Navs

Use Bootstrap's navigation components for creating navigation menus.

How to use

Navigation can be created using either unordered list(<ul>) or (<nav>) with child links elements.

Using Unordered list

Create a unordered list. Add ..nav to <ul> and add .nav-link to <li> and .nav-link class to the links within. To highlight active items add .active class.

Classes are used throughout, so your markup can be super flexible. Use <ul>s like above, or roll your own with say a <nav> element. Because the .nav uses display: flex, the nav links behave the same as nav items would, but without the extra markup.

Using <nav> element

Create a <nav> element and add ..nav class. Create child links and apply .nav-link.

Applying styles

You can style .navs component with modifiers and utilities.

Horizontal alignment

By default, navs are left-aligned, but you can easily change them to center or right aligned with flexbox utilities.

Center Aligned

Add .justify-content-center in addition to .nav.

Right Aligned

Add .justify-content-end in addition to .nav.

Vertical Alignment

Display navigation vertically using flex utility .flex-column. Use specific viewport versions.if needed. (eg: .flex-sm-column.

Vertical navigation is possible without <ul>. Add .flex-column in addition to .nav.

Tabs

Add the .nav-tabs class to generate a tabbed interface.

Pills

Use .nav-pills to generate pills style.

Fill and justify

To fill all available horizontal space with your .nav-items, use .nav-fill. But nav item does not same width.

Using Unordered list

Using <nav>

When using a <nav>-based navigation, be sure to include .nav-item on the anchors.

For equal-width elements, use .nav-justified where all horizontal space will be occupied by nav links. But unlike the .nav-fill, every nav item will be the same width.

Similar to the .nav-fill example using a <nav>-based navigation, be sure to include .nav-itemon the anchors.

Working with flex utilities

If you need to customize nav across responsive use flexbox utilities. In the example below, our nav will be stacked on the lowest breakpoint, then adapt to a horizontal layout that fills the available width starting from the small breakpoint.

Note

Regarding accessibility

When using navs to provide a navigation bar, be sure to add a role="navigation" to the parent container of the <ul>, or wrap a <nav> element around the whole navigation. Do not add the role to the <ul> itself, as this would prevent it from being announced as an actual list by assistive technologies.

Don't give role="tablist", role="tab" or role="tabpanel" attributes to navigation bars. which are only appropriate for dynamic tabbed interfaces.

Using dropdowns

Add dropdown menus with a little extra HTML and the dropdowns JavaScript plugin.

Tabs with dropdowns

Pills with dropdowns

JavaScript behavior

Use the tab JavaScript plugin—include it individually or through the compiled bootstrap.js file—to extend our navigational tabs and pills to create tabbable panes of local content, even via dropdown menus.

If you're building our JavaScript from source, it requires util.js.

Dynamic tabbed interfaces, as described in the WAI ARIA Authoring Practices, require role="tablist", role="tab", role="tabpanel", and additional aria- attributes in order to convey their structure, functionality and current state to users of assistive technologies (such as screen readers).

Note that dynamic tabbed interfaces should not contain dropdown menus, as this causes both usability and accessibility issues. From a usability perspective, the fact that the currently displayed tab's trigger element is not immediately visible (as it's inside the closed dropdown menu) can cause confusion. From an accessibility point of view, there is currently no sensible way to map this sort of construct to a standard WAI ARIA pattern, meaning that it cannot be easily made understandable to users of assistive technologies.

Home
Profile
Contact

Raw denim you probably haven't heard of them jean shorts Austin. Nesciunt tofu stumptown aliqua, retro synth master cleanse. Mustache cliche tempor, williamsburg carles vegan helvetica. Reprehenderit butcher retro keffiyeh dreamcatcher synth. Cosby sweater eu banh mi, qui irure terry richardson ex squid. Aliquip placeat salvia cillum iphone. Seitan aliquip quis cardigan american apparel, butcher voluptate nisi qui.

