Dropdown Menu

Displays a menu to the user, which can consist of links or functions, triggered by a button.

Features

  • Can be controlled or uncontrolled.
  • Supports submenus with configurable reading direction.
  • Customize menu positioning.
  • Optionally render a pointing arrow.
  • Fully managed focus.
  • Full keyboard navigation.
  • Typeahead support

Anatomy

  • Trigger: The element which when clicked, opens the dropdown menu.
  • Menu: The root container for the popover menu
  • Item: A menuitem which can be a link or a function.
  • Checkbox Item: A menu item which can be checked or unchecked.
  • Radio Group: A group of radio items.
  • Radio Item: A menu item which can be selected from a group of items.
  • Sub Trigger: A button which toggles the submenu's open state.
  • Sub Menu: A menu which is nested inside another menu.
  • Separator: A visual divider between menu items.

Usage

The first thing you need to do is create a dropdown menu using the createDropdownMenu function.

    <script lang="ts">
  import { createDropdownMenu, melt } from '@melt-ui/svelte'
  const {
    elements: { menu, item, trigger, arrow }
  } = createDropdownMenu()
</script>
	
    <script lang="ts">
  import { createDropdownMenu, melt } from '@melt-ui/svelte'
  const {
    elements: { menu, item, trigger, arrow }
  } = createDropdownMenu()
</script>
	

Then you can use the menu, item, and trigger to construct a dropdown menu. A high level example of how to structure the menu is shown below.

    <script lang="ts">
  import { createDropdownMenu, melt } from '@melt-ui/svelte'
  const {
    elements: { menu, item, trigger, arrow }
  } = createDropdownMenu()
</script>
 
<button use:melt={$trigger}>Click me</button>
<div use:melt={$menu}>
  <div use:melt={$item}>...</div>
  <div use:melt={$item}>...</div>
  <div use:melt={$item}>...</div>
  <div use:melt={$arrow} />
</div>
	
    <script lang="ts">
  import { createDropdownMenu, melt } from '@melt-ui/svelte'
  const {
    elements: { menu, item, trigger, arrow }
  } = createDropdownMenu()
</script>
 
<button {...$trigger} use:trigger>Click me</button>
<div {...$menu} use:menu>
  <div {...$item} use:item>...</div>
  <div {...$item} use:item>...</div>
  <div {...$item} use:item>...</div>
  <div {...$arrow} use:arrow />
</div>
	

The trigger sits outside of the menu and is used to toggle the menu's open state. The item elements go inside the menu element. The arrow element is optional and can be used to render an arrow which points to the trigger.

At this point, our menu doesn't really do much except open and close. To add functionality, we could turn the item elements into links, or we could pass a m-click listener function to the item action, which will be called when that item is pressed (Space and Enter keys also trigger the click event for items).

    <a href="/1" use:melt={$item}>Item 1</a>
<div use:melt={$item} on:m-click={(e) => console.log('Item 2!')}>Item 2</div>
<div use:melt={$item} on:m-click={(e) => console.log('Item 3!')}>Item 3</div>
	
    <a href="/1" {...$item} use:item>Item 1</a>
<div {...$item} use:item on:m-click={(e) => console.log('Item 2!')}>Item 2</div>
<div {...$item} use:item on:m-click={(e) => console.log('Item 3!')}>Item 3</div>
	

If you wanted to prevent the default behavior that occurs when you select an item, you can call e.preventDefault() in your on:m-click listener, which will prevent the default behavior from occurring.

    <div
  use:melt={$item}
  on:m-click={(e) => {
    e.preventDefault()
  }}>
  Item 2
</div>
	
    <div
  {...$item} use:item
  on:m-click={(e) => {
    e.preventDefault()
  }}>
  Item 2
</div>
	

API Reference

createDropdownMenu

The builder function used to create the dropdown menu component.

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
arrowSize 8
number

The size of the arrow which points to the trigger in pixels.

dir 'ltr'
'ltr' | 'rtl'

The direction of the text in the dropdown menu .

preventScroll true
boolean

Whether or not to prevent scrolling of the document when the dropdown menu is open.

closeOnEscape true
boolean

Whether or not to close the dropdown menu when the escape key is pressed.

portal body
string | HTMLElement

The element or selector to render the dropdown menu into. Nested floating elements are automatically rendered into their parent if not specified.

closeOnOutsideClick true
boolean

Whether or not to close the dropdown menu when the user clicks outside of it.

loop false
boolean

Whether or not the focus should loop back to the first item when the last item is reached.

forceVisible false
boolean

Whether or not to force the dropdown menu to always be visible. This is useful for custom transitions and animations using conditional blocks.

defaultOpen false
boolean

Whether the dropdown menu is open by default or not.

open -
Writable<boolean>

A writable store that controls whether or not the dropdown menu is open.

