Navigation Menu
A collection of links and menus for website navigation.
View as MarkdownAnatomy
Import the component and assemble its parts:
import { NavigationMenu } from '@base-ui/react/navigation-menu';
<NavigationMenu.Root>
<NavigationMenu.List>
<NavigationMenu.Item>
<NavigationMenu.Trigger>
<NavigationMenu.Icon />
</NavigationMenu.Trigger>
<NavigationMenu.Content>
<NavigationMenu.Link />
</NavigationMenu.Content>
</NavigationMenu.Item>
</NavigationMenu.List>
<NavigationMenu.Portal>
<NavigationMenu.Backdrop />
<NavigationMenu.Positioner>
<NavigationMenu.Popup>
<NavigationMenu.Arrow />
<NavigationMenu.Viewport />
</NavigationMenu.Popup>
</NavigationMenu.Positioner>
</NavigationMenu.Portal>
</NavigationMenu.Root>Examples
Nested submenus
<NavigationMenu.Root> component can be nested within a higher-level <NavigationMenu.Content> part to create a multi-level navigation menu.
Custom links
The <NavigationMenu.Link> part can be customized to render the link from your framework using the render prop to enable client-side routing.
import NextLink from 'next/link';
import { NavigationMenu } from '@base-ui/react/navigation-menu';
function Link(props: NavigationMenu.Link.Props) {
return (
<NavigationMenu.Link
render={<NextLink href={props.href} />}
{...props}
/>
);
}Large menus
When you have large menu content that doesn’t fit in the viewport in some cases, you usually have two choices:
- Compress the navigation menu content
You can change the layout of the navigation menu to render less content or be more compact by reducing the space it takes up.
If your content is flexible, you can use the max-height property on .Popup to limit the height of the navigation menu to let it compress itself while preventing overflow.
.Content,
.Popup {
max-height: var(--available-height);
}- Make the navigation menu scrollable
.Content,
.Popup {
max-height: var(--available-height);
}
.Content {
overflow-y: auto;
}Native scrollbars are visible while transitioning content, so we recommend using the Scroll Area component instead of native scrollbars to keep them hidden, which also allows the Arrow to be centered correctly.
API reference
Root
Groups all parts of the navigation menu.
Renders a <nav> element at the root, or <div> element when nested.
defaultValueanynull
- Name
- Description
The uncontrolled value of the item that should be initially selected.
To render a controlled navigation menu, use the
valueprop instead.- Type
any- Default
null
valueanynull
- Name
- Description
The controlled value of the navigation menu item that should be currently open. When non-nullish, the menu will be open. When nullish, the menu will be closed.
To render an uncontrolled navigation menu, use the
defaultValueprop instead.- Type
any- Default
null
onValueChangefunction—
- Name
- Description
Callback fired when the value changes.
- Type
| (( value: any, eventDetails: NavigationMenu.Root.ChangeEventDetails, ) => void) | undefined
actionsRef| RefObject<NavigationMenu.Root.Actions
| null>—
| null>
- Name
- Description
A ref to imperative actions.
- Type
| React.RefObject<NavigationMenu.Root.Actions | null> | undefined
onOpenChangeCompletefunction—
- Description
Event handler called after any animations complete when the navigation menu is closed.
- Type
((open: boolean) => void) | undefined
delaynumber50
- Name
- Description
How long to wait before opening the navigation menu. Specified in milliseconds.
- Type
number | undefined- Default
50
closeDelaynumber50
- Name
- Description
How long to wait before closing the navigation menu. Specified in milliseconds.
- Type
number | undefined- Default
50
orientation'horizontal' | 'vertical''horizontal'
- Name
- Description
The orientation of the navigation menu.
- Type
'horizontal' | 'vertical' | undefined- Default
'horizontal'
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | ((state: NavigationMenu.Root.State) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Root.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Root.State, ) => ReactElement)
List
Contains a list of navigation menu items.
Renders a <ul> element.
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | ((state: NavigationMenu.List.State) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.List.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.List.State, ) => ReactElement)
Item
An individual navigation menu item.
