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The Combobox component combines text input with a filterable list for flexible selection with keyboard navigation and accessibility.

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Import

import * as Combobox from '@base-ui/react/Combobox';

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Basic Usage

import * as Combobox from '@base-ui/react/Combobox';

const frameworks = ['React', 'Vue', 'Angular', 'Svelte', 'Solid'];

function FrameworkCombobox() {
  const [value, setValue] = React.useState<string | null>(null);

  return (
    <Combobox.Root value={value} onValueChange={setValue} items={frameworks}>
      <Combobox.Trigger>
        <Combobox.Input placeholder="Select framework..." />
        <Combobox.Icon>▼</Combobox.Icon>
      </Combobox.Trigger>

      <Combobox.Portal>
        <Combobox.Positioner>
          <Combobox.Popup>
            <Combobox.List>
              {frameworks.map((framework) => (
                <Combobox.Item key={framework} value={framework}>
                  <Combobox.ItemIndicator>✓</Combobox.ItemIndicator>
                  {framework}
                </Combobox.Item>
              ))}
            </Combobox.List>
            <Combobox.Empty>No results found</Combobox.Empty>
          </Combobox.Popup>
        </Combobox.Positioner>
      </Combobox.Portal>
    </Combobox.Root>
  );
}

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Sub-components

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Combobox.Root

Groups all parts of the combobox. Doesn’t render its own HTML element. Key Props:
  • value: Controlled selected value (or array for multiple={true})
  • defaultValue: Uncontrolled default value
  • onValueChange: Called when selection changes
  • inputValue: Controlled input text value
  • defaultInputValue: Uncontrolled default input value
  • onInputValueChange: Called when input text changes
  • multiple: Whether multiple items can be selected (default: false)
  • open: Controlled popup open state
  • defaultOpen: Uncontrolled default open state
  • onOpenChange: Called when popup opens/closes
  • items: Array of items or groups
  • filter: Custom filter function (or null for no filtering)
  • autoHighlight: Auto-highlight first match (default: false)
  • highlightItemOnHover: Whether hovering highlights items (default: true)
  • disabled: Whether component is disabled (default: false)
  • readOnly: Whether input is read-only (default: false)
  • required: Whether field is required (default: false)
  • name: Form field name
  • autoComplete: Browser autocomplete hint
  • itemToStringLabel: Convert object items to string for display
  • itemToStringValue: Convert object items to string for form submission
  • isItemEqualToValue: Custom equality function for object items
  • onItemHighlighted: Called when item is highlighted
  • openOnInputClick: Whether clicking input opens popup
  • modal: Whether popup is modal (default: true)

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Combobox.Trigger

Container for the input and icon.

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Combobox.Input

The text input element. Renders an <input> element.

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Combobox.Icon

Icon indicating the combobox can be opened.

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Combobox.Clear

Button to clear the current selection.

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Combobox.Portal

Portals the popup to a different part of the DOM.

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Combobox.Positioner

Positions the popup relative to the trigger.

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Combobox.Popup

The container for the list of items.

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Combobox.List

Scrollable list container for items.

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Combobox.Item

An individual selectable item. Props:
  • value: The value this item represents
  • disabled: Whether this item is disabled
State attributes:
  • data-highlighted: Present when item is highlighted
  • data-selected: Present when item is selected
  • data-disabled: Present when item is disabled

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Combobox.ItemIndicator

Shown only when the item is selected (for visual feedback).

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Combobox.Empty

Displayed when no items match the filter.

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Combobox.Group

Groups related items together.

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Combobox.GroupLabel

Label for a group of items.

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Combobox.Value

Displays the selected value in the trigger.

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Combobox.Chips

Container for multiple selection chips (when multiple={true}).

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Combobox.Chip

Displays a single selected value chip.

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Combobox.ChipRemove

Button to remove a chip.

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Combobox.Arrow

Arrow pointing to the trigger.

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Combobox.Backdrop

Backdrop shown when modal={true}.

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Combobox.Status

Announces status changes for screen readers.

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Multiple Selection

function MultiSelectCombobox() {
  const [value, setValue] = React.useState<string[]>([]);
  const options = ['React', 'Vue', 'Angular', 'Svelte', 'Solid'];

  return (
    <Combobox.Root
      value={value}
      onValueChange={setValue}
      multiple
      items={options}
    >
      <Combobox.Trigger>
        <Combobox.Chips>
          {value.map((item) => (
            <Combobox.Chip key={item} value={item}>
              {item}
              <Combobox.ChipRemove>×</Combobox.ChipRemove>
            </Combobox.Chip>
          ))}
        </Combobox.Chips>
        <Combobox.Input placeholder="Select frameworks..." />
      </Combobox.Trigger>

      <Combobox.Portal>
        <Combobox.Positioner>
          <Combobox.Popup>
            <Combobox.List>
              {options.map((option) => (
                <Combobox.Item key={option} value={option}>
                  <Combobox.ItemIndicator>✓</Combobox.ItemIndicator>
                  {option}
                </Combobox.Item>
              ))}
            </Combobox.List>
          </Combobox.Popup>
        </Combobox.Positioner>
      </Combobox.Portal>
    </Combobox.Root>
  );
}

