title: Nav Link storybookPath: navigation-navlink--default isExperimentalPackage: true

Nav links are styled links for use in site navigation.

<Stack as="nav" gap="small">
  <NavLink href="#" isSelected>
    <HomeIcon />
    Dashboard
  </NavLink>
  <NavLink href="#">
    <ClipboardListIcon />
    Applications
  </NavLink>
  <NavLink href="#">
    <BriefcaseIcon />
    Leads
  </NavLink>
  <NavLink href="#">
    <AcademicCapIcon />
    Training
  </NavLink>
  <NavLink href="#">
    <ChartSquareBarIcon />
    Analytics
  </NavLink>
  <NavLink href="#">
    <CogIcon />
    Settings
  </NavLink>
</Stack>

Children

Valid children of a NavLink are a string, or a string plus an icon. No other combinations are allowed.

Border Radius

There are two valid border radii for a NavLink: 'small' and 'full'. Typically 'small' should be used for vertical navigations (like a sidebar) and 'full' should be used for horizontal navigations like in a header.

<Stack gap="large">
  <Text weight="semibold">
    Hover or focus to see the different border radius options
  </Text>
  <Stack as="nav" gap="small">
    <NavLink href="#">"Small" border radius nav item</NavLink>
    <NavLink href="#" borderRadius="full">
      "Full" border radius nav item
    </NavLink>
  </Stack>
</Stack>

isSelected

The isSelected prop is used to style the currently active page. It is important that it is only treated as active if the page is current as it also sets the aria-current attribute to page.

Size

NavLinks can be either medium or large.

<Columns gap="small" collapseBelow="desktop">
  <Stack as="nav" gap="small">
    <NavLink href="#">Medium size nav item</NavLink>
    <NavLink href="#" size="large">
      Medium size nav item
    </NavLink>
  </Stack>
  <Stack as="nav" gap="small">
    <NavLink href="#">
      <HomeIcon />
      Large size nav item
    </NavLink>
    <NavLink href="#" size="large">
      <HomeIcon />
      Large size nav item
    </NavLink>
  </Stack>
</Columns>

Inline

By default, the underlying element will be display: flex and will take up all available space. By setting the inline prop to true the NavLink will be display: inline-flex instead.

<Stack gap="small">
  <Box>
    <NavLink href="#">NavLink without inline prop</NavLink>
    <NavLink href="#">NavLink without inline prop</NavLink>
    <NavLink href="#">NavLink without inline prop</NavLink>
  </Box>
  <Divider />
  <Box>
    <NavLink inline href="#">
      NavLink with inline prop
    </NavLink>
    <NavLink inline href="#">
      NavLink with inline prop
    </NavLink>
    <NavLink inline href="#">
      NavLink with inline prop
    </NavLink>
  </Box>
</Stack>

Props