Copy

<ul class="nav nav-tabs" id="myTab" role="tablist">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" id="home-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#home" role="tab" aria-controls="home" aria-selected="true">Home</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="profile-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#profile" role="tab" aria-controls="profile" aria-selected="false">Profile</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="contact-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#contact" role="tab" aria-controls="contact" aria-selected="false">Contact</a>
  </li>
</ul>
<div class="tab-content" id="myTabContent">
  <div class="tab-pane fade show active" id="home" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="home-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane fade" id="profile" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="profile-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane fade" id="contact" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="contact-tab">...</div>
</div>

To help fit your needs, this works with <ul>-based markup, as shown above, or with any arbitrary “roll your own” markup. Note that if you're using <nav>, you shouldn't add role="tablist" directly to it, as this would override the element's native role as a navigation landmark. Instead, switch to an alternative element (in the example below, a simple <div>) and wrap the <nav> around it.

<nav>
  <div class="nav nav-tabs" id="nav-tab" role="tablist">
    <a class="nav-item nav-link active" id="nav-home-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#nav-home" role="tab" aria-controls="nav-home" aria-selected="true">Home</a>
    <a class="nav-item nav-link" id="nav-profile-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#nav-profile" role="tab" aria-controls="nav-profile" aria-selected="false">Profile</a>
    <a class="nav-item nav-link" id="nav-contact-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#nav-contact" role="tab" aria-controls="nav-contact" aria-selected="false">Contact</a>
  </div>
</nav>
<div class="tab-content" id="nav-tabContent">
  <div class="tab-pane fade show active" id="nav-home" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="nav-home-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane fade" id="nav-profile" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="nav-profile-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane fade" id="nav-contact" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="nav-contact-tab">...</div>
</div>

The tabs plugin also works with pills.

<ul class="nav nav-pills mb-3" id="pills-tab" role="tablist">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" id="pills-home-tab" data-toggle="pill" href="#pills-home" role="tab" aria-controls="pills-home" aria-selected="true">Home</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="pills-profile-tab" data-toggle="pill" href="#pills-profile" role="tab" aria-controls="pills-profile" aria-selected="false">Profile</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="pills-contact-tab" data-toggle="pill" href="#pills-contact" role="tab" aria-controls="pills-contact" aria-selected="false">Contact</a>
  </li>
</ul>
<div class="tab-content" id="pills-tabContent">
  <div class="tab-pane fade show active" id="pills-home" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="pills-home-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane fade" id="pills-profile" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="pills-profile-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane fade" id="pills-contact" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="pills-contact-tab">...</div>
</div>

And with vertical pills.

<div class="row">
  <div class="col-3">
    <div class="nav flex-column nav-pills" id="v-pills-tab" role="tablist" aria-orientation="vertical">
      <a class="nav-link active" id="v-pills-home-tab" data-toggle="pill" href="#v-pills-home" role="tab" aria-controls="v-pills-home" aria-selected="true">Home</a>
      <a class="nav-link" id="v-pills-profile-tab" data-toggle="pill" href="#v-pills-profile" role="tab" aria-controls="v-pills-profile" aria-selected="false">Profile</a>
      <a class="nav-link" id="v-pills-messages-tab" data-toggle="pill" href="#v-pills-messages" role="tab" aria-controls="v-pills-messages" aria-selected="false">Messages</a>
      <a class="nav-link" id="v-pills-settings-tab" data-toggle="pill" href="#v-pills-settings" role="tab" aria-controls="v-pills-settings" aria-selected="false">Settings</a>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="col-9">
    <div class="tab-content" id="v-pills-tabContent">
      <div class="tab-pane fade show active" id="v-pills-home" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="v-pills-home-tab">...</div>
      <div class="tab-pane fade" id="v-pills-profile" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="v-pills-profile-tab">...</div>
      <div class="tab-pane fade" id="v-pills-messages" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="v-pills-messages-tab">...</div>
      <div class="tab-pane fade" id="v-pills-settings" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="v-pills-settings-tab">...</div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Using data attributes

You can activate a tab or pill navigation without writing any JavaScript by simply specifying data-toggle="tab" or data-toggle="pill" on an element. Use these data attributes on .nav-tabs or .nav-pills.

