideMenu()
    -- Hide our custom menu and disable mouse control
    isShowingMenu = false
    CUSTOM_MENU.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_OFF
    UI.SetCanCursorInteractWithUI(false)
    UI.SetCursorVisible(false)
end

function OnEscape(localPlayer, params)
    -- Prevents Core's default pause from appearing
    params.openPauseMenu = false

    -- Toggle the custom menu on/off
    if isShowingMenu then
        HideMenu()
    else
        ShowMenu()
    end
end

-- Intercept the ESC key being pressed
Input.escapeHook:Connect(OnEscape)

local function DoTransfer()
    Game.GetLocalPlayer():TransferToGame("e39f3e/core-world")
end

-- Send players to Core World when they press the custom "Exit" button
EXIT_BUTTON.clickedEvent:Connect(DoTransfer)

See also: Player.TransferToGame | UIButton.clickedEvent | UI.SetCanCursorInteractWithUI | Game.GetLocalPlayer


Example using:

inputTypeChangedEvent

In this example, the UI will update to show what input type the player is currently using, and will update the UI when the player changes the input type.

-- Client script.

-- UI image for mouse input.
local MOUSE_IMAGE = script:GetCustomProperty("MouseImage"):WaitForObject()

-- UI image for controller input.
local CONTROLLER_IMAGE = script:GetCustomProperty("ControllerImage"):WaitForObject()

-- Fired when the input has changed.
local function UpdateInputImage(player, changedInputType)
    -- Check the changed input type by comparing with the
    -- InputType enum.
    if changedInputType == InputType.KEYBOARD_AND_MOUSE then
        MOUSE_IMAGE.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_ON
        CONTROLLER_IMAGE.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_OFF
    elseif changedInputType == InputType.CONTROLLER then
        MOUSE_IMAGE.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_OFF
        CONTROLLER_IMAGE.visibility = Visibility.FORCE_ON
    end
end

Input.inputTypeChangedEvent:Connect(UpdateInputImage)

-- Update the input type image first time
UpdateInputImage(Game.GetLocalPlayer(), Input.GetCurrentInputType())

See also: CoreObject.GetCustomProperty | Game.GetLocalPlayer | CoreObjectReference.WaitForObject | Input.GetCurrentInputType | KEYBOARD_AND_MOUSE


Tutorials

Touch API Basics Tutorial

Learn More

Binding Sets


Last update: August 15, 2022