The newer MacBook Air keyboard is fine.

Not really. The current keyboard (since 2019) uses a scissor-switch mechanism that’s way more robust than the butterfly nightmare Apple used from 2015–2019. Dust and crumbs can still get in there if you’re eating Cheetos over your laptop, but the failure rate is dramatically lower.

The butterfly keyboards had a known design flaw: the mechanism was so shallow that even a speck of dust could jam a key, and repairing it basically meant replacing the whole top case. Apple even had a free repair program. They were terrible.

The Magic Keyboard (that’s what Apple calls it) has more key travel and a rubber gasket under each keycap that keeps debris out. It’s not invincible—spill coffee on it and you’ll have problems—but normal dust from a desk or pocket lint won’t cause the same issues. I’ve used one for years and never had a stuck key.

You don’t need a can of compressed air on standby. Just don’t eat a bag of chips over it.