Skip to main content

Input

An input is where I provide a short answer to a question in an online form.

The Input component is the most common form component for receiving user information on an online form. There are several types of inputs (text being one of them) that suggest the type of information they can receive. Input types are enhanced with icon prefixes, postfixes, or masks to help users enter the correct information. They are always paired with a label inside a Form group component.

Details

The Input extends the USWDS Text input component. Further customization is applied using the CSS modifier(s) .cfa-input, .cfa-input-group to add styles defined in a custom stylesheet.

Modifier. A modifier is a class name that applies a variant, type, or extended style customization to modify the component's visual appearance.

Examples

Text input

The HTML for the demonstration above is rendered using context passed to the component's Thymeleaf template fragment. Learn how to include component templates for Thymeleaf and Ruby in the source and usage section.

<div>
  <input class="usa-input cfa-input" type="text" id="input-66b475abd71ef" name="input['66b475abd71ef']">
</div>

Context is the information necessary to configure and render a component template to HTML. It may include plain text strings, HTML, class names, IDs or other HTML attribute values. The context here is defined as JSON but the root attributes are translated to different variable syntaxes for Thymeleaf and Ruby templates. Learn how to pass these variables to each component template in the source and usage section.

{
  "input": {
    "modifier": "cfa-input",
    "id": "input-66b475abd71ef",
    "name": "input['66b475abd71ef']",
    "type": "text"
  }
}
Email input

The HTML for the demonstration above is rendered using context passed to the component's Thymeleaf template fragment. Learn how to include component templates for Thymeleaf and Ruby in the source and usage section.

<div>
  <input class="usa-input cfa-input" type="email" id="input-d819389b006f8" name="input['d819389b006f8']">
</div>

Context is the information necessary to configure and render a component template to HTML. It may include plain text strings, HTML, class names, IDs or other HTML attribute values. The context here is defined as JSON but the root attributes are translated to different variable syntaxes for Thymeleaf and Ruby templates. Learn how to pass these variables to each component template in the source and usage section.

{
  "input": {
    "modifier": "cfa-input",
    "id": "input-d819389b006f8",
    "name": "input['d819389b006f8']",
    "type": "email"
  }
}
Input group with prefix and mask (U.S. Dollars)

The HTML for the demonstration above is rendered using context passed to the component's Thymeleaf template fragment. Learn how to include component templates for Thymeleaf and Ruby in the source and usage section.

<div class="usa-input-group cfa-input-group">
  <div class="usa-input-prefix" aria-hidden="true">$</div>
  <input class="usa-input cfa-input text-end" type="text" id="input-387eb3d91a49f" name="input['387eb3d91a49f']" placeholder="0.00" inputmode="decimal" data-js="mask-dollars">
</div>

Context is the information necessary to configure and render a component template to HTML. It may include plain text strings, HTML, class names, IDs or other HTML attribute values. The context here is defined as JSON but the root attributes are translated to different variable syntaxes for Thymeleaf and Ruby templates. Learn how to pass these variables to each component template in the source and usage section.

{
  "inputGroup": {
    "modifier": "usa-input-group cfa-input-group"
  },
  "input": {
    "modifier": "cfa-input text-end",
    "id": "input-387eb3d91a49f",
    "name": "input['387eb3d91a49f']",
    "type": "text",
    "prefixText": "$",
    "placeholder": "0.00",
    "inputmode": "decimal",
    "js": "mask-dollars"
  }
}
Input group with postfix

The HTML for the demonstration above is rendered using context passed to the component's Thymeleaf template fragment. Learn how to include component templates for Thymeleaf and Ruby in the source and usage section.

<div class="usa-input-group cfa-input-group">
  <input class="usa-input cfa-input text-end" type="text" id="input-3fdb01ebdd2b2" name="input['3fdb01ebdd2b2']" inputmode="decimal">
  <div class="usa-input-suffix" aria-hidden="true">%</div>
</div>

Context is the information necessary to configure and render a component template to HTML. It may include plain text strings, HTML, class names, IDs or other HTML attribute values. The context here is defined as JSON but the root attributes are translated to different variable syntaxes for Thymeleaf and Ruby templates. Learn how to pass these variables to each component template in the source and usage section.

{
  "inputGroup": {
    "modifier": "usa-input-group cfa-input-group"
  },
  "input": {
    "modifier": "cfa-input text-end",
    "id": "input-3fdb01ebdd2b2",
    "name": "input['3fdb01ebdd2b2']",
    "type": "text",
    "postfixText": "%",
    "inputmode": "decimal"
  }
}
Input group with prefix and mask (U.S. Phone)

The HTML for the demonstration above is rendered using context passed to the component's Thymeleaf template fragment. Learn how to include component templates for Thymeleaf and Ruby in the source and usage section.

