Since Shoelace 2.0 Code stable

Popup

sl-popup

Popup is a utility that lets you declaratively anchor “popup” containers to another element.

Examples

This component’s name is inspired by <popup>. It uses Floating UI under the hood to provide a well-tested, lightweight, and fully declarative positioning utility for tooltips, dropdowns, and more.

Popup doesn’t provide any styles — just positioning! The popup’s preferred placement, distance, and skidding (offset) can be configured using attributes. An arrow that points to the anchor can be shown and customized to your liking. Additional positioning options are available and described in more detail below.

top top-start top-end bottom bottom-start bottom-end right right-start right-end left left-start left-end
Active Arrow 
<div class="popup-overview">
  <sl-popup placement="top" active>
    <span slot="anchor"></span>
    <div class="box"></div>
  </sl-popup>

  <div class="popup-overview-options">
    <sl-select label="Placement" name="placement" value="top" class="popup-overview-select">
      <sl-option value="top">top</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="top-start">top-start</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="top-end">top-end</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="bottom">bottom</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="bottom-start">bottom-start</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="bottom-end">bottom-end</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="right">right</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="right-start">right-start</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="right-end">right-end</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="left">left</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="left-start">left-start</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="left-end">left-end</sl-option>
    </sl-select>
    <sl-input type="number" name="distance" label="distance" value="0"></sl-input>
    <sl-input type="number" name="skidding" label="Skidding" value="0"></sl-input>
  </div>

  <div class="popup-overview-options">
    <sl-switch name="active" checked>Active</sl-switch>
    <sl-switch name="arrow">Arrow</sl-switch>
  </div>
</div>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-overview');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const select = container.querySelector('sl-select[name="placement"]');
  const distance = container.querySelector('sl-input[name="distance"]');
  const skidding = container.querySelector('sl-input[name="skidding"]');
  const active = container.querySelector('sl-switch[name="active"]');
  const arrow = container.querySelector('sl-switch[name="arrow"]');

  select.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.placement = select.value));
  distance.addEventListener('sl-input', () => (popup.distance = distance.value));
  skidding.addEventListener('sl-input', () => (popup.skidding = skidding.value));
  active.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.active = active.checked));
  arrow.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.arrow = arrow.checked));
</script>

<style>
  .popup-overview sl-popup {
    --arrow-color: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
  }

  .popup-overview span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-overview .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-overview-options {
    display: flex;
    flex-wrap: wrap;
    align-items: end;
    gap: 1rem;
  }

  .popup-overview-options sl-select {
    width: 160px;
  }

  .popup-overview-options sl-input {
    width: 100px;
  }

  .popup-overview-options + .popup-overview-options {
    margin-top: 1rem;
  }
</style>

div.popup-overview
  sl-popup placement="top" active=true
    span slot="anchor"
    div.box
  div.popup-overview-options
    sl-select.popup-overview-select label="Placement" name="placement" value="top"
      sl-option value="top" top
      sl-option value="top-start" top-start
      sl-option value="top-end" top-end
      sl-option value="bottom" bottom
      sl-option value="bottom-start" bottom-start
      sl-option value="bottom-end" bottom-end
      sl-option value="right" right
      sl-option value="right-start" right-start
      sl-option value="right-end" right-end
      sl-option value="left" left
      sl-option value="left-start" left-start
      sl-option value="left-end" left-end
    sl-input type="number" name="distance" label="distance" value="0"
    sl-input type="number" name="skidding" label="Skidding" value="0"
  div.popup-overview-options
    sl-switch name="active" checked=true Active
    sl-switch name="arrow" Arrow

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector(.popup-overview);
  const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
  const select = container.querySelector(sl-select[name=placement]);
  const distance = container.querySelector(sl-input[name=distance]);
  const skidding = container.querySelector(sl-input[name=skidding]);
  const active = container.querySelector(sl-switch[name=active]);
  const arrow = container.querySelector(sl-switch[name=arrow]);

  select.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.placement = select.value));
  distance.addEventListener(sl-input, () => (popup.distance = distance.value));
  skidding.addEventListener(sl-input, () => (popup.skidding = skidding.value));
  active.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.active = active.checked));
  arrow.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.arrow = arrow.checked));

css:
  .popup-overview sl-popup {
    --arrow-color: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
  }

  .popup-overview span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-overview .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-overview-options {
    display: flex;
    flex-wrap: wrap;
    align-items: end;
    gap: 1rem;
  }

  .popup-overview-options sl-select {
    width: 160px;
  }

  .popup-overview-options sl-input {
    width: 100px;
  }

  .popup-overview-options + .popup-overview-options {
    margin-top: 1rem;
  }

Activating

Popups are inactive and hidden until the active attribute is applied. Removing the attribute will tear down all positioning logic and listeners, meaning you can have many idle popups on the page without affecting performance.


