How to test SOCD
- Hold A.
- While you keep holding it, press and hold D.
- Let go of D, then of A.
- Do it the other way round: hold D, then press A.
After each try the table fills in, and the verdict names the rule behind both orders. W/S and the left/right arrows are watched too. The line under the table lists the events of the last try with their timing, for example A↓ 0 ms · D↓ 604 ms · A↑ 605 ms: that A↑ came from the keyboard, not your finger.
Reading the result
- Last-input priority: the newest key wins and the older one comes back when you release it. The tester only names it when the keyboard’s own timing shows: the first key released in the same USB report as the second went down, or brought back in the same report as it went up. A quick roll or counter-strafe by hand never counts. This is Razer’s Snap Tap on the Huntsman V3 Pro line; according to Razer’s Snap Tap page it’s toggled in Synapse or with Fn+Left Shift, with A and D paired by default. Wooting’s last-input mode, Snappy Tappy, is set up in Wootility.
- Neutral: both keys cancel while held, one of Wooting’s SOCD modes.
- Absolute priority: one chosen key always wins, whichever you pressed first; Wooting offers this too.
- No SOCD handling: both keys are reported and the game decides, which is what most keyboards do.
- Second key never arrived: first-input priority, where the held key keeps priority, or the second key simply wasn’t pressed.
Wooting’s Rappy Snappy picks the key pressed deeper on analog switches; here it reads like last input. Software such as SnapKey does the same thing in Windows, and the tester sees its result as well, because it only reads events.
Before you play
Counter-Strike 2 kicks players on Valve’s official servers when it detects hardware-assisted counter-strafing (update of 19 August 2024), so switch Snap Tap and similar modes off there. Other games and tournaments set their own rules. The fight stick tester tests SOCD cleaning on arcade sticks and hitboxes.
SOCD modes and where they come from
| Mode | What happens with both keys down | Found in |
|---|---|---|
| Last-input priority | The key pressed last wins; the other comes back when you let go | Razer Snap Tap (Huntsman V3 Pro), Wooting Snappy Tappy (last input), many Hall-effect boards |
| Neutral | Both keys cancel: no movement while both are down | Wooting SOCD Neutral mode |
| Absolute priority | One set key always wins | Wooting SOCD Absolute priority mode |
| Deepest press | The key pressed further down wins | Wooting Rappy Snappy (analog keyboards only; reads like last input here) |
| None | Both keys are reported; the game decides | Most keyboards, and SOCD features switched off |