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ActionMenu

An ActionMenu is an ActionList-based component for creating a menu of actions that expands through a trigger button.

Beta
Reviewed for accessibility

On this page

import {ActionMenu} from '@primer/react'

Examples

Minimal example

ActionMenu ships with ActionMenu.Button which is an accessible trigger for the overlay. It's recommended to compose ActionList with ActionMenu.Overlay

<ActionMenu>
  <ActionMenu.Button>Menu</ActionMenu.Button>

  <ActionMenu.Overlay>
    <ActionList>
      <ActionList.Item onSelect={event => console.log('New file')}>New file</ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Item>Copy link</ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Item>Edit file</ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Divider />
      <ActionList.Item variant="danger">Delete file</ActionList.Item>
    </ActionList>
  </ActionMenu.Overlay>
</ActionMenu>

<ActionMenu>
  <ActionMenu.Button>Menu</ActionMenu.Button>

  <ActionMenu.Overlay>
    <ActionList>
      <ActionList.Item onSelect={event => console.log('New file')}>New file</ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Item>Copy link</ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Item>Edit file</ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Divider />
      <ActionList.Item variant="danger">Delete file</ActionList.Item>
    </ActionList>
  </ActionMenu.Overlay>
</ActionMenu>

With a custom anchor

You can choose to have a different anchor for the Menu depending on the application's context.

<ActionMenu>
  <ActionMenu.Anchor>
    <IconButton icon={KebabHorizontalIcon} variant="invisible" aria-label="Open column options" />
  </ActionMenu.Anchor>

  <ActionMenu.Overlay>
    <ActionList>
      <ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          <PencilIcon />
        </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
        Rename
      </ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          <ArchiveIcon />
        </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
        Archive all cards
      </ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Item variant="danger">
        <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          <TrashIcon />
        </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
        Delete
      </ActionList.Item>
    </ActionList>
  </ActionMenu.Overlay>
</ActionMenu>

<ActionMenu>
  <ActionMenu.Anchor>
    <IconButton icon={KebabHorizontalIcon} variant="invisible" aria-label="Open column options" />
  </ActionMenu.Anchor>

  <ActionMenu.Overlay>
    <ActionList>
      <ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          <PencilIcon />
        </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
        Rename
      </ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          <ArchiveIcon />
        </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
        Archive all cards
      </ActionList.Item>
      <ActionList.Item variant="danger">
        <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          <TrashIcon />
        </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
        Delete
      </ActionList.Item>
    </ActionList>
  </ActionMenu.Overlay>
</ActionMenu>

With Groups

<ActionMenu>
  <ActionMenu.Button>Open column menu</ActionMenu.Button>

  <ActionMenu.Overlay>
    <ActionList showDividers>
      <ActionList.Group title="Live query">
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <SearchIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          repo:github/memex,github/github
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList.Group>
      <ActionList.Divider />
      <ActionList.Group title="Layout" variant="subtle">
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <NoteIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          Table
          <ActionList.Description variant="block">
            Information-dense table optimized for operations across teams
          </ActionList.Description>
        </ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.Item role="listitem">
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <ProjectIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          Board
          <ActionList.Description variant="block">Kanban-style board focused on visual states</ActionList.Description>
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList.Group>
      <ActionList.Divider />
      <ActionList.Group>
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <FilterIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          Save sort and filters to current view
        </ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <FilterIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          Save sort and filters to new view
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList.Group>
      <ActionList.Divider />
      <ActionList.Group>
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <GearIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          View settings
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList.Group>
    </ActionList>
  </ActionMenu.Overlay>
</ActionMenu>

<ActionMenu>
  <ActionMenu.Button>Open column menu</ActionMenu.Button>

  <ActionMenu.Overlay>
    <ActionList showDividers>
      <ActionList.Group title="Live query">
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <SearchIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          repo:github/memex,github/github
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList.Group>
      <ActionList.Divider />
      <ActionList.Group title="Layout" variant="subtle">
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <NoteIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          Table
          <ActionList.Description variant="block">
            Information-dense table optimized for operations across teams
          </ActionList.Description>
        </ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.Item role="listitem">
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <ProjectIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          Board
          <ActionList.Description variant="block">Kanban-style board focused on visual states</ActionList.Description>
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList.Group>
      <ActionList.Divider />
      <ActionList.Group>
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <FilterIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          Save sort and filters to current view
        </ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <FilterIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          Save sort and filters to new view
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList.Group>
      <ActionList.Divider />
      <ActionList.Group>
        <ActionList.Item>
          <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
            <GearIcon />
          </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
          View settings
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList.Group>
    </ActionList>
  </ActionMenu.Overlay>
</ActionMenu>