Active 
<div class="popup-active">
  <sl-popup placement="top" active>
    <span slot="anchor"></span>
    <div class="box"></div>
  </sl-popup>

  <br />
  <sl-switch checked>Active</sl-switch>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-active span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-active .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }
</style>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-active');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const active = container.querySelector('sl-switch');

  active.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.active = active.checked));
</script>

div.popup-active
  sl-popup placement="top" active=true
    span slot="anchor"
    div.box
  br
  sl-switch checked=true Active

css:
  .popup-active span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-active .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector(.popup-active);
  const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
  const active = container.querySelector(sl-switch);

  active.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.active = active.checked));

External Anchors

By default, anchors are slotted into the popup using the anchor slot. If your anchor needs to live outside of the popup, you can pass the anchor’s id to the anchor attribute. Alternatively, you can pass an element reference to the anchor property to achieve the same effect without using an id. 

<span id="external-anchor"></span>

<sl-popup anchor="external-anchor" placement="top" active>
  <div class="box"></div>
</sl-popup>

<style>
  #external-anchor {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px 0 0 50px;
  }

  #external-anchor ~ sl-popup .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }
</style>

span#external-anchor
sl-popup anchor="external-anchor" placement="top" active=true
  div.box

css:
  #external-anchor {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px 0 0 50px;
  }

  #external-anchor ~ sl-popup .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

Placement

Use the placement attribute to tell the popup the preferred placement of the popup. Note that the actual position will vary to ensure the panel remains in the viewport if you’re using positioning features such as flip and shift.

Since placement is preferred when using flip, you can observe the popup’s current placement when it’s active by looking at the data-current-placement attribute. This attribute will update as the popup flips to find available space and it will be removed when the popup is deactivated.

top top-start top-end bottom bottom-start bottom-end right right-start right-end left left-start left-end 
<div class="popup-placement">
  <sl-popup placement="top" active>
    <span slot="anchor"></span>
    <div class="box"></div>
  </sl-popup>

  <sl-select label="Placement" value="top">
    <sl-option value="top">top</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="top-start">top-start</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="top-end">top-end</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="bottom">bottom</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="bottom-start">bottom-start</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="bottom-end">bottom-end</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="right">right</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="right-start">right-start</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="right-end">right-end</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="left">left</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="left-start">left-start</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="left-end">left-end</sl-option>
  </sl-select>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-placement span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-placement .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-placement sl-select {
    max-width: 280px;
  }
</style>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-placement');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const select = container.querySelector('sl-select');

  select.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.placement = select.value));
</script>

div.popup-placement
  sl-popup placement="top" active=true
    span slot="anchor"
    div.box
  sl-select label="Placement" value="top"
    sl-option value="top" top
    sl-option value="top-start" top-start
    sl-option value="top-end" top-end
    sl-option value="bottom" bottom
    sl-option value="bottom-start" bottom-start
    sl-option value="bottom-end" bottom-end
    sl-option value="right" right
    sl-option value="right-start" right-start
    sl-option value="right-end" right-end
    sl-option value="left" left
    sl-option value="left-start" left-start
    sl-option value="left-end" left-end

css:
  .popup-placement span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-placement .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-placement sl-select {
    max-width: 280px;
  }

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector(.popup-placement);
  const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
  const select = container.querySelector(sl-select);

  select.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.placement = select.value));

Distance

Use the distance attribute to change the distance between the popup and its anchor. A positive value will move the popup further away and a negative value will move it closer. 