<div class="usa-input-group cfa-input-group">
  <div class="usa-input-prefix" aria-hidden="true">+1</div>
  <input class="usa-input cfa-input" type="tel" id="input-8a4e82f90f85b" name="input['8a4e82f90f85b']" pattern="([0-9]{3}) [0-9]{3}-[0-9]{4}" inputmode="tel" data-js="mask-tel">
</div>

Context is the information necessary to configure and render a component template to HTML. It may include plain text strings, HTML, class names, IDs or other HTML attribute values. The context here is defined as JSON but the root attributes are translated to different variable syntaxes for Thymeleaf and Ruby templates. Learn how to pass these variables to each component template in the source and usage section.

{
  "inputGroup": {
    "modifier": "usa-input-group cfa-input-group"
  },
  "input": {
    "modifier": "cfa-input",
    "id": "input-8a4e82f90f85b",
    "name": "input['8a4e82f90f85b']",
    "type": "tel",
    "pattern": "([0-9]{3}) [0-9]{3}-[0-9]{4}",
    "prefixText": "+1",
    "inputmode": "tel",
    "js": "mask-tel"
  }
}
Input with mask (Social Security Number)

The HTML for the demonstration above is rendered using context passed to the component's Thymeleaf template fragment. Learn how to include component templates for Thymeleaf and Ruby in the source and usage section.

<div>
  <input class="usa-input cfa-input" type="text" id="input-f17c1b72bbb55" name="input['f17c1b72bbb55']" pattern="[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{4}" inputmode="numeric" data-js="mask-ssn">
</div>

Context is the information necessary to configure and render a component template to HTML. It may include plain text strings, HTML, class names, IDs or other HTML attribute values. The context here is defined as JSON but the root attributes are translated to different variable syntaxes for Thymeleaf and Ruby templates. Learn how to pass these variables to each component template in the source and usage section.

{
  "input": {
    "modifier": "cfa-input",
    "id": "input-f17c1b72bbb55",
    "name": "input['f17c1b72bbb55']",
    "type": "text",
    "pattern": "[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{4}",
    "inputmode": "numeric",
    "js": "mask-ssn"
  }
}

Guidance

Inputs vs. Textareas. When longer form content needs to be entered the textarea component is used.

Form groups. Form questions with input components always use the form group component to wrap the input with a visible label element.

Refer to additional guidance on the USWDS documentation site.

USWDS documentation site

Additional references

Accessibility

  • Unchecked
    Customization to the visual appearance of the Input has been verified for WCAG 2.1 AA contrast minimum success.
  • Unchecked
    The Input examples pass manual audits (WCAG 2.1 AA using axe or Lighthouse).
  • Unchecked
    The Input achieves WCAG 2.1 AA resizing success.
    Resizing text up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
  • Unchecked
    The Input passes keyboard interaction tests.
    No keyboard test has been created.
  • Unchecked
    The Input passes screen reader interaction tests.

  • Unchecked
    Guidance on ensuring Input accessibility has been provided in this documentation.

Refer to additional accessibility guidance on the USWDS documentation site.

Checklist Key

  • Passes
    Passes
  • Unchecked
    Unchecked

Design library component

Source and usage

Package: @codeforamerica/uswds/packages/cfa-input

  • Sass stylesheet: ./_cfa-input.scss
  • Thymeleaf template fragment: ./cfa-input.th.html
  • Embedded Ruby (ERB) partial template: ./_cfa-input.html.erb
  • JavaScript is used to provide a formatting (mask) utility for U.S. Dollars, U.S. Phone, and Social Security Number input types. Guidance on individual module loading will added. Currently, there is one script that imports all modules. The source is located at @codeforamerica/js/index.js. This entrypoint is compiled using Rollup.js and distributed to @codeforamerica/dist/js/default.js.
Packages are collections of functionality that make up a component. Typically, they include stylesheets, templates, and scripts. Learn more about packages on the USWDS documentation site.
Sass theme settings

Below is a demonstration of customizing the component theme settings. Refer to the theme and package-level settings documentation.

// Theme-level settings
@use 'cfa-uswds-theme' with (
  // Global theme settings that affect the component, changing these will affect other components
  $cfa-color-base-lightest: 'gray-warm-4', // Affects the background color of the input
  $cfa-color-base-lighter: 'gray-warm-10', // Affects the color of the input inset border
  $cfa-color-base-ink: 'gray-warm-90'      // Affects the text and border color of the input
);
// Package-level settings
@use 'cfa-core' with (
  $cfa-form-elements-border-width: 2px,
  $cfa-form-elements-padding-y: 2,
  $cfa-form-elements-padding-x: 2.5,
  $cfa-input-height: 8
);
USWDS theme settings

Refer to the usage documentation for additional USWDS theme settings.