See Bring Your Own Store

onOpenChange -
ChangeFn<boolean>

A callback called when the value of the open store should be changed.

See Change Functions

closeFocus -

Override the default focus behavior on close

ids -
Record<'trigger' | 'menu', string>

Override the internally generated ids for the elements.

positioning placement: 'bottom'

A configuration object which determines how the floating element is positioned relative to the trigger.

Elements

Element Description

The builder store used to create the dropdown menu.

The builder store used to create the dropdown menu trigger.

The builder store used to create a separator menu item.

The builder store used to create the dropdown menu arrow.

The builder store used to create the dropdown menu item

The builder store used to group menu items together. It takes in a unique key to group menu items together.

The builder store used to create the group label for the dropdown menu.

Builders

Builder Description
createSubmenu

A builder function used to create a submenu for the dropdown menu.

createRadioGroup

A builder function used to create a radio group for the dropdown menu.

createCheckboxItem

A builder function used to create a checkbox menu item for the dropdown menu.

States

State Description
open

A writable store that indicates whether the dropdown menu is open.

Options

Option Description
positioning

A configuration object which determines how the floating element is positioned relative to the trigger.

arrowSize

The size of the arrow which points to the trigger in pixels.

dir

The direction of the text in the dropdown menu .

preventScroll

Whether or not to prevent scrolling of the document when the dropdown menu is open.

closeOnEscape

Whether or not to close the dropdown menu when the escape key is pressed.

portal

The element or selector to render the dropdown menu into. Nested floating elements are automatically rendered into their parent if not specified.

closeOnOutsideClick

Whether or not to close the dropdown menu when the user clicks outside of it.

loop

Whether or not the focus should loop back to the first item when the last item is reached.

forceVisible

Whether or not to force the dropdown menu to always be visible. This is useful for custom transitions and animations using conditional blocks.

closeFocus

Override the default focus behavior on close

trigger

The button which toggles the dropdown menu.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-state]

'open' | 'closed'

[data-melt-dropdown-menu-trigger]

Present on all trigger elements.

Custom Events

Event Value
m-pointerdown (e: ) => void
m-keydown (e: ) => void

The element which wraps the entire menu.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-state]

'open' | 'closed'

[data-melt-dropdown-menu]

Present on all dropdown menu elements.

Custom Events

Event Value
m-keydown (e: ) => void

item

A basic menu item.

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
disabled false
boolean

Whether or not the item is disabled.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-orientation]

'vertical' | 'horizontal'

[data-dropdown-menu-item]

Present on all item elements.

[data-highlighted]

Present when the item is highlighted.

Custom Events

Event Value
m-pointerdown (e: ) => void
m-click (e: ) => void
m-keydown (e: ) => void
m-pointermove (e: ) => void
m-pointerleave (e: ) => void
m-focusin (e: ) => void
m-focusout (e: ) => void

separator

A horizontal line which separates menu items.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-melt-dropdown-menu-separator]

Present on all separator elements.

arrow

An optional arrow element which points to the menu's trigger.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-arrow]

'true'

[data-melt-dropdown-menu-arrow]

Present on all arrow elements.

createCheckboxItem

The builder function used to create checkbox items for menu elements

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
disabled false
boolean

Whether or not the menu checkbox item is disabled.

defaultChecked -
boolean

Whether the checkbox is checked by default.

checked -
Writable<boolean>

A writable store that controls the checked state of the checkbox.

See Bring Your Own Store

onCheckedChange -
ChangeFn<boolean>

A function that is called when the checked state of the checkbox changes.

See Bring Your Own Store

Elements

Element Description

The builder store used to create a menu checkbox item.

States

State Description
checked

A writable store with the checked state of the checkbox item.

Options

Option Description
disabled

Whether or not the submenu is disabled.

checkboxItem

A checkbox menu item.

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
disabled false
boolean

Whether or not the checkboxItem is disabled.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-orientation]

'vertical' | 'horizontal'

[data-melt-dropdown-menu-checkbox-item]

Present on all checkbox item elements.

[data-highlighted]

Present when the checkbox item is highlighted.

Custom Events

Event Value
m-pointerdown (e: ) => void
m-click (e: ) => void
m-keydown (e: ) => void
m-pointermove (e: ) => void
m-pointerleave (e: ) => void
m-focusin (e: ) => void
m-focusout (e: ) => void

createRadioGroup

The builder function used to create the radio group component.