<div class="popup-distance">
  <sl-popup placement="top" distance="0" active>
    <span slot="anchor"></span>
    <div class="box"></div>
  </sl-popup>

  <sl-range min="-50" max="50" step="1" value="0" label="Distance"></sl-range>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-distance span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-distance .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-distance sl-range {
    max-width: 260px;
  }
</style>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-distance');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const distance = container.querySelector('sl-range');

  distance.addEventListener('sl-input', () => (popup.distance = distance.value));
</script>

div.popup-distance
  sl-popup placement="top" distance="0" active=true
    span slot="anchor"
    div.box
  sl-range min="-50" max="50" step="1" value="0" label="Distance"

css:
  .popup-distance span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-distance .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-distance sl-range {
    max-width: 260px;
  }

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector(.popup-distance);
  const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
  const distance = container.querySelector(sl-range);

  distance.addEventListener(sl-input, () => (popup.distance = distance.value));

Skidding

The skidding attribute is similar to distance, but instead allows you to offset the popup along the anchor’s axis. Both positive and negative values are allowed. 

<div class="popup-skidding">
  <sl-popup placement="top" skidding="0" active>
    <span slot="anchor"></span>
    <div class="box"></div>
  </sl-popup>

  <sl-range min="-50" max="50" step="1" value="0" label="Skidding"></sl-range>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-skidding span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-skidding .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-skidding sl-range {
    max-width: 260px;
  }
</style>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-skidding');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const skidding = container.querySelector('sl-range');

  skidding.addEventListener('sl-input', () => (popup.skidding = skidding.value));
</script>

div.popup-skidding
  sl-popup placement="top" skidding="0" active=true
    span slot="anchor"
    div.box
  sl-range min="-50" max="50" step="1" value="0" label="Skidding"

css:
  .popup-skidding span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-skidding .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-skidding sl-range {
    max-width: 260px;
  }

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector(.popup-skidding);
  const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
  const skidding = container.querySelector(sl-range);

  skidding.addEventListener(sl-input, () => (popup.skidding = skidding.value));

Arrows

Add an arrow to your popup with the arrow attribute. It’s usually a good idea to set a distance to make room for the arrow. To adjust the arrow’s color and size, use the --arrow-color and --arrow-size custom properties, respectively. You can also target the arrow part to add additional styles such as shadows and borders.

By default, the arrow will be aligned as close to the center of the anchor as possible, considering available space and arrow-padding. You can use the arrow-placement attribute to force the arrow to align to the start, end, or center of the popup instead.

top top-start top-end bottom bottom-start bottom-end right right-start right-end left left-start left-end anchor start end center
Arrow 
<div class="popup-arrow">
  <sl-popup placement="top" arrow arrow-placement="anchor" distance="8" active>
    <span slot="anchor"></span>
    <div class="box"></div>
  </sl-popup>

  <div class="popup-arrow-options">
    <sl-select label="Placement" name="placement" value="top" class="popup-overview-select">
      <sl-option value="top">top</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="top-start">top-start</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="top-end">top-end</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="bottom">bottom</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="bottom-start">bottom-start</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="bottom-end">bottom-end</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="right">right</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="right-start">right-start</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="right-end">right-end</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="left">left</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="left-start">left-start</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="left-end">left-end</sl-option>
    </sl-select>

    <sl-select label="Arrow Placement" name="arrow-placement" value="anchor">
      <sl-option value="anchor">anchor</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="start">start</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="end">end</sl-option>
      <sl-option value="center">center</sl-option>
    </sl-select>
  </div>

  <div class="popup-arrow-options">
    <sl-switch name="arrow" checked>Arrow</sl-switch>
  </div>

  <style>
    .popup-arrow sl-popup {
      --arrow-color: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    }

    .popup-arrow span[slot='anchor'] {
      display: inline-block;
      width: 150px;
      height: 150px;
      border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
      margin: 50px;
    }

    .popup-arrow .box {
      width: 100px;
      height: 50px;
      background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
      border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
    }

    .popup-arrow-options {
      display: flex;
      flex-wrap: wrap;
      align-items: end;
      gap: 1rem;
    }

    .popup-arrow-options sl-select {
      width: 160px;
    }

    .popup-arrow-options + .popup-arrow-options {
      margin-top: 1rem;
    }
  </style>