Renders a <li> element.
valueany—
- Name
- Description
A unique value that identifies this navigation menu item. If no value is provided, a unique ID will be generated automatically. Use when controlling the navigation menu programmatically.
- Type
any
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | ((state: NavigationMenu.Item.State) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Item.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Item.State, ) => ReactElement)
Trigger
Opens the navigation menu popup when hovered or clicked, revealing the
associated content.
Renders a <button> element.
nativeButtonbooleantrue
- Name
- Description
Whether the component renders a native
<button>element when replacing it via therenderprop. Set tofalseif the rendered element is not a button (e.g.<div>).- Type
boolean | undefined- Default
true
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | (( state: NavigationMenu.Trigger.State, ) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Trigger.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Trigger.State, ) => ReactElement)
data-popup-open
data-pressed
| Attribute | Description | |
|---|---|---|
data-popup-open | Present when the corresponding navigation menu is open. | |
data-pressed | Present when the trigger is pressed. | |
Icon
An icon that indicates that the trigger button opens a menu.
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | ((state: NavigationMenu.Icon.State) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Icon.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Icon.State, ) => ReactElement)
Content
A container for the content of the navigation menu item that is moved into the popup
when the item is active.
Renders a <div> element.
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | (( state: NavigationMenu.Content.State, ) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Content.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
keepMountedbooleanfalse
- Name
- Description
Whether to keep the content mounted in the DOM while the popup is closed. Ensures the content is present during server-side rendering for web crawlers.
- Type
boolean | undefined- Default
false
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Content.State, ) => ReactElement)
data-open
data-closed
data-activation-direction
data-starting-style
data-ending-style
| Attribute | Description | |
|---|---|---|
data-open | Present when the popup is open. | |
data-closed | Present when the popup is closed. | |
data-activation-direction | Which direction another trigger was activated from. | |
data-starting-style | Present when the content is animating in. | |
data-ending-style | Present when the content is animating out. | |
Link
A link in the navigation menu that can be used to navigate to a different page or section.
Renders an <a> element.
closeOnClickbooleanfalse
- Name
- Description
Whether to close the navigation menu when the link is clicked.
- Type
boolean | undefined- Default
false
activebooleanfalse
- Name
- Description
Whether the link is the currently active page.
- Type
boolean | undefined- Default
false
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | ((state: NavigationMenu.Link.State) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Link.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Link.State, ) => ReactElement)
data-active
| Attribute | Description | |
|---|---|---|
data-active | Present when the link is the currently active page. | |
Backdrop
A backdrop for the navigation menu popup.
Renders a <div> element.
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | (( state: NavigationMenu.Backdrop.State, ) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Backdrop.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Backdrop.State, ) => ReactElement)
data-open
data-closed
data-starting-style
data-ending-style
| Attribute | Description | |
|---|---|---|
data-open | Present when the popup is open. | |
data-closed | Present when the popup is closed. | |
data-starting-style | Present when the popup is animating in. | |
data-ending-style | Present when the popup is animating out. | |
Portal
A portal element that moves the popup to a different part of the DOM.
By default, the portal element is appended to <body>.
Renders a <div> element.
containerUnion—
- Name
- Description
A parent element to render the portal element into.
- Type
| HTMLElement | ShadowRoot | React.RefObject<HTMLElement | ShadowRoot | null> | null | undefined
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | (( state: NavigationMenu.Portal.State, ) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Portal.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
keepMountedbooleanfalse
- Name
- Description
Whether to keep the portal mounted in the DOM while the popup is hidden.
- Type
boolean | undefined- Default
false
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Portal.State, ) => ReactElement)
Positioner
Positions the navigation menu against the currently active trigger.
Renders a <div> element.
disableAnchorTrackingbooleanfalse
- Description
Whether to disable the popup from tracking any layout shift of its positioning anchor.
- Type
boolean | undefined- Default
false
alignAlign'center'
- Name
- Description
How to align the popup relative to the specified side.
