Tabs

An accessible tabs component that provides keyboard interactions and ARIA attributes described in the WAI-ARIA Tabs Design Pattern.

Import#

import { Tabs, TabList, TabPanels, Tab, TabPanel } from '@chakra-ui/react'

Tabs: Provides context and state for all components
TabList: Wrapper for the Tab components
Tab: element that serves as a label for one of the tab panels and can be activated to display that panel.
TabPanels: Wrapper for the TabPanel components
TabPanel: element that contains the content associated with a tab

Usage#

You can render any element within Tabs, but TabList should only have Tab as children, and TabPanels should have TabPanel as children.

Tabs expects TabList and TabPanels as children. The order doesn't matter, you can have TabList at the top, at the bottom, or both.

<Tabs>
  <TabList>
    <Tab>One</Tab>
    <Tab>Two</Tab>
    <Tab>Three</Tab>
  </TabList>

  <TabPanels>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>one!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>two!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>three!</p>
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
</Tabs>

Tab variants and color#

Tabs come in 6 different variants to style the tabs: line,enclosed, enclosed-colored, soft-rounded, solid-rounded

<Tabs variant='enclosed'>
  <TabList>
    <Tab>One</Tab>
    <Tab>Two</Tab>
  </TabList>
  <TabPanels>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>one!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>two!</p>
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
</Tabs>

You can also change the color scheme for any specific variant by passing the colorScheme.

The value of colorScheme must exist in the theme object, and must be a key in theme.colors that has the 50 - 900 color values.

<Tabs variant='soft-rounded' colorScheme='green'>
  <TabList>
    <Tab>Tab 1</Tab>
    <Tab>Tab 2</Tab>
  </TabList>
  <TabPanels>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>one!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>two!</p>
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
</Tabs>

Tab sizes#

You can change the size of the tab by passing size prop. We support 3 sizes sm, md, lg

<Tabs size='md' variant='enclosed'>
  <TabList>
    <Tab>One</Tab>
    <Tab>Two</Tab>
  </TabList>
  <TabPanels>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>one!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>two!</p>
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
</Tabs>

Changing the tabs alignment#

You can change the alignment of the TabList by passing align prop. We support 3 sizes start, center, end.

<Tabs align='end' variant='enclosed'>
  <TabList>
    <Tab>One</Tab>
    <Tab>Two</Tab>
  </TabList>
  <TabPanels>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>one!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>two!</p>
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
</Tabs>

Fitted Tabs#

Stretch the tab list to fit the container by passing isFitted prop.

<Tabs isFitted variant='enclosed'>
  <TabList mb='1em'>
    <Tab>One</Tab>
    <Tab>Two</Tab>
  </TabList>
  <TabPanels>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>one!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>two!</p>
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
</Tabs>

Styling the tab states via props#

In event you need to create custom styles for the tabs. Simply set the variant to unstyled, and use the _selected, _hover, _active style props.

<Tabs variant='unstyled'>
  <TabList>
    <Tab _selected={{ color: 'white', bg: 'blue.500' }}>Tab 1</Tab>
    <Tab _selected={{ color: 'white', bg: 'green.400' }}>Tab 2</Tab>
  </TabList>
  <TabPanels>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>one!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>two!</p>
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
</Tabs>

Tabs onChange#

The onChange callback returns the active tab's index whenever the user changes tabs. If you intend to control the tabs programmatically, use this with the index prop.

function Example() {
  const colors = useColorModeValue(
    ['red.50', 'teal.50', 'blue.50'],
    ['red.900', 'teal.900', 'blue.900'],
  )
  const [tabIndex, setTabIndex] = React.useState(0)
  const bg = colors[tabIndex]
  return (
    <Tabs onChange={(index) => setTabIndex(index)} bg={bg}>
      <TabList>
        <Tab>Red</Tab>
        <Tab>Teal</Tab>
        <Tab>Blue</Tab>
      </TabList>
      <TabPanels p='2rem'>
        <TabPanel>The Primary Colors</TabPanel>
        <TabPanel>Are 1, 2, 3</TabPanel>
        <TabPanel>Red, yellow and blue.</TabPanel>
      </TabPanels>
    </Tabs>
  )
}

Make a tab initially active#

If you want a tab to be initially active, simply pass the defaultIndex prop and set it to the index of that tab.