  <script>
    const container = document.querySelector('.popup-arrow');
    const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
    const placement = container.querySelector('[name="placement"]');
    const arrowPlacement = container.querySelector('[name="arrow-placement"]');
    const arrow = container.querySelector('[name="arrow"]');

    placement.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.placement = placement.value));
    arrowPlacement.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.arrowPlacement = arrowPlacement.value));
    arrow.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.arrow = arrow.checked));
  </script>
</div>

div.popup-arrow
  sl-popup placement="top" arrow=true arrow-placement="anchor" distance="8" active=true
    span slot="anchor"
    div.box
  div.popup-arrow-options
    sl-select.popup-overview-select label="Placement" name="placement" value="top"
      sl-option value="top" top
      sl-option value="top-start" top-start
      sl-option value="top-end" top-end
      sl-option value="bottom" bottom
      sl-option value="bottom-start" bottom-start
      sl-option value="bottom-end" bottom-end
      sl-option value="right" right
      sl-option value="right-start" right-start
      sl-option value="right-end" right-end
      sl-option value="left" left
      sl-option value="left-start" left-start
      sl-option value="left-end" left-end
    sl-select label="Arrow Placement" name="arrow-placement" value="anchor"
      sl-option value="anchor" anchor
      sl-option value="start" start
      sl-option value="end" end
      sl-option value="center" center
  div.popup-arrow-options
    sl-switch name="arrow" checked=true Arrow

  css:
    .popup-arrow sl-popup {
      --arrow-color: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    }

    .popup-arrow span[slot=anchor] {
      display: inline-block;
      width: 150px;
      height: 150px;
      border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
      margin: 50px;
    }

    .popup-arrow .box {
      width: 100px;
      height: 50px;
      background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
      border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
    }

    .popup-arrow-options {
      display: flex;
      flex-wrap: wrap;
      align-items: end;
      gap: 1rem;
    }

    .popup-arrow-options sl-select {
      width: 160px;
    }

    .popup-arrow-options + .popup-arrow-options {
      margin-top: 1rem;
    }

  javascript:
    const container = document.querySelector(.popup-arrow);
    const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
    const placement = container.querySelector([name=placement]);
    const arrowPlacement = container.querySelector([name=arrow-placement]);
    const arrow = container.querySelector([name=arrow]);

    placement.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.placement = placement.value));
    arrowPlacement.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.arrowPlacement = arrowPlacement.value));
    arrow.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.arrow = arrow.checked));

Syncing with the Anchor’s Dimensions

Use the sync attribute to make the popup the same width or height as the anchor element. This is useful for controls that need the popup to stay the same width or height as the trigger.

Width Height Both None 
<div class="popup-sync">
  <sl-popup placement="top" sync="width" active>
    <span slot="anchor"></span>
    <div class="box"></div>
  </sl-popup>

  <sl-select value="width" label="Sync">
    <sl-option value="width">Width</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="height">Height</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="both">Both</sl-option>
    <sl-option value="">None</sl-option>
  </sl-select>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-sync span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-sync .box {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    min-width: 50px;
    min-height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-sync sl-select {
    width: 160px;
  }
</style>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-sync');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const fixed = container.querySelector('sl-switch');
  const sync = container.querySelector('sl-select');

  sync.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.sync = sync.value));
</script>

div.popup-sync
  sl-popup placement="top" sync="width" active=true
    span slot="anchor"
    div.box
  sl-select value="width" label="Sync"
    sl-option value="width" Width
    sl-option value="height" Height
    sl-option value="both" Both
    sl-option value="" None

css:
  .popup-sync span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 50px;
  }

  .popup-sync .box {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    min-width: 50px;
    min-height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-sync sl-select {
    width: 160px;
  }

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector(.popup-sync);
  const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
  const fixed = container.querySelector(sl-switch);
  const sync = container.querySelector(sl-select);

  sync.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.sync = sync.value));

Positioning Strategy

By default, the popup is positioned using an absolute positioning strategy. However, if your anchor is fixed or exists within a container that has overflow: auto|hidden, the popup risks being clipped. To work around this, you can use a fixed positioning strategy by setting the strategy attribute to fixed.