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Grouped Items

const groupedOptions = [
  {
    label: 'Frontend',
    items: ['React', 'Vue', 'Angular'],
  },
  {
    label: 'Backend',
    items: ['Node.js', 'Django', 'Rails'],
  },
];

<Combobox.Root items={groupedOptions}>
  <Combobox.Trigger>
    <Combobox.Input placeholder="Select technology..." />
  </Combobox.Trigger>

  <Combobox.Portal>
    <Combobox.Positioner>
      <Combobox.Popup>
        <Combobox.List>
          <Combobox.Collection>
            {(item, index) => (
              <Combobox.Item key={index} value={item}>
                {item}
              </Combobox.Item>
            )}
          </Combobox.Collection>
        </Combobox.List>
      </Combobox.Popup>
    </Combobox.Positioner>
  </Combobox.Portal>
</Combobox.Root>

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Custom Filtering

import { Combobox } from '@base-ui/react/Combobox';

function StartsWithFilter() {
  const filter = Combobox.useFilter();

  function customFilter(item: string, query: string) {
    return filter.startsWith(item, query);
  }

  return (
    <Combobox.Root items={items} filter={customFilter}>
      {/* ... */}
    </Combobox.Root>
  );
}

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Object Items

interface User {
  id: number;
  name: string;
  role: string;
}

const users: User[] = [
  { id: 1, name: 'Alice Johnson', role: 'Admin' },
  { id: 2, name: 'Bob Smith', role: 'User' },
  { id: 3, name: 'Carol White', role: 'Editor' },
];

function UserCombobox() {
  const [value, setValue] = React.useState<User | null>(null);

  return (
    <Combobox.Root
      value={value}
      onValueChange={setValue}
      items={users}
      itemToStringLabel={(user) => user.name}
      itemToStringValue={(user) => String(user.id)}
    >
      <Combobox.Trigger>
        <Combobox.Value placeholder="Select user...">
          {value?.name}
        </Combobox.Value>
        <Combobox.Icon>▼</Combobox.Icon>
      </Combobox.Trigger>

      <Combobox.Portal>
        <Combobox.Positioner>
          <Combobox.Popup>
            <Combobox.List>
              {users.map((user) => (
                <Combobox.Item key={user.id} value={user}>
                  <div>
                    <div>{user.name}</div>
                    <div className="role">{user.role}</div>
                  </div>
                </Combobox.Item>
              ))}
            </Combobox.List>
          </Combobox.Popup>
        </Combobox.Positioner>
      </Combobox.Portal>
    </Combobox.Root>
  );
}

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Styling

.Combobox-trigger {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 0.5rem;
  border: 1px solid #d1d5db;
  border-radius: 0.5rem;
  padding: 0.5rem;
  background: white;
  cursor: pointer;
}

.Combobox-trigger[data-open] {
  border-color: #3b82f6;
  box-shadow: 0 0 0 3px rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.1);
}

.Combobox-input {
  flex: 1;
  border: none;
  outline: none;
}

.Combobox-icon {
  color: #6b7280;
}

.Combobox-popup {
  background: white;
  border: 1px solid #e5e7eb;
  border-radius: 0.5rem;
  box-shadow: 0 10px 15px -3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
  max-height: 300px;
  overflow: auto;
}

.Combobox-item {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 0.5rem;
  padding: 0.75rem 1rem;
  cursor: pointer;
}

.Combobox-item[data-highlighted] {
  background-color: #eff6ff;
}

.Combobox-item[data-selected] {
  background-color: #dbeafe;
}

.Combobox-item[data-disabled] {
  opacity: 0.5;
  cursor: not-allowed;
}

.Combobox-item-indicator {
  color: #3b82f6;
}

/* Multiple selection chips */
.Combobox-chips {
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
  gap: 0.25rem;
}

.Combobox-chip {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 0.25rem;
  padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem;
  background-color: #eff6ff;
  border-radius: 0.25rem;
  font-size: 0.875rem;
}

.Combobox-chip-remove {
  border: none;
  background: none;
  cursor: pointer;
  color: #6b7280;
}

​
Form Integration

import { Form } from '@base-ui/react/Form';
import * as Field from '@base-ui/react/Field';
import * as Combobox from '@base-ui/react/Combobox';

function ProfileForm() {
  const countries = ['USA', 'Canada', 'UK', 'Australia'];

  return (
    <Form onFormSubmit={(values) => console.log(values)}>
      <Field.Root name="country">
        <Field.Label>Country</Field.Label>
        <Combobox.Root items={countries}>
          <Combobox.Trigger>
            <Combobox.Input placeholder="Select country..." />
            <Combobox.Icon>▼</Combobox.Icon>
          </Combobox.Trigger>
          <Combobox.Portal>
            <Combobox.Positioner>
              <Combobox.Popup>
                <Combobox.List>
                  {countries.map((country) => (
                    <Combobox.Item key={country} value={country}>
                      {country}
                    </Combobox.Item>
                  ))}
                </Combobox.List>
              </Combobox.Popup>
            </Combobox.Positioner>
          </Combobox.Portal>
        </Combobox.Root>
        <Field.Error match="valueMissing">Country is required</Field.Error>
      </Field.Root>
      <button type="submit">Submit</button>
    </Form>
  );
}