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
defaultValue -
string

The value of the radio item to be selected by default.

value -
Writable<string | null>

A writable store which controls the value of the selected radio item. This will override the defaultValue prop if both are provided, so ensure to set your preferred default value as the default value of the store.

See Bring Your Own Store

onValueChange -
ChangeFn<string | null>

A callback called when the value of thevaluestore should be changed.

See Change Functions

Elements

Element Description

The builder store used to create the radio group.

The builder store used to create a radio menu item.

States

State Description
value

A writable store containing the current value of the radio group.

Helpers

Helper Description
isChecked

A derived store which returns a function that checks if a radio item is selected.

radioGroup

A group of radio menu items.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-melt-dropdown-menu-radio-group]

Present on all radio group elements.

radioItem

A radiogroup menu item.

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
value * -
string

The value of the radio item.

disabled false
boolean

Whether or not the radioItem is disabled.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-checked]

'checked' | 'unchecked'

[data-disabled]

Present when the radio item is disabled.

[data-value]

The value of the radio item.

[data-orientation]

'vertical' | 'horizontal'

[data-melt-dropdown-menu-radio-item]

Present on all radio item elements.

[data-highlighted]

Present when the radio item is highlighted.

Custom Events

Event Value
m-pointerdown (e: ) => void
m-click (e: ) => void
m-keydown (e: ) => void
m-pointermove (e: ) => void
m-pointerleave (e: ) => void
m-focusin (e: ) => void
m-focusout (e: ) => void

group

A function which takes in a unique key to group menu items together.

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
key -
string

A unique key for the group.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-melt-dropdown-menu-group]

Present on all group elements.

groupLabel

A function which takes in a unique key to group menu items together.

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
key -
string

A unique key for the group.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-melt-dropdown-menu-group-label]

Present on all group-label elements.

createSubMenu

The builder function used to create submenus for context & dropdown menus.

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
positioning placement: 'right-start'

A configuration object which determines how the floating element is positioned relative to the trigger.

arrowSize 8
number

The size of the arrow which points to the trigger in pixels.

disabled false
boolean

Whether or not the submenu is disabled.

open -
Writable<boolean>

A writable store that controls whether or not the submenu is open.

See Bring Your Own Store

onOpenChange -
ChangeFn<boolean>

A callback called when the value of the open store should be changed.

See Change Functions

ids -
Record<'trigger' | 'menu', string>

Override the internally generated ids for the elements.

Elements

Element Description

The builder store used to create the submenu.

The builder store used to create the submenu trigger.

The builder store used to create the submenu arrow.

States

State Description
subOpen

A writable store with the open state of the submenu.

Options

Option Description
positioning

A configuration object which determines how the floating element is positioned relative to the trigger.

arrowSize

The size of the arrow which points to the trigger in pixels.

disabled

Whether or not the submenu is disabled.

subTrigger

A button which opens its associated submenu.

Props

Prop Default Type / Description
disabled false
boolean

Whether or not the subTrigger is disabled.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-state]

'open' | 'closed'

[data-disabled]

Present when the subtrigger is disabled.

[data-melt-dropdown-menu-subtrigger]

Present on all subtrigger elements.

[data-highlighted]

Present when the subtrigger is highlighted.

Custom Events

Event Value
m-click (e: ) => void
m-keydown (e: ) => void
m-pointermove (e: ) => void
m-pointerleave (e: ) => void
m-focusin (e: ) => void
m-focusout (e: ) => void

A submenu element displayed when its trigger is selected.

Data Attributes

Data Attribute Value
[data-state]

'open' | 'closed'

[data-melt-dropdown-menu-submenu]

Present on all submenu elements.

Custom Events

Event Value
m-keydown (e: ) => void
m-pointermove (e: ) => void
m-focusout (e: ) => void

Accessibility

Adheres to the Menu WAI-ARIA design pattern and Menu Button WAI-ARIA design pattern

Key Behavior
Space

When focused on the trigger, opens the dropdown and focuses the first item. When focused on an item, selects the item.

Enter

When focused on the trigger, opens the dropdown and focuses the first item. When focused on an item, selects the item.

ArrowDown

When focused on the trigger, opens the dropdown and focuses the first item. When focused on an item, shifts focus to the next item.

ArrowUp

When focused on an item, shifts focus to the next item..

ArrowRight

When focused on a subTrigger, opens the subMenu and focuses the first item.

ArrowLeft

When focused on within a subMenu, closes the submenu and shifts focus to that submenu's subTrigger.

Esc

Closes the dropdown menu and focuses the trigger.