shoelace/docs/pages/components/select.md

meta	layout
title description Select Selects allow you to choose items from a menu of predefined options.	component

<sl-select>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-4">Option 4</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-5">Option 5</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-6">Option 6</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect>
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-4">Option 4</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-5">Option 5</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-6">Option 6</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

:::tip This component works with standard <form> elements. Please refer to the section on form controls to learn more about form submission and client-side validation. :::

Examples

Labels

Use the label attribute to give the select an accessible label. For labels that contain HTML, use the label slot instead.

<sl-select label="Select one">
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect label="Select one">
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

Help Text

Add descriptive help text to a select with the help-text attribute. For help texts that contain HTML, use the help-text slot instead.

<sl-select label="Experience" help-text="Please tell us your skill level.">
  <sl-option value="1">Novice</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="2">Intermediate</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="3">Advanced</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect label="Experience" help-text="Please tell us your skill level.">
    <SlOption value="1">Novice</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="2">Intermediate</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="3">Advanced</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

Placeholders

Use the placeholder attribute to add a placeholder.

<sl-select placeholder="Select one">
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect placeholder="Select one">
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

Clearable

Use the clearable attribute to make the control clearable. The clear button only appears when an option is selected.

<sl-select clearable value="option-1">
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect placeholder="Clearable" clearable>
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

Filled Selects

Add the filled attribute to draw a filled select.

<sl-select filled>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect filled>
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

Pill

Use the pill attribute to give selects rounded edges.

<sl-select pill>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect pill>
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

Disabled

Use the disabled attribute to disable a select.

<sl-select placeholder="Disabled" disabled>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect placeholder="Disabled" disabled>
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

Multiple

To allow multiple options to be selected, use the multiple attribute. It's a good practice to use clearable when this option is enabled. To set multiple values at once, set value to a space-delimited list of values.

<sl-select label="Select a Few" value="option-1 option-2 option-3" multiple clearable>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-4">Option 4</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-5">Option 5</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-6">Option 6</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect label="Select a Few" value={["option-1", "option-2", "option-3"]} multiple clearable>
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-4">Option 4</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-5">Option 5</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-6">Option 6</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

:::tip Note that multi-select options may wrap, causing the control to expand vertically. You can use the max-options-visible attribute to control the maximum number of selected options to show at once. :::

Setting Initial Values

Use the value attribute to set the initial selection.

When using multiple, the value attribute uses space-delimited values to select more than one option. Because of this, <sl-option> values cannot contain spaces. If you're accessing the value property through Javascript, it will be an array.

<sl-select value="option-1 option-2" multiple clearable>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-4">Option 4</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlDivider from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/divider';
import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect value={["option-1", "option-2"]} multiple clearable>
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

Grouping Options

Use <sl-divider> to group listbox items visually. You can also use <small> to provide labels, but they won't be announced by most assistive devices.

<sl-select>
  <small>Section 1</small>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
  <sl-divider></sl-divider>
  <small>Section 2</small>
  <sl-option value="option-4">Option 4</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-5">Option 5</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-6">Option 6</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect>
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-4">Option 4</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-5">Option 5</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-6">Option 6</SlOption>
  </SlSelect>
);

Sizes

Use the size attribute to change a select's size. Note that size does not apply to listbox options.

<sl-select placeholder="Small" size="small">
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

<br />

<sl-select placeholder="Medium" size="medium">
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

<br />

<sl-select placeholder="Large" size="large">
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <>
    <SlSelect placeholder="Small" size="small">
      <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
    </SlSelect>

    <br />

    <SlSelect placeholder="Medium" size="medium">
      <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
    </SlSelect>

    <br />

    <SlSelect placeholder="Large" size="large">
      <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
    </SlSelect>
  </>
);

Placement

The preferred placement of the select's listbox can be set with the placement attribute. Note that the actual position may vary to ensure the panel remains in the viewport. Valid placements are top and bottom.

<sl-select placement="top">
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <SlSelect placement="top">
    <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
    <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
  </SlDropdown>
);

Prefix & Suffix

Use the prefix and suffix slots to add presentational icons and text. Avoid slotting in interactive elements, such as buttons, links, etc.

<sl-select placeholder="Small" size="small" clearable>
  <sl-icon name="house" slot="prefix"></sl-icon>
  <sl-badge slot="suffix">New</sl-badge>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>
<br />
<sl-select placeholder="Medium" size="medium" clearable>
  <sl-icon name="house" slot="prefix"></sl-icon>
  <sl-badge slot="suffix">New</sl-badge>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>
<br />
<sl-select placeholder="Large" size="large" clearable>
  <sl-icon name="house" slot="prefix"></sl-icon>
  <sl-badge slot="suffix">New</sl-badge>
  <sl-option value="option-1">Option 1</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-2">Option 2</sl-option>
  <sl-option value="option-3">Option 3</sl-option>
</sl-select>

import SlIcon from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/icon';
import SlOption from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/option';
import SlSelect from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/select';

const App = () => (
  <>
    <SlSelect placeholder="Small" size="small">
      <SlIcon name="house" slot="prefix"></SlIcon>
      <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
    </SlSelect>
    <br />
    <SlSelect placeholder="Medium" size="medium">
      <SlIcon name="house" slot="prefix"></SlIcon>
      <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
    </SlSelect>
    <br />
    <SlSelect placeholder="Large" size="large">
      <SlIcon name="house" slot="prefix"></SlIcon>
      <SlOption value="option-1">Option 1</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-2">Option 2</SlOption>
      <SlOption value="option-3">Option 3</SlOption>
    </SlSelect>
  </>
);

Custom Tags

When multiple options can be selected, you can provide custom tags by passing a function to the getTag property. Your function can return a string of HTML, a Lit Template, or an HTMLElement. The getTag() function will be called for each option. The first argument is an <sl-option> element and the second argument is the tag's index (its position in the tag list).