The fixed positioning strategy reduces jumpiness when the anchor is fixed and allows the popup to break out containers that clip. When using this strategy, it’s important to note that the content will be positioned relative to its containing block, which is usually the viewport unless an ancestor uses a transform, perspective, or filter. Refer to this page for more details.

In this example, you can see how the popup breaks out of the overflow container when it’s fixed. The fixed positioning strategy tends to be less performant than absolute, so avoid using it unnecessarily.

Toggle the switch and scroll the container to see the difference.
Fixed 
<div class="popup-strategy">
  <div class="overflow">
    <sl-popup placement="top" strategy="fixed" active>
      <span slot="anchor"></span>
      <div class="box"></div>
    </sl-popup>
  </div>

  <sl-switch checked>Fixed</sl-switch>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-strategy .overflow {
    position: relative;
    height: 300px;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-strategy span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 150px 50px;
  }

  .popup-strategy .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-strategy sl-switch {
    margin-top: 1rem;
  }
</style>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-strategy');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const fixed = container.querySelector('sl-switch');

  fixed.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.strategy = fixed.checked ? 'fixed' : 'absolute'));
</script>

div.popup-strategy
  div.overflow
    sl-popup placement="top" strategy="fixed" active=true
      span slot="anchor"
      div.box
  sl-switch checked=true Fixed

css:
  .popup-strategy .overflow {
    position: relative;
    height: 300px;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-strategy span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 150px 50px;
  }

  .popup-strategy .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

  .popup-strategy sl-switch {
    margin-top: 1rem;
  }

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector(.popup-strategy);
  const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
  const fixed = container.querySelector(sl-switch);

  fixed.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.strategy = fixed.checked ? fixed : absolute));

Flip

When the popup doesn’t have enough room in its preferred placement, it can automatically flip to keep it in view. To enable this, use the flip attribute. By default, the popup will flip to the opposite placement, but you can configure preferred fallback placements using flip-fallback-placement and flip-fallback-strategy. Additional options are available to control the flip behavior’s boundary and padding.

Scroll the container to see how the popup flips to prevent clipping.

Flip 
<div class="popup-flip">
  <div class="overflow">
    <sl-popup placement="top" flip active>
      <span slot="anchor"></span>
      <div class="box"></div>
    </sl-popup>
  </div>

  <br />
  <sl-switch checked>Flip</sl-switch>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-flip .overflow {
    position: relative;
    height: 300px;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-flip span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 150px 50px;
  }

  .popup-flip .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }
</style>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-flip');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const flip = container.querySelector('sl-switch');

  flip.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.flip = flip.checked));
</script>

div.popup-flip
  div.overflow
    sl-popup placement="top" flip=true active=true
      span slot="anchor"
      div.box
  br
  sl-switch checked=true Flip

css:
  .popup-flip .overflow {
    position: relative;
    height: 300px;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-flip span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 150px 50px;
  }

  .popup-flip .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector(.popup-flip);
  const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
  const flip = container.querySelector(sl-switch);

  flip.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.flip = flip.checked));

Flip Fallbacks

While using the flip attribute, you can customize the placement of the popup when the preferred placement doesn’t have room. For this, use flip-fallback-placements and flip-fallback-strategy.

If the preferred placement doesn’t have room, the first suitable placement found in flip-fallback-placement will be used. The value of this attribute must be a string including any number of placements separated by a space, e.g. "right bottom".

If no fallback placement works, the final placement will be determined by flip-fallback-strategy. This value can be either initial (default), where the placement reverts to the position in placement, or best-fit, where the placement is chosen based on available space.

Scroll the container to see how the popup changes it’s fallback placement to prevent clipping.

 
<div class="popup-flip-fallbacks">
  <div class="overflow">
    <sl-popup placement="top" flip flip-fallback-placements="right bottom" flip-fallback-strategy="initial" active>
      <span slot="anchor"></span>
      <div class="box"></div>
    </sl-popup>
  </div>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-flip-fallbacks .overflow {
    position: relative;
    height: 300px;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-flip-fallbacks span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 250px 50px;
  }

  .popup-flip-fallbacks .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }
</style>

div.popup-flip-fallbacks
  div.overflow
    sl-popup placement="top" flip=true flip-fallback-placements="right bottom" flip-fallback-strategy="initial" active=true
      span slot="anchor"
      div.box

css:
  .popup-flip-fallbacks .overflow {
    position: relative;
    height: 300px;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-flip-fallbacks span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 250px 50px;
  }

  .popup-flip-fallbacks .box {
    width: 100px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

Shift

When a popup is longer than its anchor, it risks being clipped by an overflowing container. In this case, use the shift attribute to shift the popup along its axis and back into view. You can customize the shift behavior using shiftBoundary and shift-padding.

