readkeys

readkeys

Python library to read from stdin a single char, keypress (with escape sequences) or line.

Originally a fork of magmax/python-readchar, it was rewritten to fix some bugs and better support UNIX and Windows systems.

Usage

import readkeys

ch = readkeys.getch()  # get a single character
key = readkeys.getkey()  # get a single keypress
line = readkeys.getline()  # get a line of text
line2 = readkeys.getline(raw=False)  # Get a line of text and print out characters as they are typed, similar to built-in input.
flush = readkeys.flush()  # flush stdin

Functions

getch

The getch function reads a single character byte from stdin. The buffer is not flushed after read.

The function has the following type signature: getch(NONBLOCK: bool = False, encoding: str = None, raw: bool = True) -> str

• NONBLOCK: bool use non-blocking mode when reading from stdin, defaults to False. The library may encounter unforeseen errors if set to True.
• encoding: str specify an encoding (e.g. utf-8) to be used to decode bytes from the stdin buffer. If unspecified it assumes characters can be directly extracted from stdin.
• raw: bool put tty terminal in raw mode before reading, see tty.setraw. If set to False the characters will still appear in the terminal as they are typed. Settings before changing to raw mode are saved and restored when the read operation is complete.
  The option is ignored on Windows systems as they use a completely different terminal environment and a different library is necessary to read character from stdin: msvcrt.

getkey

The getkey function reads a single keypress from stdin, including escape sequences of function keys. For example arrow keys are returned with their full escape sequence, without leaving anything in the buffer (0x1b5b41, 0x1b5b42, 0x1b5b43 or 0x1b5b44).

The function has the following type signature: getch(getch_fn: Callable[[], str] = None, encoding: str = "", raw: bool = True) -> str

• getch_fn: Callable[[], str] if passed, use the this function instead of the built-in getch to read the single bytes from stdin. The library may encounter unforeseen errors if this option is used.
• encoding: str specify an encoding (e.g. utf-8) to be used to decode bytes from the stdin buffer. See getch.
• raw: bool put tty terminal in raw mode before reading. See getch.

getline

The getline function reads a full line of characters from stdin, including non-standard keys (e.g. arrow keys). It defaults to raw mode, leaving characters unprinted on screen.

The function has the following type signature: (getch_fn: Optional[Callable[[], str]] = None, encoding: str = None, raw: bool = True) -> str

• getch_fn: Callable[[], str] if passed, use the this function instead of the built-in getch to read the single bytes from stdin. The library may encounter unforeseen errors if this option is used.
• encoding: str specify an encoding (e.g. utf-8) to be used to decode bytes from the stdin buffer. See getch.
• raw: bool put tty terminal in raw mode before reading. See getch.

flush

The flush function removes any leftover byte from stdin and returns them as a string. It is useful to clear the buffer from any remaining bytes after doing a single read with getch.

The function has the following type signature: flush() -> str