Keyboard Handling in Capacitor

When to Use

TRIGGER when:

• Focused input is covered by the keyboard, or the page scrolls unexpectedly
• Chat composer / fixed footer does not stick to the keyboard
• White or black band above the keyboard (Android 15+ edge-to-edge, iOS backdrop)
• 100vh / dvh layout collapses when the keyboard opens
• iOS zooms into inputs, or the QuickType/accessory bar looks wrong
• Keyboard events never fire or fire twice

Do not use:

• Notch / home-indicator / status-bar padding: safe-area-handling
• Ionic ion-input, ion-footer styling: ionic-design
• Labels, focus order, screen readers: capacitor-accessibility

Platform model (the key decision)

iOS resize modes (KeyboardResize enum):

Workflow

1. Inspect: capacitor.config.* plugins.Keyboard, @capacitor/keyboard version (8.0.4+ includes iOS 26 and Android SystemBars fixes), whether Ionic is used, @capacitor/status-bar / SystemBars config, and the failing screen's CSS (position: fixed, 100vh).
2. Reproduce on a device (simulators often use a hardware keyboard: iOS Simulator -> I/O -> Keyboard -> Toggle Software Keyboard).
3. Pick the iOS resize mode from the table; set it in config, not at runtime, unless one screen needs a different mode.
4. Fix Android separately (below).
5. Verify.

Config

// capacitor.config.ts
import { KeyboardResize, KeyboardStyle } from '@capacitor/keyboard';

plugins: {
  Keyboard: {
    resize: KeyboardResize.Body,      // iOS only
    style: KeyboardStyle.Default,     // iOS only; JSON value is "DARK" | "LIGHT" | "DEFAULT"
    // resizeOnFullScreen: omit on Capacitor 8+ (SystemBars handles insets; see Android notes)
    autoBackdropColor: 'auto',        // iOS, 8.0.4+: 'off' (default) | 'auto' | 'dom'
  },
},

String values in JSON config are uppercase for style ("DARK"), lowercase for resize ("body").

Custom positioning (resize: none or chat UIs)

import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';
import { Keyboard } from '@capacitor/keyboard';

if (Capacitor.isNativePlatform()) {
  Keyboard.addListener('keyboardWillShow', ({ keyboardHeight }) => {
    document.documentElement.style.setProperty('--kb', `${keyboardHeight}px`);
  });
  Keyboard.addListener('keyboardWillHide', () => {
    document.documentElement.style.setProperty('--kb', '0px');
  });
}

.composer {
  position: fixed;
  inset-inline: 0;
  bottom: max(var(--kb, 0px), env(safe-area-inset-bottom));
}

Use max(), not +: while the keyboard is up the home-indicator inset is already covered.

Android notes

• Android 15+ (targetSdk 35) enforces edge-to-edge; Android 16 (targetSdk 36, Capacitor 8 default) removes the opt-out. The WebView now draws under system bars, so the keyboard inset must be handled. @capacitor/keyboard 7.0.2 fixed white space above the keyboard on Android 15+, and 8.0.3 fixed the interaction with the SystemBars core plugin. Update the plugin before writing workarounds.
• resizeOnFullScreen: true was the Capacitor <= 7 workaround for fullscreen / overlaid status bar. On Capacitor 8+ the SystemBars core plugin handles IME insets and logs You should omit `Keyboard.resizeOnFullScreen` in your `capacitor.config.json`. Other values can lead to unexpected behavior. unless SystemBars.insetsHandling is disable. Remove it.
• Do not add android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustPan" to fix overlap; it pans the whole window and breaks fixed headers. The template omits it (default resize behavior).
• env(keyboard-inset-height) and interactive-widget viewport meta are Chromium features; test on the target Android System WebView version before relying on them, and never on iOS.

iOS notes

• Inputs with computed font-size < 16px make iOS zoom on focus. Use font-size: 16px (or larger) on inputs; do not disable user zoom globally (maximum-scale=1) as it hurts accessibility.
• setAccessoryBarVisible({ isVisible: false }) hides the prev/next/done bar on iPhone; it has no effect on iPad.
• setScroll({ isDisabled: true }) stops the WebView scroll view from bouncing when the keyboard opens; pair with resize: none for custom layouts.
• iOS 26 keyboard regressions and the iPad Magic Keyboard black QuickType bar were fixed in @capacitor/keyboard 8.0.4. If a black/white band appears behind the keyboard, set autoBackdropColor: 'auto' (uses backgroundColor from config, else the DOM body background) or 'dom'.

Verification

1. npx cap sync and run on a physical iPhone and an Android 15+/16 device.
2. For each form screen: focus first and last input; the focused field stays visible; footer sits on the keyboard; no gap above the keyboard; rotating with the keyboard open keeps layout.
3. Dismiss via swipe/back button: keyboardWillHide fires and --kb returns to 0.
4. iOS: confirm no zoom on focus; accessory bar state matches the design.
5. Check versions: npm ls @capacitor/keyboard @capacitor/core.

Error Handling

Resources

• Keyboard plugin API: https://capacitorjs.com/docs/apis/keyboard
• Plugin changelog: https://github.com/ionic-team/capacitor-keyboard/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md
• System Bars (edge-to-edge): https://capacitorjs.com/docs/apis/system-bars