With selection

Use selectionVariant on ActionList to create a menu with single or multiple selection.

const fieldTypes = [
  {icon: TypographyIcon, name: 'Text'},
  {icon: NumberIcon, name: 'Number'},
  {icon: CalendarIcon, name: 'Date'},
  {icon: SingleSelectIcon, name: 'Single select'},
  {icon: IterationsIcon, name: 'Iteration'},
]

const Example = () => {
  const [selectedIndex, setSelectedIndex] = React.useState(1)
  const selectedType = fieldTypes[selectedIndex]

  return (
    <ActionMenu>
      <ActionMenu.Button aria-label="Select field type" leadingIcon={selectedType.icon}>
        {selectedType.name}
      </ActionMenu.Button>
      <ActionMenu.Overlay width="medium">
        <ActionList selectionVariant="single">
          {fieldTypes.map((type, index) => (
            <ActionList.Item key={index} selected={index === selectedIndex} onSelect={() => setSelectedIndex(index)}>
              <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
                <type.icon />
              </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
              {type.name}
            </ActionList.Item>
          ))}
        </ActionList>
      </ActionMenu.Overlay>
    </ActionMenu>
  )
}

render(<Example />)

const fieldTypes = [
  {icon: TypographyIcon, name: 'Text'},
  {icon: NumberIcon, name: 'Number'},
  {icon: CalendarIcon, name: 'Date'},
  {icon: SingleSelectIcon, name: 'Single select'},
  {icon: IterationsIcon, name: 'Iteration'},
]

const Example = () => {
  const [selectedIndex, setSelectedIndex] = React.useState(1)
  const selectedType = fieldTypes[selectedIndex]

  return (
    <ActionMenu>
      <ActionMenu.Button aria-label="Select field type" leadingIcon={selectedType.icon}>
        {selectedType.name}
      </ActionMenu.Button>
      <ActionMenu.Overlay width="medium">
        <ActionList selectionVariant="single">
          {fieldTypes.map((type, index) => (
            <ActionList.Item key={index} selected={index === selectedIndex} onSelect={() => setSelectedIndex(index)}>
              <ActionList.LeadingVisual>
                <type.icon />
              </ActionList.LeadingVisual>
              {type.name}
            </ActionList.Item>
          ))}
        </ActionList>
      </ActionMenu.Overlay>
    </ActionMenu>
  )
}

render(<Example />)

With External Anchor

To create an anchor outside of the menu, you need to switch to controlled mode for the menu and pass it as anchorRef to ActionMenu. Make sure you add aria-expanded and aria-haspopup to the external anchor:

const Example = () => {
  const [open, setOpen] = React.useState(false)
  const anchorRef = React.createRef()

  return (
    <>
      <Button ref={anchorRef} aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded={open} onClick={() => setOpen(!open)}>
        {open ? 'Close Menu' : 'Open Menu'}
      </Button>

      <ActionMenu open={open} onOpenChange={setOpen} anchorRef={anchorRef}>
        <ActionMenu.Overlay>
          <ActionList>
            <ActionList.Item>Copy link</ActionList.Item>
            <ActionList.Item>Quote reply</ActionList.Item>
            <ActionList.Item>Edit comment</ActionList.Item>
            <ActionList.Divider />
            <ActionList.Item variant="danger">Delete file</ActionList.Item>
          </ActionList>
        </ActionMenu.Overlay>
      </ActionMenu>
    </>
  )
}

render(<Example />)

const Example = () => {
  const [open, setOpen] = React.useState(false)
  const anchorRef = React.createRef()

  return (
    <>
      <Button ref={anchorRef} aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded={open} onClick={() => setOpen(!open)}>
        {open ? 'Close Menu' : 'Open Menu'}
      </Button>

      <ActionMenu open={open} onOpenChange={setOpen} anchorRef={anchorRef}>
        <ActionMenu.Overlay>
          <ActionList>
            <ActionList.Item>Copy link</ActionList.Item>
            <ActionList.Item>Quote reply</ActionList.Item>
            <ActionList.Item>Edit comment</ActionList.Item>
            <ActionList.Divider />
            <ActionList.Item variant="danger">Delete file</ActionList.Item>
          </ActionList>
        </ActionMenu.Overlay>
      </ActionMenu>
    </>
  )
}

render(<Example />)