Copy

<!-- Nav tabs -->
<ul class="nav nav-tabs" id="myTab" role="tablist">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" id="home-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#home" role="tab" aria-controls="home" aria-selected="true">Home</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="profile-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#profile" role="tab" aria-controls="profile" aria-selected="false">Profile</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="messages-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#messages" role="tab" aria-controls="messages" aria-selected="false">Messages</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="settings-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#settings" role="tab" aria-controls="settings" aria-selected="false">Settings</a>
  </li>
</ul>

<!-- Tab panes -->
<div class="tab-content">
  <div class="tab-pane active" id="home" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="home-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane" id="profile" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="profile-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane" id="messages" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="messages-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane" id="settings" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="settings-tab">...</div>
</div>

Via JavaScript

Enable tabbable tabs via JavaScript (each tab needs to be activated individually):

$('#myTab a').on('click', function (e) {
  e.preventDefault()
  $(this).tab('show')
})

You can activate individual tabs in several ways:

Copy

$('#myTab a[href="#profile"]').tab('show') // Select tab by name
$('#myTab li:first-child a').tab('show') // Select first tab
$('#myTab li:last-child a').tab('show') // Select last tab
$('#myTab li:nth-child(3) a').tab('show') // Select third tab

Fade effect

To make tabs fade in, add .fade to each .tab-pane. The first tab pane must also have .show to make the initial content visible.

Copy

<div class="tab-content">
  <div class="tab-pane fade show active" id="home" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="home-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane fade" id="profile" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="profile-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane fade" id="messages" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="messages-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane fade" id="settings" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="settings-tab">...</div>
</div>

Methods

Asynchronous methods and transitions

All API methods are asynchronous and start a transition. They return to the caller as soon as the transition is started but before it ends. In addition, a method call on a transitioning component will be ignored.

See our JavaScript documentation for more information.

$().tab

Activates a tab element and content container. Tab should have either a data-target or an href targeting a container node in the DOM.

Copy

<ul class="nav nav-tabs" id="myTab" role="tablist">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" id="home-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#home" role="tab" aria-controls="home" aria-selected="true">Home</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="profile-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#profile" role="tab" aria-controls="profile" aria-selected="false">Profile</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="messages-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#messages" role="tab" aria-controls="messages" aria-selected="false">Messages</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" id="settings-tab" data-toggle="tab" href="#settings" role="tab" aria-controls="settings" aria-selected="false">Settings</a>
  </li>
</ul>

<div class="tab-content">
  <div class="tab-pane active" id="home" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="home-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane" id="profile" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="profile-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane" id="messages" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="messages-tab">...</div>
  <div class="tab-pane" id="settings" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="settings-tab">...</div>
</div>

<script>
  $(function () {
    $('#myTab li:last-child a').tab('show')
  })
</script>

.tab(‘show')

Selects the given tab and shows its associated pane. Any other tab that was previously selected becomes unselected and its associated pane is hidden. Returns to the caller before the tab pane has actually been shown (i.e. before the shown.bs.tab event occurs).

Copy

$('#someTab').tab('show')

.tab(‘dispose')

Destroys an element's tab.

Events

When showing a new tab, the events fire in the following order:

hide.bs.tab (on the current active tab)
show.bs.tab (on the to-be-shown tab)
hidden.bs.tab (on the previous active tab, the same one as for the hide.bs.tab event)
shown.bs.tab (on the newly-active just-shown tab, the same one as for the show.bs.tabevent)

If no tab was already active, then the hide.bs.tab and hidden.bs.tab events will not be fired.

Event Type	Description
show.bs.tab	This event fires on tab show, but before the new tab has been shown. Use `event.target` and `event.relatedTarget` to target the active tab and the previous active tab (if available) respectively.
shown.bs.tab	This event fires on tab show after a tab has been shown. Use `event.target` and `event.relatedTarget` to target the active tab and the previous active tab (if available) respectively.
hide.bs.tab	This event fires when a new tab is to be shown (and thus the previous active tab is to be hidden). Use `event.target` and `event.relatedTarget` to target the current active tab and the new soon-to-be-active tab, respectively.
hidden.bs.tab	This event fires after a new tab is shown (and thus the previous active tab is hidden). Use `event.target` and `event.relatedTarget` to target the previous active tab and the new active tab, respectively.

$('a[data-toggle="tab"]').on('shown.bs.tab', function (e) {
  e.target // newly activated tab
  e.relatedTarget // previous active tab
})