How to Open a GUI with a Key Press in Roblox

1. The core: UserInputService.InputBegan

UserInputService fires InputBegan for every key, tap, and button press on the client. Listen for it in a LocalScript, compare input.KeyCode to the key you want, and toggle the ScreenGui's Enabled property. That is the whole mechanism.

-- LocalScript under StarterGui
local UserInputService = game:GetService("UserInputService")

local player = game:GetService("Players").LocalPlayer
local playerGui = player:WaitForChild("PlayerGui")
local menuGui = playerGui:WaitForChild("MenuGui")

UserInputService.InputBegan:Connect(function(input, gameProcessed)
    if gameProcessed then return end
    if input.KeyCode == Enum.KeyCode.M then
        menuGui.Enabled = not menuGui.Enabled
    end
end)

2. Which keys are safe to bind

Avoid keys Roblox or common games already own: W A S D and the arrows (movement), slash (chat), Escape (Roblox menu), and Enter. Letters like M, B, I, G, and K, plus Tab and Q, are popular and conflict-free choices. F-keys and Return often collide with platform UI.

Enum.KeyCode lists every bindable key and gamepad button — you can also bind Enum.KeyCode.ButtonX for controller users with the same InputBegan code.

3. Show and hide with a transition

Flipping Enabled is instant. If you want the menu to fade or slide, keep the GUI enabled and tween a property instead — a CanvasGroup's GroupTransparency for fades, or the panel's Position for a slide — then disable it after the close tween finishes.

local TweenService = game:GetService("TweenService")

local function openMenu()
    menuGui.Enabled = true
    local panel = menuGui:WaitForChild("Panel")
    TweenService:Create(
        panel,
        TweenInfo.new(0.2, Enum.EasingStyle.Quint, Enum.EasingDirection.Out),
        { GroupTransparency = 0 }
    ):Play()
end

4. Gamepad and mobile players

Keyboards are not the only input. For a bind that works across keyboard and controller with a free on-screen button, use ContextActionService: it maps one action name to several key codes, shows a mobile touch button automatically when you give it a title, and lets you unbind when the GUI closes.

local ContextActionService = game:GetService("ContextActionService")

local function handleOpen(actionName, inputState, input)
    if inputState ~= Enum.UserInputState.Begin then return end
    menuGui.Enabled = not menuGui.Enabled
end

ContextActionService:BindAction("OpenMenu", handleOpen, true, Enum.KeyCode.M, Enum.KeyCode.ButtonSelect)
ContextActionService:SetTitle("OpenMenu", "Menu")

5. Keep the toggle client-side

Opening your own menu is a visual change, so it belongs in a LocalScript — no RemoteEvent needed. What crosses to the server is only the consequence: if pressing the key buys something or claims a reward, that button inside the GUI fires a RemoteEvent and the server validates it, exactly like any other button.