SideNav

Use side nav for a vertical list of navigational links, typically used on the left side of a page.

Deprecated
Not reviewed for accessibility

On this page

The Side Nav is a vertical list of navigational links, typically used on the left side of a page. For maximum flexibility, SideNav elements have no default width or positioning.

Deprecation

Use NavList instead.

Before

<SideNav aria-label="Main">
  <SideNav.Link href="/" selected>
    Home
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="/about">About</SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="/contact">Contact</SideNav.Link>
</SideNav>

After

<NavList aria-label="Main">
  <NavList.Item href="/" aria-current="page">
    Home
  </NavList.Item>
  <NavList.Item href="/about">About</NavList.Item>
  <NavList.Item href="/contact">Contact</NavList.Item>
</NavList>

Default example

<SideNav bordered maxWidth={360} aria-label="Main">
  <SideNav.Link href="#account">
    <Text>Account</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#home" selected>
    <Text>Profile</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#emails">
    <Text>Emails</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#notifications">
    <Text>Notifications</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
</SideNav>

<SideNav bordered maxWidth={360} aria-label="Main">
  <SideNav.Link href="#account">
    <Text>Account</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#home" selected>
    <Text>Profile</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#emails">
    <Text>Emails</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#notifications">
    <Text>Notifications</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
</SideNav>

Different kinds of content can be added inside a SideNav item. Use system props to further style them if needed.

Full variant

Add the variant='full' prop to a SideNav.Link to spread child elements across the link, which is useful for status icons, labels, and the like.

<SideNav bordered maxWidth={360} aria-label="Main">
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <Text>Text Only</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <Avatar size={16} mr={2} src="https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/hubot?s=32" />
    <Text>With an avatar</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <StyledOcticon sx={{mr: 2}} size={16} icon={ZapIcon} />
    <Text>With an Octicon</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url" variant="full" selected>
    <Text>With a status icon</Text>
    <StyledOcticon sx={{mr: 2}} size={16} icon={DotIcon} color="success.fg" />
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url" variant="full">
    <Text>With a label</Text>
    <Label outline>label</Label>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url" variant="full">
    <Text>With a counter</Text>
    <CounterLabel>16</CounterLabel>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <Heading as="h5" sx={{fontSize: 1}}>
      A heading
    </Heading>
    <Text>and some more content</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
</SideNav>

<SideNav bordered maxWidth={360} aria-label="Main">
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <Text>Text Only</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <Avatar size={16} mr={2} src="https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/hubot?s=32" />
    <Text>With an avatar</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <StyledOcticon sx={{mr: 2}} size={16} icon={ZapIcon} />
    <Text>With an Octicon</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url" variant="full" selected>
    <Text>With a status icon</Text>
    <StyledOcticon sx={{mr: 2}} size={16} icon={DotIcon} color="success.fg" />
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url" variant="full">
    <Text>With a label</Text>
    <Label outline>label</Label>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url" variant="full">
    <Text>With a counter</Text>
    <CounterLabel>16</CounterLabel>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <Heading as="h5" sx={{fontSize: 1}}>
      A heading
    </Heading>
    <Text>and some more content</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
</SideNav>

Lightweight variant

Add the variant="lightweight" prop to SideNav to render an alternative, more lightweight version that has items with no borders and are more condensed.

<Box
  borderWidth="1px"
  borderStyle="solid"
  borderColor="border.default"
  borderRadius={2}
  p={3}
  backgroundColor="canvas.subtle"
  maxWidth={360}
>
  <Box
    borderStyle="solid"
    borderColor="border.default"
    borderWidth={0}
    borderBottomWidth={1}
    borderRadius={0}
    mb={2}
    pb={1}
  >
    <Heading as="h5" fontSize={1} color="fg.muted">
      Menu
    </Heading>
  </Box>
  <SideNav variant="lightweight">
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Account</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url" selected>
      <Text>Profile</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Emails</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Notifications</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
  </SideNav>
</Box>

<Box
  borderWidth="1px"
  borderStyle="solid"
  borderColor="border.default"
  borderRadius={2}
  p={3}
  backgroundColor="canvas.subtle"
  maxWidth={360}
>
  <Box
    borderStyle="solid"
    borderColor="border.default"
    borderWidth={0}
    borderBottomWidth={1}
    borderRadius={0}
    mb={2}
    pb={1}
  >
    <Heading as="h5" fontSize={1} color="fg.muted">
      Menu
    </Heading>
  </Box>
  <SideNav variant="lightweight">
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Account</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url" selected>
      <Text>Profile</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Emails</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Notifications</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
  </SideNav>
</Box>

It can also appear nested, as a sub navigation. Use margin/padding System Props to add indentation.

<SideNav bordered maxWidth={360}>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <StyledOcticon size={16} icon={PersonIcon} />
    <Text>Account</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url" selected>
    <StyledOcticon mr={2} size={16} icon={SmileyIcon} />
    <Text>Profile</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>

  <SideNav bordered variant="lightweight" py={3} pl={6} backgroundColor="sidenav.selectedBg">
    <SideNav.Link href="#url" selected>
      <Text>Sub item 1</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Sub item 2</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Sub item 3</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
  </SideNav>

  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <StyledOcticon mr={2} size={16} icon={MailIcon} />
    <Text>Emails</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
</SideNav>

<SideNav bordered maxWidth={360}>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <StyledOcticon size={16} icon={PersonIcon} />
    <Text>Account</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
  <SideNav.Link href="#url" selected>
    <StyledOcticon mr={2} size={16} icon={SmileyIcon} />
    <Text>Profile</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>

  <SideNav bordered variant="lightweight" py={3} pl={6} backgroundColor="sidenav.selectedBg">
    <SideNav.Link href="#url" selected>
      <Text>Sub item 1</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Sub item 2</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
    <SideNav.Link href="#url">
      <Text>Sub item 3</Text>
    </SideNav.Link>
  </SideNav>

  <SideNav.Link href="#url">
    <StyledOcticon mr={2} size={16} icon={MailIcon} />
    <Text>Emails</Text>
  </SideNav.Link>
</SideNav>

Usage with React Router

If using React Router, you can use the as prop to render the element as a NavLink. React Router will automatically handle setting aria-current="page" for you.

<SideNav.Link as={NavLink} to="...">...</SideNav.Link>

Component props

SideNav

Name	Type	Default	Description
as	String	'nav'	Sets the HTML tag for the component.
bordered	Boolean	false	Renders the component with a border.
variant	String	'normal'	Set to `lightweight` to render in a lightweight style.
sx	SystemStyleObject	{}	Style to be applied to the component

SideNav.Link

Name	Type	Default	Description
as	String	'a'	Sets the HTML tag for the component.
href	String		URL to be used for the Link
muted	Boolean	false	Uses a less prominent shade for Link color, and the default link shade on hover
selected	Boolean	false	Sets the link as selected, giving it a different style and setting the `aria-current` attribute.
underline	Boolean	false	Adds underline to the Link
variant	String	'normal'	Set to `full` to render a full variant, suitable for including icons and labels.
sx	SystemStyleObject	{}	Style to be applied to the component

Primer/React

Site navigation

On this page

SideNav

Deprecation

Before

After

Default example

Full variant

Lightweight variant

Usage with React Router

Component props

SideNav

SideNav.Link