useListBox

Provides the behavior and accessibility implementation for a listbox component. A listbox displays a list of options and allows a user to select one or more of them.

install	`yarn add @react-aria/listbox`
version	3.4.4
usage	`import {useListBox, useOption, useListBoxSection} from '@react-aria/listbox'`

View ARIA spec

W3C

API#

useListBox<T>(
  props: AriaListBoxOptions<T>,
  state: ListState<T>,
  ref: RefObject<HTMLElement>
): ListBoxAria

useOption<T>(
  props: AriaOptionProps,
  state: ListState<T>,
  ref: RefObject<HTMLElement>
): OptionAria

useListBoxSection(
  (props: AriaListBoxSectionProps
)): ListBoxSectionAria

Features#

A listbox can be built using the <select> and <option> HTML elements, but this is not possible to style consistently cross browser. useListBox helps achieve accessible listbox components that can be styled as needed.

Note: useListBox only handles the list itself. For a dropdown similar to a <select>, see useSelect.

Exposed to assistive technology as a listbox using ARIA
Support for single, multiple, or no selection
Support for disabled items
Support for sections
Labeling support for accessibility
Support for mouse, touch, and keyboard interactions
Tab stop focus management
Keyboard navigation support including arrow keys, home/end, page up/down, select all, and clear
Automatic scrolling support during keyboard navigation
Typeahead to allow focusing options by typing text
Virtualized scrolling support for performance with long lists

Anatomy#

A listbox consists of a container element, with a list of options or groups inside. useListBox, useOption, and useListBoxSection handle exposing this to assistive technology using ARIA, along with handling keyboard, mouse, and interactions to support selection and focus behavior.

useListBox returns props that you should spread onto the list container element, along with props for an optional visual label:

Name	Type	Description
`listBoxProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the listbox element.
`labelProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the listbox's visual label element (if any).

useOption returns props for an individual option and its children, along with states you can use for styling:

Name	Type	Description
`optionProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the option element.
`labelProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the main text element inside the option.
`descriptionProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the description text element inside the option, if any.
`isFocused`	`boolean`	Whether the option is currently focused.
`isSelected`	`boolean`	Whether the option is currently selected.
`isPressed`	`boolean`	Whether the option is currently in a pressed state.
`isDisabled`	`boolean`	Whether the option is disabled.

useListBoxSection returns props for a section:

Name	Type	Description
`itemProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the wrapper list item.
`headingProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the heading element, if any.
`groupProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the group element.

State is managed by the useListState hook from @react-stately/list. The state object should be passed as an option to each of the above hooks.

If a listbox, options, or group does not have a visible label, an aria-label or aria-labelledby prop must be passed instead to identify the element to assistive technology.

State management#

useListBox requires knowledge of the options in the listbox in order to handle keyboard navigation and other interactions. It does this using the Collection interface, which is a generic interface to access sequential unique keyed data. You can implement this interface yourself, e.g. by using a prop to pass a list of item objects, but useListState from @react-stately/list implements a JSX based interface for building collections instead. See Collection Components for more information, and Collection Interface for internal details.

In addition, useListState manages the state necessary for multiple selection and exposes a SelectionManager, which makes use of the collection to provide an interface to update the selection state. For more information, see Selection.

Example#

This example uses HTML <ul> and <li> elements to represent the list, and applies props from useListBox and useOption.

Sections#

This example shows how a listbox can support sections with separators and headings using props from useListBoxSection. This is accomplished using four extra elements: an <li> between the sections to represent the separator, an <li> to contain the heading <span> element, and a <ul> to contain the child items. This structure is necessary to ensure HTML semantics are correct.

Complex options#

By default, options that only contain text will be labeled by the contents of the option. For options that have more complex content (e.g. icons, multiple lines of text, etc.), use labelProps and descriptionProps from useOption as needed to apply to the main text element of the option and its description. This improves screen reader announcement.

NOTE: listbox options cannot contain interactive content (e.g. buttons, checkboxes, etc.). For these cases, see useGrid instead.

This example shows how labelProps and descriptionProps can be applied to child elements of the item to apply ARIA properties returned by useOption. This is done using React.cloneElement in this example, but you can use context or other approaches for this as well.

Internationalization#

useListBox handles some aspects of internationalization automatically. For example, type to select is implemented with an Intl.Collator for internationalized string matching. You are responsible for localizing all labels and option content that is passed into the listbox.

RTL#

In right-to-left languages, the listbox options should be mirrored. The text content should be aligned to the right. Ensure that your CSS accounts for this.