Remember that custom tags are rendered in a shadow root. To style them, you can use the style attribute in your template or you can add your own parts and target them with the ::part() selector.

<sl-select
  placeholder="Select one"
  value="email phone"
  multiple
  clearable
  class="custom-tag"
>
  <sl-option value="email">
    <sl-icon slot="prefix" name="envelope"></sl-icon>
    Email
  </sl-option>
  <sl-option value="phone">
    <sl-icon slot="prefix" name="telephone"></sl-icon>
    Phone
  </sl-option>
  <sl-option value="chat">
    <sl-icon slot="prefix" name="chat-dots"></sl-icon>
    Chat
  </sl-option>
</sl-select>

<script type="module">
  const select = document.querySelector('.custom-tag');

  select.getTag = (option, index) => {
    // Use the same icon used in the <sl-option>
    const name = option.querySelector('sl-icon[slot="prefix"]').name;

    // You can return a string, a Lit Template, or an HTMLElement here
    return `
      <sl-tag removable>
        <sl-icon name="${name}" style="padding-inline-end: .5rem;"></sl-icon>
        ${option.getTextLabel()}
      </sl-tag>
    `;
  };
</script>

Lazy loading options

Lazy loading options is very hard to get right. <sl-select> largely follows how a native <select> works.

Here are the following conditions:

• If a <sl-select> is created without any options, but is given a value attribute, its value will be "", and then when options are added, if any of the options have a value equal to the <sl-select> value, the value of the <sl-select> will equal that of the option.

EX: <sl-select value="foo"> will have a value of "" until <sl-option value="foo">Foo</sl-option> connects, at which point its value will become "foo" when submitting.

• If a <sl-select multiple> with an initial value has multiple values, but only some of the options are present, it will only respect the options that are present, and if a selected option is loaded in later, AND the value of the select has not changed via user interaction or direct property assignment, it will add the selected option to the form value and to the .value of the select.

This can be hard to conceptualize, so heres a fairly large example showing how lazy loaded options work with <sl-select> and <sl-select multiple> when given initial value attributes. Feel free to play around with it in a codepen.

<form id="lazy-options-example">
  <div>
    <sl-select name="select-1" value="foo" label="Single select (with existing options)">
      <sl-option value="bar">Bar</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="baz">Baz</sl-option>
    </sl-select>
    <br>
    <sl-button type="button">Add "foo" option</sl-button>
  </div>

  <br>

  <div>
    <sl-select name="select-2" value="foo" label="Single select (with no existing options)">
    </sl-select>
    <br>
    <sl-button type="button">Add "foo" option</sl-button>
  </div>

  <br>

  <div>
    <sl-select name="select-3" value="foo bar baz" multiple label="Multiple Select (with existing options)">
      <sl-option value="bar">Bar</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="baz">Baz</sl-option>
    </sl-select>
    <br>
    <sl-button type="button">Add "foo" option</sl-button>
  </div>

  <br>

  <div>
    <sl-select name="select-4" value="foo" multiple label="Multiple Select (with no existing options)">
    </sl-select>
    <br>
    <sl-button type="button">Add "foo" option</sl-button>
  </div>

  <br><br>

  <div style="display: flex; gap: 16px;">
    <sl-button type="reset">Reset</sl-button>
    <sl-button type="submit" variant="brand">Show FormData</sl-button>
  </div>

  <br>

  <pre hidden><code id="lazy-options-example-form-data"></code></pre>

  <br>
</form>

<script type="module">
  function addFooOption(e) {
    const addFooButton = e.target.closest("sl-button[type='button']")
    if (!addFooButton) {
      return
    }
    const select = addFooButton.parentElement.querySelector("sl-select")
    if (select.querySelector("sl-option[value='foo']")) {
      // Foo already exists. no-op.
      return
    }
    const option = document.createElement("sl-option")
    option.setAttribute("value", "foo")
    option.innerText = "Foo"
    select.append(option)
  }
  function handleLazySubmit (event) {
    event.preventDefault()
    const formData = new FormData(event.target)
    const codeElement = document.querySelector("#lazy-options-example-form-data")
    const obj = {}
    for (const key of formData.keys()) {
      const val = formData.getAll(key).length > 1 ? formData.getAll(key) : formData.get(key)
      obj[key] = val
    }
    codeElement.textContent = JSON.stringify(obj, null, 2)
    const preElement = codeElement.parentElement
    preElement.removeAttribute("hidden")
  }
  const container = document.querySelector("#lazy-options-example")
  container.addEventListener("click", addFooOption)
  container.addEventListener("submit", handleLazySubmit)
</script>

:::warning Be sure you trust the content you are outputting! Passing unsanitized user input to getTag() can result in XSS vulnerabilities. :::