With Overlay Props

To create an anchor outside of the menu, you need to switch to controlled mode for the menu and pass it as anchorRef to ActionMenu:

const handleEscape = () => alert('you hit escape!')

render(
  <ActionMenu>
    <ActionMenu.Button>Open Actions Menu</ActionMenu.Button>
    <ActionMenu.Overlay width="medium" onEscape={handleEscape}>
      <ActionList>
        <ActionList.Item>
          Open current Codespace
          <ActionList.Description variant="block">
            Your existing Codespace will be opened to its previous state, and you&apos;ll be asked to manually switch to
            new-branch.
          </ActionList.Description>
          <ActionList.TrailingVisual>⌘O</ActionList.TrailingVisual>
        </ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.Item>
          Create new Codespace
          <ActionList.Description variant="block">
            Create a brand new Codespace with a fresh image and checkout this branch.
          </ActionList.Description>
          <ActionList.TrailingVisual>⌘C</ActionList.TrailingVisual>
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList>
    </ActionMenu.Overlay>
  </ActionMenu>,
)

const handleEscape = () => alert('you hit escape!')

render(
  <ActionMenu>
    <ActionMenu.Button>Open Actions Menu</ActionMenu.Button>
    <ActionMenu.Overlay width="medium" onEscape={handleEscape}>
      <ActionList>
        <ActionList.Item>
          Open current Codespace
          <ActionList.Description variant="block">
            Your existing Codespace will be opened to its previous state, and you&apos;ll be asked to manually switch to
            new-branch.
          </ActionList.Description>
          <ActionList.TrailingVisual>⌘O</ActionList.TrailingVisual>
        </ActionList.Item>
        <ActionList.Item>
          Create new Codespace
          <ActionList.Description variant="block">
            Create a brand new Codespace with a fresh image and checkout this branch.
          </ActionList.Description>
          <ActionList.TrailingVisual>⌘C</ActionList.TrailingVisual>
        </ActionList.Item>
      </ActionList>
    </ActionMenu.Overlay>
  </ActionMenu>,
)

Props

ActionMenu

Name	Type	Default	Description
children Required	React.ReactElement[]		Recommended: `ActionMenu.Button` or `ActionMenu.Anchor` with `ActionMenu.Overlay`
open	boolean	false	If defined, will control the open/closed state of the overlay. Must be used in conjuction with `onOpenChange`.
onOpenChange	(open: boolean) => void		If defined, will control the open/closed state of the overlay. Must be used in conjuction with `open`.
anchorRef	React.RefObject<HTMLElement>		Useful for defining an external anchor

ActionMenu.Button

Name	Type	Default	Description
children Required	React.ReactElement
Additional props are passed to the `<Button>` element. See Button docs for a list of props accepted by the `<Button>` element.

ActionMenu.Anchor

Name	Type	Default	Description
children Required	React.ReactElement		Accepts a single child element

ActionMenu.Overlay

Name	Type	Default
children Required	React.ReactNode
align	start \| center \| end	start
Additional props are passed to the `<Overlay>` element. See Overlay docs for a list of props accepted by the `<Overlay>` element.

Status

Alpha

Component props and basic example usage of the component are documented on primer.style/react.
Component does not have any unnecessary third-party dependencies.
Component can adapt to different themes.
Component can adapt to different screen sizes.
Component has robust unit test coverage (100% where achievable).
Component has visual regression coverage of its default and interactive states.
Component does not introduce any axe violations.
Component has been manually reviewed by the accessibility team and any resulting issues have been addressed.

Beta

Component is used in a production application.
Common usage examples are documented on primer.style/react.
Common usage examples are documented in storybook stories.
Component has been reviewed by a systems designer and any resulting issues have been addressed.
Component does not introduce any performance regressions.

Stable

Component API has been stable with no breaking changes for at least one month.
Feedback on API usability has been sought from developers using the component and any resulting issues have been addressed.
Component has corresponding design guidelines documented in the interface guidelines.
Component has corresponding Figma component in the Primer Web library.
Tooling (such as linters, codemods, etc.) exists to prevent further use of alternatives.

ActionMenu

Examples

Minimal example

With a custom anchor

With Groups

With selection

With External Anchor

With Overlay Props

Props

ActionMenu

ActionMenu.Button

ActionMenu.Anchor

ActionMenu.Overlay

Status

Alpha

Beta

Stable

Further reading

Related components