Name	Type	Description
`isVirtualized`	`boolean`	Whether the listbox uses virtual scrolling.
`keyboardDelegate`	`KeyboardDelegate`	An optional keyboard delegate implementation for type to select, to override the default.
`shouldUseVirtualFocus`	`boolean`	Whether the listbox items should use virtual focus instead of being focused directly.
`shouldSelectOnPressUp`	`boolean`	Whether selection should occur on press up instead of press down.
`shouldFocusOnHover`	`boolean`	Whether options should be focused when the user hovers over them.
`label`	`ReactNode`	An optional visual label for the listbox.
`autoFocus`	`boolean \| FocusStrategy`	Whether to auto focus the listbox or an option.
`shouldFocusWrap`	`boolean`	Whether focus should wrap around when the end/start is reached.
`items`	`Iterable<T>`	Item objects in the collection.
`disabledKeys`	`Iterable<Key>`	The item keys that are disabled. These items cannot be selected, focused, or otherwise interacted with.
`selectionMode`	`SelectionMode`	The type of selection that is allowed in the collection.
`disallowEmptySelection`	`boolean`	Whether the collection allows empty selection.
`selectedKeys`	`'all' \| Iterable<Key>`	The currently selected keys in the collection (controlled).
`defaultSelectedKeys`	`'all' \| Iterable<Key>`	The initial selected keys in the collection (uncontrolled).
`onSelectionChange`	`( (keys: Selection )) => any`	Handler that is called when the selection changes.
`onFocus`	`( (e: FocusEvent )) => void`	Handler that is called when the element receives focus.
`onBlur`	`( (e: FocusEvent )) => void`	Handler that is called when the element loses focus.
`onFocusChange`	`( (isFocused: boolean )) => void`	Handler that is called when the element's focus status changes.
`id`	`string`	The element's unique identifier. See MDN.
`aria-label`	`string`	Defines a string value that labels the current element.
`aria-labelledby`	`string`	Identifies the element (or elements) that labels the current element.
`aria-describedby`	`string`	Identifies the element (or elements) that describes the object.
`aria-details`	`string`	Identifies the element (or elements) that provide a detailed, extended description for the object.

Method	Description
`getKeyBelow( (key: Key )): Key`	Returns the key visually below the given one, or `null` for none.
`getKeyAbove( (key: Key )): Key`	Returns the key visually above the given one, or `null` for none.
`getKeyLeftOf( (key: Key )): Key`	Returns the key visually to the left of the given one, or `null` for none.
`getKeyRightOf( (key: Key )): Key`	Returns the key visually to the right of the given one, or `null` for none.
`getKeyPageBelow( (key: Key )): Key`	Returns the key visually one page below the given one, or `null` for none.
`getKeyPageAbove( (key: Key )): Key`	Returns the key visually one page above the given one, or `null` for none.
`getFirstKey( (key?: Key, , global?: boolean )): Key`	Returns the first key, or `null` for none.
`getLastKey( (key?: Key, , global?: boolean )): Key`	Returns the last key, or `null` for none.
`getKeyForSearch( (search: string, , fromKey?: Key )): Key`	Returns the next key after `fromKey` that matches the given search string, or `null` for none.

'first' | 'last'

'none'
  | 'single'
  | 'multiple'

'all' | Set<Key>

Name	Type	Description
`collection`	`Collection<Node<T>>`	A collection of items in the list.
`disabledKeys`	`Set<Key>`	A set of items that are disabled.
`selectionManager`	`SelectionManager`	A selection manager to read and update multiple selection state.

A generic interface to access a readonly sequential collection of unique keyed items.

Properties

Name	Type	Description
`size`	`number`	The number of items in the collection.

Methods

Method	Description
`getKeys(): Iterable<Key>`	Iterate over all keys in the collection.
`getItem( (key: Key )): T`	Get an item by its key.
`at( (idx: number )): T`	Get an item by the index of its key.
`getKeyBefore( (key: Key )): Key \| null`	Get the key that comes before the given key in the collection.
`getKeyAfter( (key: Key )): Key \| null`	Get the key that comes after the given key in the collection.
`getFirstKey(): Key \| null`	Get the first key in the collection.
`getLastKey(): Key \| null`	Get the last key in the collection.

Name	Type	Description
`type`	`string`	The type of item this node represents.
`key`	`Key`	A unique key for the node.
`value`	`T`	The object value the node was created from.
`level`	`number`	The level of depth this node is at in the heirarchy.
`hasChildNodes`	`boolean`	Whether this item has children, even if not loaded yet.
`childNodes`	`Iterable<Node<T>>`	The loaded children of this node.
`rendered`	`ReactNode`	The rendered contents of this node (e.g. JSX).
`textValue`	`string`	A string value for this node, used for features like typeahead.
`aria-label`	`string`	An accessibility label for this node.
`index`	`number`	The index of this node within its parent.
`wrapper`	`( (element: ReactElement )) => ReactElement`	A function that should be called to wrap the rendered node.
`parentKey`	`Key`	The key of the parent node.
`prevKey`	`Key`	The key of the node before this node.
`nextKey`	`Key`	The key of the node after this node.
`props`	`any`	Additional properties specific to a particular node type.

