Listbox

Keyboard selection over authored options. Custom element

Listbox

Copy this markup

<ui-listbox id="status-list" value="ready" role="listbox" aria-label="Status">
  <div role="option" data-ui-value="draft">Draft</div>
  <div role="option" data-ui-value="ready">Ready</div>
  <div role="option" data-ui-value="published">Published</div>
</ui-listbox>

Install

Styles and registration

import '@timelessui/components/css/tokens.css'
import '@timelessui/components/css/listbox.css'
import '@timelessui/components/define/ui-listbox'

Anatomy

Parts are authored in your own markup and identified by the selector below, so your CSS can target the same anatomy without loading Timeless styles. Required parts must be present for the component to work. Private data-ui-internal-* hooks are written by the runtime and must never be authored.

Part	Required	Selector	Purpose
listbox	Yes	[role='listbox']	The option container.
option	Yes	[role='option']	One option. Its value comes from value, then data-ui-value, then the element id. Mark unavailable options aria-disabled="true".

Attributes

Every value below is implemented by the stylesheets this component ships. Boolean attributes are presence-based: author the attribute with no value, or omit it.

Attribute	Values	Default	Description
multiple	presence	absent	Present to allow more than one selected option. The value property then reads and writes an array.
value	any string	—	The option selected on load and after a form reset. Assign the value property for live changes.

Element API

Attributes above are the authoring surface. These are the DOM properties and events the registered element adds once it upgrades.

<ui-listbox>

Property	Type	Notes
multiple	boolean	Reflects the multiple attribute, documented above.
defaultValue	string	Reflects the value attribute, documented above.
value	string	Live value. Assigning it does not rewrite the authored default and does not dispatch transition events.

Event	Detail	Description
ui-before-change	CustomEvent<ListboxChangeDetail>	Cancelable proposal dispatched before the selection changes. Call preventDefault() to reject the transition and keep the current value.
ui-change	CustomEvent<ListboxChangeDetail>	Dispatched after the selection has changed. Bubbles and is composed.

State

Native attributes, ARIA, and platform pseudo-classes are authoritative. Style state through the selectors below rather than adding your own state classes.

State	Source	How to express it
selected	aria	aria-selected="true" on selected options.

Styling

Root identity: ui-listbox. Required stylesheets: tokens.css, listbox.css.

This component adds no custom properties of its own. Restyle it through the design tokens or your own CSS.

Design tokens this component reads (13)

These are global Atmosphere tokens. Change them once at the theme level rather than per component.

--ui-accent · --ui-accent-soft · --ui-bg-surface · --ui-bg-surface-raised · --ui-disabled-opacity · --ui-fg · --ui-fg-muted · --ui-line · --ui-radius-lg · --ui-radius-sm · --ui-space-1 · --ui-space-2 · --ui-space-3

Accessibility

Keep the native elements, roles, and relationships shown in the example. Timeless adds only the state and keyboard coordination the platform does not already provide, and it never supplies your accessible names — those depend on your content.

Follows the Listbox pattern from the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide.

Key	Action
Arrow keys	Move focus to the previous or next option, following the orientation and skipping disabled ones.
Home / End	Move focus to the first or last enabled option.
Page Up / Page Down	Jump ten options at a time.
Enter / Space	Select the focused option, or toggle it when multiple is present.
Printable characters	Typeahead: jump to the next option whose text starts with what you typed.

Selection follows aria-selected, and the active option is tracked with aria-activedescendant so focus stays on the listbox.

Verify in context

Automated checks cover axe WCAG 2.2 A and AA rules on every documented route. Keyboard, zoom, forced-colors, and screen-reader review still belong to your application.

Before JavaScript runs

The markup above is complete and usable on its own: native controls submit, labels associate, and authored ARIA is already correct. Registration adds state synchronisation, focus management, and keyboard coordination on top of it.

More examples

Open Listbox in StoryLite for variants, controls, and manual testing.