@use "uswds-core" with ( /* additional USWDS theme settings */ );
Thymeleaf template fragment

This is the pre-rendered template fragment from the package. It is the same template used to render the demonstrations above. You may copy and paste from this example or use the template using the th:block th:replace tag. See the example below.

<div th:fragment="input(input, inputGroup)" th:if="${input}" th:class="${inputGroup.modifier}">
  <div th:if="${input.prefix}" class="usa-input-prefix" aria-hidden="true">
    <svg aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" class="usa-icon">
      <use href="${input.prefix}"></use>
    </svg>
  </div>
  <div th:if="${input.prefixText}" class="usa-input-prefix" aria-hidden="true" th:text="${input.prefixText}">$</div>
  <input class="usa-input" th:classappend="${input.modifier}" th:attr="type=${input.type},id=${input.id},name=${input.name},aria-invalid=${input.ariaInvalid},aria-describedby=${input.ariaDescribedby},required=${input.required},pattern=${input.pattern},placeholder=${input.placeholder},value=${input.value},inputmode=${input.inputmode},maxlength=${input.maxlength},autocapitalize=${input.autocapitalize},autocorrect=${input.autocorrect},autocomplete=${input.autocomplete},accept=${input.accept},multiple=${input.multiple},data-js=${input.js}">
  <div th:if="${input.postfix}" class="usa-input-suffix" aria-hidden="true">
    <svg aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" class="usa-icon">
      <use href="${input.prefix}"></use>
    </svg>
  </div>
  <div th:if="${input.postfixText}" class="usa-input-suffix" aria-hidden="true" th:text="${input.postfixText}">.00</div>
</div>
Template fragment inclusion

Below is an example of how to use the fragment from the package directory using the th:block th:replace inclusion tag. Replace the fragment parameters using your variables or context.

<th:block th:replace="~{packages/cfa-input/cfa-input.th :: input(${input}, ${inputGroup})}" />
ERB template partial

This is the pre-rendered partial template from the package. You may copy and paste from this example or use the template directly from the path.

<div <% if defined?(inputGroup) && inputGroup['modifier'] %>class="<%= inputGroup['modifier'] %>"<% end %>>
  <% if input['prefix'] %><div class="usa-input-prefix" aria-hidden="true">
    <svg aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" class="usa-icon">
      <use href="<%= input['prefix'] %>"></use>
    </svg>
  </div><% end %>
  <% if input['prefixText'] %><div class="usa-input-prefix" aria-hidden="true"><%= input['prefixText'] %></div><% end %>
  <input class="usa-input<% if input['modifier'] %> <%= input['modifier'] %><% end %>"
    <% if input['type'] %> type="<%= input['type'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['id'] %> id="<%= input['id'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['name'] %> name="<%= input['name'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['aria-invalid'] %> aria-invalid="<%= input['ariaInvalid'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['aria-describedby'] %> aria-describedby="<%= input['ariaDescribedby'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['required'] %> required<% end %>
    <% if input['pattern'] %> pattern="<%= input['pattern'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['placeholder'] %> placeholder="<%= input['placeholder'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['value'] %> value="<%= input['value'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['inputmode'] %> inputmode="<%= input['inputmode'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['maxlength'] %> maxlength="<%= input['maxlength'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['autocapitalize'] %> autocapitalize="<%= input['autocapitalize'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['autocorrect'] %> autocorrect="<%= input['autocorrect'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['autocomplete'] %> autocomplete="<%= input['autocomplete'] %>"<% end %>
    <% if input['js'] %> data-js="<%= input['js'] %>"<% end %>>
  <% if input['posfix'] %><div class="usa-input-suffix" aria-hidden="true">
    <svg aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" class="usa-icon">
      <use href="<%= input['posfix'] %>"></use>
    </svg>
  </div><% end %>
  <% if input['postfixText'] %><div class="usa-input-suffix" aria-hidden="true"><%= input['postfixText'] %></div><% end %>
</div>
Partial render

Below is an example of how to include the partial in a view from the package directory using the Ruby ERB class. Replace the argument values using your variables or context. In a Rails environment, the render method can be used instead with the same hash values.

<%= ERB.new(File.read('packages/cfa-input/_cfa-input.html.erb'), 0, 0, '@input').result_with_hash({input: input}) %>

uswds.codeforamerica.org

Learn more about Code for America by visiting codeforamerica.org