- Type
'start' | 'center' | 'end' | undefined- Default
'center'
alignOffsetnumber | OffsetFunction0
- Name
- Description
Additional offset along the alignment axis in pixels. Also accepts a function that returns the offset to read the dimensions of the anchor and positioner elements, along with its side and alignment.
The function takes a
dataobject parameter with the following properties:data.anchor: the dimensions of the anchor element with propertieswidthandheight.data.positioner: the dimensions of the positioner element with propertieswidthandheight.data.side: which side of the anchor element the positioner is aligned against.data.align: how the positioner is aligned relative to the specified side.
- Type
| number | ((data: { side: Side align: Align anchor: { width: number; height: number } positioner: { width: number; height: number } }) => number) | undefined- Default
0- Example
<Positioner alignOffset={({ side, align, anchor, positioner }) => { return side === 'top' || side === 'bottom' ? anchor.width : anchor.height; }} />
sideSide'bottom'
- Name
- Description
Which side of the anchor element to align the popup against. May automatically change to avoid collisions.
- Type
| 'top' | 'bottom' | 'left' | 'right' | 'inline-end' | 'inline-start' | undefined- Default
'bottom'
sideOffsetnumber | OffsetFunction0
- Name
- Description
Distance between the anchor and the popup in pixels. Also accepts a function that returns the distance to read the dimensions of the anchor and positioner elements, along with its side and alignment.
The function takes a
dataobject parameter with the following properties:data.anchor: the dimensions of the anchor element with propertieswidthandheight.data.positioner: the dimensions of the positioner element with propertieswidthandheight.data.side: which side of the anchor element the positioner is aligned against.data.align: how the positioner is aligned relative to the specified side.
- Type
| number | ((data: { side: Side align: Align anchor: { width: number; height: number } positioner: { width: number; height: number } }) => number) | undefined- Default
0- Example
<Positioner sideOffset={({ side, align, anchor, positioner }) => { return side === 'top' || side === 'bottom' ? anchor.height : anchor.width; }} />
arrowPaddingnumber5
- Name
- Description
Minimum distance to maintain between the arrow and the edges of the popup.
Use it to prevent the arrow element from hanging out of the rounded corners of a popup.
- Type
number | undefined- Default
5
anchorUnion—
- Name
- Description
An element to position the popup against. By default, the popup will be positioned against the trigger.
- Type
| Element | VirtualElement | React.RefObject<Element | null> | (() => Element | VirtualElement | null) | null | undefined
collisionAvoidanceCollisionAvoidance—
- Description
Determines how to handle collisions when positioning the popup.
sidecontrols overflow on the preferred placement axis (top/bottomorleft/right):'flip': keep the requested side when it fits; otherwise try the opposite side (topandbottom, orleftandright).'shift': never change side; keep the requested side and move the popup within the clipping boundary so it stays visible.'none': do not correct side-axis overflow.
aligncontrols overflow on the alignment axis (start/center/end):'flip': keep side, but swapstartandendwhen the requested alignment overflows.'shift': keep side and requested alignment, then nudge the popup along the alignment axis to fit.'none': do not correct alignment-axis overflow.
fallbackAxisSidecontrols fallback behavior on the perpendicular axis when the preferred axis cannot fit:'start': allow perpendicular fallback and try the logical start side first (topbeforebottom, orleftbeforerightin LTR).'end': allow perpendicular fallback and try the logical end side first (bottombeforetop, orrightbeforeleftin LTR).'none': do not fallback to the perpendicular axis.
When
sideis'shift', explicitly settingalignonly supports'shift'or'none'. Ifalignis omitted, it defaults to'flip'.- Type
| { side?: 'flip' | 'none' align?: 'flip' | 'shift' | 'none' fallbackAxisSide?: 'start' | 'end' | 'none' } | { side?: 'shift' | 'none' align?: 'shift' | 'none' fallbackAxisSide?: 'start' | 'end' | 'none' } | undefined- Example
<Positioner collisionAvoidance={{ side: 'shift', align: 'shift', fallbackAxisSide: 'none', }} />
collisionBoundaryBoundary'clipping-ancestors'
- Description
An element or a rectangle that delimits the area that the popup is confined to.
