The asChild Prop

Overview

Ark UI offers a flexible way to render components using the asChild prop. This prop allows you to replace the default component with a custom child element while maintaining the necessary behavior, such as event handling, and passing down props and refs.

Every component that is exported in Ark UI has support for the asChild prop.

Note: When using the asChild prop, be sure that the element you’re rendering matches the tag name of the original component. Changing the underlying tags might affect the accessibility and functionality.

Usage

Consider a component like Menu.Trigger, which also supports the asChild prop.

Default Behavior

By default, the original Menu.Trigger component will be rendered with its default appearance and behavior:

<Menu.Trigger>Open Menu</Menu.Trigger>

Customizing with asChild

To replace the default Menu.Trigger with a custom child element (e.g., a Button), set the asChild prop to true and pass the custom child element:

<Menu.Trigger asChild>
  <Button>Open Menu</Button>
</Menu.Trigger>

When using the asChild prop, the library ensures that the custom child element receives all the required props from the parent component and combines them with the child’s existing props. In addition, if a ref is provided, it will be composed with the child’s ref and passed down correctly.

Limitations

When using the asChild prop, ensure that you only pass a single child element. If you pass multiple children, the component may not render correctly.

Some components may have specific requirements for the child element, such as the Checkbox.Root, RadioGroup.Item and Switch.Root component, which requires a label element to be passed as a child element.

Summary

The asChild prop provides a convenient way to customize the appearance and behavior of components in Ark UI, such as Menu.Trigger. Use the asChild prop to replace the original component with a custom child element, and the library will take care of merging and forwarding props and refs as needed.