<Tabs defaultIndex={1}>
  <TabPanels>
    <TabPanel>
      <Image
        boxSize='200px'
        fit='cover'
        src='https://resizing.flixster.com/wTgvsiM8vNLhCcCH-6ovV8n5z5U=/300x300/v1.bjsyMDkxMzI5O2o7MTgyMDQ7MTIwMDsxMjAwOzkwMA'
      />
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <Image
        boxSize='200px'
        fit='cover'
        src='https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/naruto/images/2/21/Sasuke_Part_1.png/revision/latest?cb=20170716092103'
      />
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
  <TabList>
    <Tab>Naruto</Tab>
    <Tab>Sasuke</Tab>
  </TabList>
</Tabs>

Make a Tab disabled#

When a Tab is disabled, it is skipped during keyboard navigation and it is not clickable.

function Example() {
  return (
    <Tabs>
      <TabList>
        <Tab>One</Tab>
        <Tab isDisabled>Two</Tab>
        <Tab>Three</Tab>
      </TabList>
      <TabPanels>
        <TabPanel>1</TabPanel>
        <TabPanel>2</TabPanel>
        <TabPanel>3</TabPanel>
      </TabPanels>
    </Tabs>
  )
}

Tabs with manual activation#

By default, Tabs are activated automatically. This means when you use the arrow keys to change tabs, the tab is activated and focused.

The content of a TabPanel should ideally be preloaded. However, if switching to a tab panel causes a network request and possibly a page refresh, there might be some noticeable latency and this might affect the experience for keyboard and screen reader users.

In this scenario, you should use a manually activated tab, it moves focus without activating the tabs. With focus on a specific tab, users can activate a tab by pressing Space or Enter.

<Tabs isManual variant='enclosed'>
  <TabList>
    <Tab>One</Tab>
    <Tab>Two</Tab>
  </TabList>
  <TabPanels>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>one!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    <TabPanel>
      <p>two!</p>
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
</Tabs>

Lazily mounting tab panels#

By default, the Tabs component renders all tabs content to the DOM, meaning that invisible tabs are still rendered but are hidden by styles.

If you want to defer rendering of each tab until that tab is selected, you can use the isLazy prop. This is useful if your tabs require heavy performance, or make network calls on mount that should only happen when the component is displayed.

<Tabs isLazy>
  <TabList>
    <Tab>One</Tab>
    <Tab>Two</Tab>
  </TabList>
  <TabPanels>
    {/* initially mounted */}
    <TabPanel>
      <p>one!</p>
    </TabPanel>
    {/* initially not mounted */}
    <TabPanel>
      <p>two!</p>
    </TabPanel>
  </TabPanels>
</Tabs>

Controlled Tabs#

Like form inputs, a tab's state can be controlled. Make sure to include an onChange as well, or else the tabs will not be interactive.

function ControlledExample() {
  const [tabIndex, setTabIndex] = React.useState(0)

  const handleSliderChange = (event) => {
    setTabIndex(parseInt(event.target.value, 10))
  }

  const handleTabsChange = (index) => {
    setTabIndex(index)
  }

  return (
    <Box>
      <input
        type='range'
        min='0'
        max='2'
        value={tabIndex}
        onChange={handleSliderChange}
      />