- Type
| 'clipping-ancestors' | Element | Element[] | Rect | undefined- Default
'clipping-ancestors'
collisionPaddingPadding5
- Name
- Description
Additional space to maintain from the edge of the collision boundary.
- Type
| { top?: number right?: number bottom?: number left?: number } | number | undefined- Default
5
stickybooleanfalse
- Name
- Description
Whether to maintain the popup in the viewport after the anchor element was scrolled out of view.
- Type
boolean | undefined- Default
false
positionMethod'absolute' | 'fixed''absolute'
- Name
- Description
Determines which CSS
positionproperty to use.- Type
'absolute' | 'fixed' | undefined- Default
'absolute'
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | (( state: NavigationMenu.Positioner.State, ) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Positioner.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Positioner.State, ) => ReactElement)
data-open
data-closed
data-anchor-hidden
data-align
data-instant
data-side
| Attribute | Description | |
|---|---|---|
data-open | Present when the popup is open. | |
data-closed | Present when the popup is closed. | |
data-anchor-hidden | Present when the anchor is hidden. | |
data-align | Indicates how the popup is aligned relative to the specified side. | |
data-instant | Present if animations should be instant. | |
data-side | Indicates which side the popup is positioned relative to the trigger. | |
--anchor-height
--anchor-width
--available-height
--available-width
--positioner-height
--positioner-width
--transform-origin
| CSS Variable | Description | |
|---|---|---|
--anchor-height | The anchor's height. | |
--anchor-width | The anchor's width. | |
--available-height | The available height between the trigger and the edge of the viewport. | |
--available-width | The available width between the trigger and the edge of the viewport. | |
--positioner-height | The fixed height of the positioner element. | |
--positioner-width | The fixed width of the positioner element. | |
--transform-origin | The coordinates that this element is anchored to. Used for animations and transitions. | |
Popup
A container for the navigation menu contents.
Renders a <nav> element.
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | (( state: NavigationMenu.Popup.State, ) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Popup.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Popup.State, ) => ReactElement)
data-open
data-closed
data-align
data-side
data-starting-style
data-ending-style
| Attribute | Description | |
|---|---|---|
data-open | Present when the popup is open. | |
data-closed | Present when the popup is closed. | |
data-align | Indicates how the popup is aligned relative to the specified side. | |
data-side | Indicates which side the popup is positioned relative to the trigger. | |
data-starting-style | Present when the popup is animating in. | |
data-ending-style | Present when the popup is animating out. | |
--popup-height
--popup-width
| CSS Variable | Description | |
|---|---|---|
--popup-height | The fixed height of the popup element. | |
--popup-width | The fixed width of the popup element. | |
Viewport
The clipping viewport of the navigation menu's current content.
Renders a <div> element.
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | (( state: NavigationMenu.Viewport.State, ) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Viewport.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Viewport.State, ) => ReactElement)
Arrow
Displays an element pointing toward the navigation menu's current anchor.
Renders a <div> element.
classNamestring | function—
- Name
- Description
CSS class applied to the element, or a function that returns a class based on the component’s state.
- Type
| string | (( state: NavigationMenu.Arrow.State, ) => string | undefined)
styleReact.CSSProperties | function—
- Name
- Type
| React.CSSProperties | (( state: NavigationMenu.Arrow.State, ) => CSSProperties | undefined) | undefined
renderReactElement | function—
- Name
- Description
Allows you to replace the component’s HTML element with a different tag, or compose it with another component.
Accepts a
ReactElementor a function that returns the element to render.- Type
| ReactElement | (( props: HTMLProps, state: NavigationMenu.Arrow.State, ) => ReactElement)
data-open
data-closed
data-uncentered
data-align
data-side
| Attribute | Description | |
|---|---|---|
data-open | Present when the popup is open. | |
data-closed | Present when the popup is closed. | |
data-uncentered | Present when the popup arrow is uncentered. | |
data-align | Indicates how the popup is aligned relative to specified side. | |
data-side | Indicates which side the popup is positioned relative to the trigger. | |