Toggle the switch to see the difference.
Shift 
<div class="popup-shift">
  <div class="overflow">
    <sl-popup placement="top" shift shift-padding="10" active>
      <span slot="anchor"></span>
      <div class="box"></div>
    </sl-popup>
  </div>

  <sl-switch checked>Shift</sl-switch>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-shift .overflow {
    position: relative;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-shift span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 60px 0 0 10px;
  }

  .popup-shift .box {
    width: 300px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }
</style>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-shift');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const shift = container.querySelector('sl-switch');

  shift.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.shift = shift.checked));
</script>

div.popup-shift
  div.overflow
    sl-popup placement="top" shift=true shift-padding="10" active=true
      span slot="anchor"
      div.box
  sl-switch checked=true Shift

css:
  .popup-shift .overflow {
    position: relative;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-shift span[slot=anchor] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 60px 0 0 10px;
  }

  .popup-shift .box {
    width: 300px;
    height: 50px;
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);
  }

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector(.popup-shift);
  const popup = container.querySelector(sl-popup);
  const shift = container.querySelector(sl-switch);

  shift.addEventListener(sl-change, () => (popup.shift = shift.checked));

Auto-size

Use the auto-size attribute to tell the popup to resize when necessary to prevent it from getting clipped. Possible values are horizontal, vertical, and both. You can use autoSizeBoundary and auto-size-padding to customize the behavior of this option. Auto-size works well with flip, but if you’re using auto-size-padding make sure flip-padding is the same value.

When using auto-size, one or both of --auto-size-available-width and --auto-size-available-height will be applied to the host element. These values determine the available space the popover has before clipping will occur. Since they cascade, you can use them to set a max-width/height on your popup’s content and easily control its overflow.

Scroll the container to see the popup resize as its available space changes.

Auto-size 
<div class="popup-auto-size">
  <div class="overflow">
    <sl-popup placement="top" auto-size="both" auto-size-padding="10" active>
      <span slot="anchor"></span>
      <div class="box"></div>
    </sl-popup>
  </div>

  <br />
  <sl-switch checked>Auto-size</sl-switch>
</div>

<style>
  .popup-auto-size .overflow {
    position: relative;
    height: 300px;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-auto-size span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 250px 50px 100px 50px;
  }

  .popup-auto-size .box {
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);

    /* This sets the preferred size of the popup's content */
    width: 100px;
    height: 200px;

    /* This sets the maximum dimensions and allows scrolling when auto-size kicks in */
    max-width: var(--auto-size-available-width);
    max-height: var(--auto-size-available-height);
    overflow: auto;
  }
</style>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-auto-size');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const autoSize = container.querySelector('sl-switch');

  autoSize.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.autoSize = autoSize.checked ? 'both' : ''));
</script>

.popup-auto-size
  .overflow
    sl-popup placement="top" auto-size="both" auto-size-padding="10" active=true
      span slot="anchor"
      .box
  br
  sl-switch checked=true
    | Auto-size

css:
  .popup-auto-size .overflow {
    position: relative;
    height: 300px;
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-200);
    overflow: auto;
  }

  .popup-auto-size span[slot='anchor'] {
    display: inline-block;
    width: 150px;
    height: 150px;
    border: dashed 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-600);
    margin: 250px 50px 100px 50px;
  }

  .popup-auto-size .box {
    background: var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: var(--sl-border-radius-medium);

    /* This sets the preferred size of the popup's content */
    width: 100px;
    height: 200px;

    /* This sets the maximum dimensions and allows scrolling when auto-size kicks in */
    max-width: var(--auto-size-available-width);
    max-height: var(--auto-size-available-height);
    overflow: auto;
  }

javascript:
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-auto-size');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const autoSize = container.querySelector('sl-switch');

  autoSize.addEventListener('sl-change', () => (popup.autoSize = autoSize.checked ? 'both' : ''));

