kbar

kbar is a simple plug-n-play React component to add a fast, portable, and extensible <kbd>command</kbd> + <kbd>k</kbd> (command palette) interface to your site.

demo

Background

<kbd>Command</kbd> + <kbd>k</kbd> interfaces are used to create a web experience where any type of action users would be able to do via clicking can be done through a command menu.

With macOS's Spotlight and Linear's <kbd>command</kbd> + <kbd>k</kbd> experience in mind, kbar aims to be a simple abstraction to add a fast and extensible <kbd>command</kbd> + <kbd>k</kbd> menu to your site.

Features

Built in animations and fully customizable components
Keyboard navigation support; e.g. <kbd>control</kbd> + <kbd>n</kbd> or <kbd>control</kbd> + <kbd>p</kbd> for the navigation wizards
Keyboard shortcuts support for registering keystrokes to specific actions; e.g. hit <kbd>t</kbd> for Twitter, hit <kbd>?</kbd> to immediate bring up documentation search
Nested actions enable creation of rich navigation experiences; e.g. hit backspace to navigate to the previous action
Performance as a first class priority; tens of thousands of actions? No problem.
History management; easily add undo and redo to each action
Built in screen reader support
A simple data structure which enables anyone to easily build their own custom components

Usage

Have a fully functioning command menu for your site in minutes. First, install kbar.

npm install kbar

There is a single provider which you will wrap your app around; you do not have to wrap your entire app; however, there are no performance implications by doing so.

// app.tsx
import { KBarProvider } from "kbar";

function MyApp() {
  return (
    <KBarProvider>
      // ...
    </KBarProvider>
  );
}

Let's add a few default actions. Actions are the core of kbar – an action define what to execute when a user selects it.

  const actions = [
    {
      id: "blog",
      name: "Blog",
      shortcut: ["b"],
      keywords: "writing words",
      perform: () => (window.location.pathname = "blog"),
    },
    {
      id: "contact",
      name: "Contact",
      shortcut: ["c"],
      keywords: "email",
      perform: () => (window.location.pathname = "contact"),
    },
  ]

  return (
    <KBarProvider actions={actions}>
      // ...
    </KBarProvider>
  );
}

Next, we will pull in the provided UI components from kbar:

// app.tsx
import {
  KBarProvider,
  KBarPortal,
  KBarPositioner,
  KBarAnimator,
  KBarSearch,
  useMatches,
  NO_GROUP
} from "kbar";

// ...
  return (
    <KBarProvider actions={actions}>
      <KBarPortal> // Renders the content outside the root node
        <KBarPositioner> // Centers the content
          <KBarAnimator> // Handles the show/hide and height animations
            <KBarSearch /> // Search input
          </KBarAnimator>
        </KBarPositioner>
      </KBarPortal>
      <MyApp />
    </KBarProvider>;
  );
}

At this point hitting <kbd>cmd</kbd>+<kbd>k</kbd> (macOS) or <kbd>ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>k</kbd> (Linux/Windows) will animate in a search input and nothing more.

kbar provides a few utilities to render a performant list of search results.

useMatches at its core returns a flattened list of results and group name based on the current search query; i.e. ["Section name", Action, Action, "Another section name", Action, Action]
KBarResults renders a performant virtualized list of these results

Combine the two utilities to create a powerful search interface:

import {
  // ...
  KBarResults,
  useMatches,
  NO_GROUP,
} from "kbar";

// ...
// <KBarAnimator>
//   <KBarSearch />
<RenderResults />;
// ...

function RenderResults() {
  const { results } = useMatches();

  return (
    <KBarResults
      items={results}
      onRender={({ item, active }) =>
        typeof item === "string" ? (
          <div>{item}</div>
        ) : (
          <div
            style={{
              background: active ? "#eee" : "transparent",
            }}
          >
            {item.name}
          </div>
        )
      }
    />
  );
}

Hit <kbd>cmd</kbd>+<kbd>k</kbd> (macOS) or <kbd>ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>k</kbd> (Linux/Windows) and you should see a primitive command menu. kbar allows you to have full control over all aspects of your command menu – refer to the <a href="https://kbar.vercel.app/docs">docs</a> to get an understanding of further capabilities. Looking forward to see what you build.

Used by

Listed are some of the various usages of kbar in the wild – check them out! Create a PR to add your site below.

Contributing to kbar

Contributions are welcome!

New features

Please open a new issue so we can discuss prior to moving forward.

Bug fixes

Please open a new Pull Request for the given bug fix.

Nits and spelling mistakes

Please open a new issue for things like spelling mistakes and README tweaks – we will group the issues together and tackle them as a group. Please do not create a PR for it!