An interface for reading and updating multiple selection state.

Properties

Name	Type	Description
`selectionMode`	`SelectionMode`	The type of selection that is allowed in the collection.
`disallowEmptySelection`	`boolean`	Whether the collection allows empty selection.
`selectionBehavior`	`SelectionBehavior`	The selection behavior for the collection.
`isFocused`	`boolean`	Whether the collection is currently focused.
`focusedKey`	`Key`	The current focused key in the collection.
`childFocusStrategy`	`FocusStrategy`	Whether the first or last child of the focused key should receive focus.
`selectedKeys`	`Set<Key>`	The currently selected keys in the collection.
`rawSelection`	`Selection`	The raw selection value for the collection. Either 'all' for select all, or a set of keys.
`isEmpty`	`boolean`	Whether the selection is empty.
`isSelectAll`	`boolean`	Whether all items in the collection are selected.
`firstSelectedKey`	`Key \| null`
`lastSelectedKey`	`Key \| null`

Methods

Method	Description
`constructor( collection: Collection<Node<unknown>>, state: MultipleSelectionState, options?: SelectionManagerOptions ): void`
`setSelectionBehavior( (selectionBehavior: SelectionBehavior )): void`	Sets the selection behavior for the collection.
`setFocused( (isFocused: boolean )): void`	Sets whether the collection is focused.
`setFocusedKey( (key: Key, , childFocusStrategy?: FocusStrategy )): void`	Sets the focused key.
`isSelected( (key: Key )): void`	Returns whether a key is selected.
`extendSelection( (toKey: Key )): void`	Extends the selection to the given key.
`toggleSelection( (key: Key )): void`	Toggles whether the given key is selected.
`replaceSelection( (key: Key )): void`	Replaces the selection with only the given key.
`setSelectedKeys( (keys: Iterable<Key> )): void`	Replaces the selection with the given keys.
`selectAll(): void`	Selects all items in the collection.
`clearSelection(): void`	Removes all keys from the selection.
`toggleSelectAll(): void`	Toggles between select all and an empty selection.
`select( (key: Key, , e?: PressEvent \| LongPressEvent \| PointerEvent )): void`
`isSelectionEqual( (selection: Set<Key> )): void`	Returns whether the current selection is equal to the given selection.
`canSelectItem( (key: Key )): void`

Properties

Name	Type	Description
`selectionMode`	`SelectionMode`	The type of selection that is allowed in the collection.
`selectionBehavior`	`SelectionBehavior`	The selection behavior for the collection.
`disallowEmptySelection`	`boolean`	Whether the collection allows empty selection.
`selectedKeys`	`Selection`	The currently selected keys in the collection.
`disabledKeys`	`Set<Key>`	The currently disabled keys in the collection.
`isFocused`	`boolean`	Whether the collection is currently focused.
`focusedKey`	`Key`	The current focused key in the collection.
`childFocusStrategy`	`FocusStrategy`	Whether the first or last child of the focused key should receive focus.

Methods

Method	Description
`setSelectionBehavior( (selectionBehavior: SelectionBehavior )): void`	Sets the selection behavior for the collection.
`setSelectedKeys( (keys: Selection )): void`	Sets the selected keys in the collection.
`setFocused( (isFocused: boolean )): void`	Sets whether the collection is focused.
`setFocusedKey( (key: Key, , child?: FocusStrategy )): void`	Sets the focused key, and optionally, whether the first or last child of that key should receive focus.

'toggle' | 'replace'

Name	Type	Description
`allowsCellSelection`	`boolean`

Name	Type	Description
`type`	`'pressstart' \| 'pressend' \| 'pressup' \| 'press'`	The type of press event being fired.
`pointerType`	`PointerType`	The pointer type that triggered the press event.
`target`	`HTMLElement`	The target element of the press event.
`shiftKey`	`boolean`	Whether the shift keyboard modifier was held during the press event.
`ctrlKey`	`boolean`	Whether the ctrl keyboard modifier was held during the press event.
`metaKey`	`boolean`	Whether the meta keyboard modifier was held during the press event.
`altKey`	`boolean`	Whether the alt keyboard modifier was held during the press event.

