It opens as a modal (role="dialog") containing a combobox+listbox pattern — the input points at the highlighted command via aria-activedescendant, arrow keys move, Enter runs it, Esc closes it. Most support fuzzy matching, so typing "newdoc" can still match "Create New Document."
The difference from a combobox is scope — a combobox is a narrow control for picking one value inside a form, while a command palette is global navigation across the whole app (navigate pages, change settings, run commands) and always opens as a modal. It shares "pick from a list" with a dropdown menu too, but the palette is an open list filtered by typed text rather than a fixed set of items.
Make sure the global shortcut (⌘K/Ctrl+K) doesn't collide with a browser or OS default first.