Building a keyboard · NuKey docs

Start a build

Tap an empty slot on the Theme page. The builder shows your keyboard at the top with controls beneath. A hint above the keys says how selection works:

Tap a key to edit it on its own.
Double tap a character key to select its whole row.
Hold to add more keys to the selection.
Or use the preset buttons below the keyboard: Number bar, Letters, Action keys, Space bar or Everything.

Colouring keys

With keys selected, set each part of the cap. Colours are gradients: pick a top and bottom colour and a Gradient rotation.

Keycap	The top and bottom colours of the cap, and the gradient's angle.
Dish	The scooped centre of the cap, with its own gradient and rotation. Reversing the cap gradient reads as a scooped key.
Dish size	How much of the cap the dish takes.
Corner radius	How round the cap's corners are.
Legend	The letter colour. Leave it on Automatic and NuKey picks black or white for contrast.

TipWork in groups. Do Letters first, then Action keys, then Space bar. A coherent board looks designed; thirty one-off colours rarely do.

Keycap styles

Under Keycaps choose the shape of every cap:

Classic	Sculpted caps with every corner, dish and colour yours to set. The only style that takes Liquid Glass.
3D	Chamfered caps like the app icon. The only style that takes board artwork. The shape is fixed; every colour stays yours.
NuBerry	Scalloped caps and fret lines like the classic thumb keyboard, on a tight grid. The shape is fixed; the gradient colours stay yours.
Sculpt	A cap shape of your own, moulded in the Keycap Sculptor.

CarefulLiquid Glass is processor-intensive and may cause typing lag, especially on older iPhones. Lower each group's glass colour opacity (about 0.25 to 0.45) so the glass stays visible.

Edge highlights and shimmer

Edge highlights: two coloured lights caught at fixed points on each cap's edge. Highlight strength sets how hard they read.
Edge shimmer: a coloured rim reflection that moves as you tilt the phone. Shimmer sensitivity sets how far the light travels, and Shimmer strength how brightly it catches.
With Reduce Motion on, shimmer stays still.

Separate Light and Dark designs

By default one design is used in both appearances. To give the keyboard a night look, turn on Edit dark mode and use the Light/Dark switch above the preview.

While Light is selected, colour changes land on Light Mode only.
The first time you open Dark it takes its own copy; from then on they are independent.
The switch only chooses what you are editing. The keyboard itself always follows your phone's current appearance.

Key press preview

The bubble raised over a pressed key is styled in its own panel. By default it wears the letter caps' colours, and you can pick your own for the appearance you are editing. It only shows on the keyboard when Key preview is on in the Keys menu.

Save, name and share

Name the keyboard and save it to its slot. From the Theme page, hold it to share as a QR code or link. See Sharing keyboards.

Something unclear or out of date? Tell us on the feedback board, or use Support inside the app and we will fix the guide.