'mouse'
  | 'pen'
  | 'touch'
  | 'keyboard'
  | 'virtual'

Name	Type	Description
`type`	`'longpressstart' \| 'longpressend' \| 'longpress'`	The type of long press event being fired.
`pointerType`	`PointerType`	The pointer type that triggered the press event.
`target`	`HTMLElement`	The target element of the press event.
`shiftKey`	`boolean`	Whether the shift keyboard modifier was held during the press event.
`ctrlKey`	`boolean`	Whether the ctrl keyboard modifier was held during the press event.
`metaKey`	`boolean`	Whether the meta keyboard modifier was held during the press event.
`altKey`	`boolean`	Whether the alt keyboard modifier was held during the press event.

Name	Type	Description
`listBoxProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the listbox element.
`labelProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the listbox's visual label element (if any).

Name	Type	Description
`key`	`Key`	The unique key for the option.
`aria-label`	`string`	A screen reader only label for the option.

Name	Type	Description
`optionProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the option element.
`labelProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the main text element inside the option.
`descriptionProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the description text element inside the option, if any.
`isFocused`	`boolean`	Whether the option is currently focused.
`isSelected`	`boolean`	Whether the option is currently selected.
`isPressed`	`boolean`	Whether the option is currently in a pressed state.
`isDisabled`	`boolean`	Whether the option is disabled.

Name	Type	Description
`heading`	`ReactNode`	The heading for the section.
`aria-label`	`string`	An accessibility label for the section. Required if `heading` is not present.

Name	Type	Description
`itemProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the wrapper list item.
`headingProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the heading element, if any.
`groupProps`	`HTMLAttributes<HTMLElement>`	Props for the group element.

Provides state management for list-like components. Handles building a collection of items from props, and manages multiple selection state.

useListState<T>(
  (props: ListProps<T>
)): ListState<T>

Name	Type	Description
`children`	`CollectionChildren<T>`	The contents of the collection.
`filter`	`( (nodes: Iterable<Node<T>> )) => Iterable<Node<T>>`	Filter function to generate a filtered list of nodes.
`items`	`Iterable<T>`	Item objects in the collection.
`disabledKeys`	`Iterable<Key>`	The item keys that are disabled. These items cannot be selected, focused, or otherwise interacted with.
`selectionBehavior`	`SelectionBehavior`	How multiple selection should behave in the collection.
`allowDuplicateSelectionEvents`	`boolean`	Whether onSelectionChange should fire even if the new set of keys is the same as the last.
`selectionMode`	`SelectionMode`	The type of selection that is allowed in the collection.
`disallowEmptySelection`	`boolean`	Whether the collection allows empty selection.
`selectedKeys`	`'all' \| Iterable<Key>`	The currently selected keys in the collection (controlled).
`defaultSelectedKeys`	`'all' \| Iterable<Key>`	The initial selected keys in the collection (uncontrolled).
`onSelectionChange`	`( (keys: Selection )) => any`	Handler that is called when the selection changes.

CollectionElement<T>
  | CollectionElement<T>[]
  | (
    (item: T
  )) => CollectionElement<T>

SectionElement<T> | ItemElement<T>

ReactElement<SectionProps<T>>

Name	Type	Description
`children`	`ItemElement<T> \| ItemElement<T>[] \| ItemRenderer<T>`	Static child items or a function to render children.
`title`	`ReactNode`	Rendered contents of the section, e.g. a header.
`aria-label`	`string`	An accessibility label for the section.
`items`	`Iterable<T>`	Item objects in the section.

ReactElement<ItemProps<T>>

Name	Type	Description
`children`	`ReactNode`	Rendered contents of the item or child items.
`title`	`ReactNode`	Rendered contents of the item if `children` contains child items.
`textValue`	`string`	A string representation of the item's contents, used for features like typeahead.
`aria-label`	`string`	An accessibility label for this item.
`childItems`	`Iterable<T>`	A list of child item objects. Used for dynamic collections.
`hasChildItems`	`boolean`	Whether this item has children, even if not loaded yet.

(
  (item: T
)) => ItemElement<T>

Provides the behavior and accessibility implementation for a listbox component. A listbox displays a list of options and allows a user to select one or more of them.

useListBox<T>(
  props: AriaListBoxOptions<T>,
  state: ListState<T>,
  ref: RefObject<HTMLElement>
): ListBoxAria

Provides the behavior and accessibility implementation for an option in a listbox. See useListBox for more details about listboxes.

useOption<T>(
  props: AriaOptionProps,
  state: ListState<T>,
  ref: RefObject<HTMLElement>
): OptionAria

Provides the behavior and accessibility implementation for a section in a listbox. See useListBox for more details about listboxes.

useListBoxSection(
  (props: AriaListBoxSectionProps
)): ListBoxSectionAria