Virtual Elements

In most cases, popups are anchored to an actual element. Sometimes, it can be useful to anchor them to a non-element. To do this, you can pass a VirtualElement to the anchor property. A virtual element must contain a function called getBoundingClientRect() that returns a DOMRect object as shown below. 

const virtualElement = {
  getBoundingClientRect() {
    // ...
    return { width, height, x, y, top, left, right, bottom };
  }
};

This example anchors a popup to the mouse cursor using a virtual element. As such, a mouse is required to properly view it.

Highlight mouse cursor 
<div class="popup-virtual-element">
  <sl-popup placement="right-start">
    <div class="circle"></div>
  </sl-popup>

  <sl-switch>Highlight mouse cursor</sl-switch>
</div>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.popup-virtual-element');
  const popup = container.querySelector('sl-popup');
  const circle = container.querySelector('.circle');
  const enabled = container.querySelector('sl-switch');
  let clientX = 0;
  let clientY = 0;

  // Set the virtual element as a property
  popup.anchor = {
    getBoundingClientRect() {
      return {
        width: 0,
        height: 0,
        x: clientX,
        y: clientY,
        top: clientY,
        left: clientX,
        right: clientX,
        bottom: clientY
      };
    }
  };

  // Only activate the popup when the switch is checked
  enabled.addEventListener('sl-change', () => {
    popup.active = enabled.checked;
  });

  // Listen for the mouse to move
  document.addEventListener('mousemove', handleMouseMove);

  // Update the virtual element as the mouse moves
  function handleMouseMove(event) {
    clientX = event.clientX;
    clientY = event.clientY;

    // Reposition the popup when the virtual anchor moves
    if (popup.active) {
      popup.reposition();
    }
  }
</script>

<style>
  /* If you need to set a z-index, set it on the popup part like this */
  .popup-virtual-element sl-popup::part(popup) {
    z-index: 1000;
    pointer-events: none;
  }

  .popup-virtual-element .circle {
    width: 100px;
    height: 100px;
    border: solid 4px var(--sl-color-primary-600);
    border-radius: 50%;
    translate: -50px -50px;
    animation: 1s virtual-cursor infinite;
  }

  @keyframes virtual-cursor {
    0% { scale: 1; }
    50% { scale: 1.1; }
  }
</style>

Component Props

Property Default Details
popup —

HTMLElement

A reference to the internal popup container. Useful for animating and styling the popup with JavaScript.

anchor —

Element | string | VirtualElement

The element the popup will be anchored to. If the anchor lives outside of the popup, you can provide the anchor element id, a DOM element reference, or a VirtualElement. If the anchor lives inside the popup, use the anchor slot instead.

active false

boolean

Activates the positioning logic and shows the popup. When this attribute is removed, the positioning logic is torn down and the popup will be hidden.

placement 'top'

'top' | 'top-start' | 'top-end' | 'bottom' | 'bottom-start' | 'bottom-end' | 'right' | 'right-start' | 'right-end' | 'left' | 'left-start' | 'left-end'

The preferred placement of the popup. Note that the actual placement will vary as configured to keep the panel inside of the viewport.

strategy 'absolute'

'absolute' | 'fixed'

Determines how the popup is positioned. The absolute strategy works well in most cases, but if overflow is clipped, using a fixed position strategy can often workaround it.

distance 0

number

The distance in pixels from which to offset the panel away from its anchor.
skidding 0

number

The distance in pixels from which to offset the panel along its anchor.
arrow false

boolean

Attaches an arrow to the popup. The arrow’s size and color can be customized using the --arrow-size and --arrow-color custom properties. For additional customizations, you can also target the arrow using ::part(arrow) in your stylesheet.

arrowPlacement
arrow-placement 		'anchor'

'start' | 'end' | 'center' | 'anchor'

The placement of the arrow. The default is anchor, which will align the arrow as close to the center of the anchor as possible, considering available space and arrow-padding. A value of start, end, or center will align the arrow to the start, end, or center of the popover instead.