      <Tabs index={tabIndex} onChange={handleTabsChange}>
        <TabList>
          <Tab>One</Tab>
          <Tab>Two</Tab>
          <Tab>Three</Tab>
        </TabList>
        <TabPanels>
          <TabPanel>
            <p>Click the tabs or pull the slider around</p>
          </TabPanel>
          <TabPanel>
            <p>Yeah yeah. What's up?</p>
          </TabPanel>
          <TabPanel>
            <p>Oh, hello there.</p>
          </TabPanel>
        </TabPanels>
      </Tabs>
    </Box>
  )
}

Creating custom tab components#

Because TabList needs to know the order of the children, we use cloneElement to pass state internally. Your custom Tab component must use React.forwardRef.

function CustomTabs() {
  // 1. Reuse the styles for the Tab
  const StyledTab = chakra('button', { themeKey: 'Tabs.Tab' })

  const CustomTab = React.forwardRef((props, ref) => {
    // 2. Reuse the `useTab` hook
    const tabProps = useTab({ ...props, ref })
    const isSelected = !!tabProps['aria-selected']

    // 3. Hook into the Tabs `size`, `variant`, props
    const styles = useStyles()

    return (
      <StyledTab __css={styles.tab} {...tabProps}>
        <Box as='span' mr='2'>
          {isSelected ? '😎' : '😐'}
        </Box>
        {tabProps.children}
      </StyledTab>
    )
  })

  return (
    <Tabs>
      <TabList>
        <CustomTab>One</CustomTab>
        <CustomTab>Two</CustomTab>
      </TabList>
      <TabPanels>
        <TabPanel>1</TabPanel>
        <TabPanel>2</TabPanel>
      </TabPanels>
    </Tabs>
  )
}

DataTabs#

If you'd like to drive your tabs with an array instead of using the granular components, you can create your own DataTabs component.

function Example() {
  // 1. Create the component
  function DataTabs({ data }) {
    return (
      <Tabs>
        <TabList>
          {data.map((tab, index) => (
            <Tab key={index}>{tab.label}</Tab>
          ))}
        </TabList>
        <TabPanels>
          {data.map((tab, index) => (
            <TabPanel p={4} key={index}>
              {tab.content}
            </TabPanel>
          ))}
        </TabPanels>
      </Tabs>
    )
  }

  // 2. Create an array of data
  const tabData = [
    {
      label: 'Nigerian Jollof',
      content: 'Perhaps the greatest dish ever invented.',
    },
    {
      label: 'Pounded Yam & Egusi',
      content:
        'Perhaps the surest dish ever invented but fills the stomach more than rice.',
    },
  ]

  // 3. Pass the props and chill!
  return <DataTabs data={tabData} />
}

Accessibility#

Keyboard#

Key	Action
`ArrowLeft`	Moves focus to the next tab
`ArrowRight`	Moves focus to the previous tab
`Tab`	When focus moves into the tab list, places focus on the active tab element
`Space` or `Enter`	Activates the tab if it was not activated automatically on focus
`Home`	Moves focus to the first tab
`End`	Moves focus to the last tab

ARIA roles#

Component	Aria	Usage
Tab	`role="tab"`	Indicates that it is a tab
	`aria-selected`	Set to `true` a tab is selected and all other Tabs have it set to `false`
	`aria-controls`	Set to the `id` of its associated `TabPanel`
TabList	`id`	The `id` of the `TabPanel` that's referenced by its associated `Tab`
	`aria-orientation`	Set to vertical or horizontal based on the value of the `orientation` prop
	`role="tablist"`	Indicates that it is a tablist
TabPanel	`role="tabpanel"`	Indicates that it is a tabpanel
	`aria-labelledby`	Set to the `id` of the `Tab` that labels the `TabPanel`

Props#

Type

LazyBehavior

Default

"unmount"

`onChange`

Description

Callback when the index (controlled or un-controlled) changes.

Type

((index: number) => void)

`orientation`

Description

The orientation of the tab list.

Type

"horizontal" | "vertical"

`size`

Type

string

Default

"md"

`variant`

Type

string

string