arrowPadding
arrow-padding 		10

number

The amount of padding between the arrow and the edges of the popup. If the popup has a border-radius, for example, this will prevent it from overflowing the corners.

flip false

boolean

When set, placement of the popup will flip to the opposite site to keep it in view. You can use flipFallbackPlacements to further configure how the fallback placement is determined.

flipFallbackPlacements
flip-fallback-placements 		''

string

If the preferred placement doesn’t fit, popup will be tested in these fallback placements until one fits. Must be a string of any number of placements separated by a space, e.g. “top bottom left”. If no placement fits, the flip fallback strategy will be used instead.

flipFallbackStrategy
flip-fallback-strategy 		'best-fit'

'best-fit' | 'initial'

When neither the preferred placement nor the fallback placements fit, this value will be used to determine whether the popup should be positioned using the best available fit based on available space or as it was initially preferred.

flipBoundary —

Element | Element[]

The flip boundary describes clipping element(s) that overflow will be checked relative to when flipping. By default, the boundary includes overflow ancestors that will cause the element to be clipped. If needed, you can change the boundary by passing a reference to one or more elements to this property.

flipPadding
flip-padding 		0

number

The amount of padding, in pixels, to exceed before the flip behavior will occur.
shift false

boolean

Moves the popup along the axis to keep it in view when clipped.
shiftBoundary —

Element | Element[]

The shift boundary describes clipping element(s) that overflow will be checked relative to when shifting. By default, the boundary includes overflow ancestors that will cause the element to be clipped. If needed, you can change the boundary by passing a reference to one or more elements to this property.

shiftPadding
shift-padding 		0

number

The amount of padding, in pixels, to exceed before the shift behavior will occur.
autoSize
auto-size 		—

'horizontal' | 'vertical' | 'both'

When set, this will cause the popup to automatically resize itself to prevent it from overflowing.

sync —

'width' | 'height' | 'both'

Syncs the popup’s width or height to that of the anchor element.
autoSizeBoundary —

Element | Element[]

The auto-size boundary describes clipping element(s) that overflow will be checked relative to when resizing. By default, the boundary includes overflow ancestors that will cause the element to be clipped. If needed, you can change the boundary by passing a reference to one or more elements to this property.

autoSizePadding
auto-size-padding 		0

number

The amount of padding, in pixels, to exceed before the auto-size behavior will occur.
hoverBridge
hover-bridge 		false

boolean

When a gap exists between the anchor and the popup element, this option will add a “hover bridge” that fills the gap using an invisible element. This makes listening for events such as mouseenter and mouseleave more sane because the pointer never technically leaves the element. The hover bridge will only be drawn when the popover is active.

updateComplete A read-only promise that resolves when the component has finished updating.

Learn more about attributes and properties.

Slots

Name Details
(default) The popup’s content.
anchor The element the popup will be anchored to. If the anchor lives outside of the popup, you can use the anchor attribute or property instead.

Learn more about using slots.

Events

Name Name Name React Event Details
sl-reposition sl-reposition sl-reposition onSlReposition

Emitted when the popup is repositioned. This event can fire a lot, so avoid putting expensive operations in your listener or consider debouncing it.

Learn more about events.

Methods

Name Details
reposition()

Forces the popup to recalculate and reposition itself.

Learn more about methods.

Custom Properties

Name Details
--arrow-size

6px

The size of the arrow. Note that an arrow won’t be shown unless the arrow attribute is used.

--arrow-color

var(–sl-color-neutral-0)

The color of the arrow.
--auto-size-available-width

A read-only custom property that determines the amount of width the popup can be before overflowing. Useful for positioning child elements that need to overflow. This property is only available when using auto-size.

--auto-size-available-height

A read-only custom property that determines the amount of height the popup can be before overflowing. Useful for positioning child elements that need to overflow. This property is only available when using auto-size.

Learn more about customizing CSS custom properties.

CSS Parts

Name Description
arrow The arrow’s container. Avoid setting top|bottom|left|right properties, as these values are assigned dynamically as the popup moves. This is most useful for applying a background color to match the popup, and maybe a border or box shadow.
popup The popup’s container. Useful for setting a background color, box shadow, etc.
hover-bridge The hover bridge element. Only available when the hover-bridge option is enabled.

Learn more about customizing CSS parts.