Validation
React Bootstrap 5 Validation
Provide valuable, actionable feedback to your users with HTML5 form validation, via browser default behaviors or custom styles and JavaScript.
Note: We currently recommend using custom validation styles, as native browser default validation messages are not consistently exposed to assistive technologies in all browsers (most notably, Chrome on desktop and mobile).
Basic example
For custom MDB form validation messages, you’ll need to add the
noValidate boolean prop to your <MDBValidation>. This disables
the browser default feedback tooltips, but still provides access to the form validation APIs
in JavaScript. Try to submit the form below; our JavaScript will intercept the submit button
and relay feedback to you. When attempting to submit, you’ll see the :invalid and
:valid styles applied to your form controls.
Custom feedback styles apply custom colors, borders, focus styles, and background icons to better communicate feedback.
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import {
MDBValidation,
MDBValidationItem,
MDBInput,
MDBInputGroup,
MDBBtn,
MDBCheckbox
} from 'mdb-react-ui-kit';
export default function App() {
const [formValue, setFormValue] = useState({
fname: 'Mark',
lname: 'Otto',
email: '',
city: '',
state: '',
zip: '',
});
const onChange = (e: any) => {
setFormValue({ ...formValue, [e.target.name]: e.target.value });
};
return (
<MDBValidation className='row g-3'>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-md-4'>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.fname}
name='fname'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom01'
required
label='First name'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-md-4'>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.lname}
name='lname'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom02'
required
label='Last name'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem feedback='Please choose a username.' invalid className='col-md-4'>
<MDBInputGroup textBefore='@'>
<input
type='text'
className='form-control'
id='validationCustomUsername'
placeholder='Username'
required
/>
</MDBInputGroup>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-md-6' feedback='Please provide a valid city.' invalid>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.city}
name='city'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom03'
required
label='City'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-md-6' feedback='Please provide a valid zip.' invalid>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.zip}
name='zip'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom05'
required
label='Zip'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-12' feedback='You must agree before submitting.' invalid>
<MDBCheckbox label='Agree to terms and conditions' id='invalidCheck' required />
</MDBValidationItem>
<div className='col-12'>
<MDBBtn type='submit'>Submit form</MDBBtn>
<MDBBtn type='reset'>Reset form</MDBBtn>
</div>
</MDBValidation>
);
}
How it works
Here’s how form validation works with MDB:
-
HTML form validation is applied via CSS’s two pseudo-classes,
:invalidand:valid. It applies to<input>and<textarea>elements. -
MDB scopes the
:invalidand:validstyles to parent.was-validatedclass, usually applied to the<form>. Otherwise, any required field without a value shows up as invalid on page load. This way, you may choose when to activate them (typically after form submission is attempted). -
As a fallback,
.is-invalidand.is-validclasses may be used instead of the pseudo-classes for server-side validation. They do not require a.was-validatedparent class. -
Due to constraints in how CSS works, we cannot (at present) apply styles to a
<label>that comes before a form control in the DOM without the help of custom JavaScript. - All modern browsers support the constraint validation API, a series of JavaScript methods for validating form controls.
- Feedback messages may utilize the browser defaults (different for each browser, and unstylable via CSS) or our custom feedback styles with additional HTML and CSS.
-
You may provide custom validity messages with
setCustomValidityin JavaScript.
With that in mind, consider the following demos for our custom form validation styles, optional server-side classes, and browser defaults.
Browser defaults
Not interested in custom validation feedback messages or writing JavaScript to change form behaviors? All good, you can use the browser defaults. Try submitting the form below. Depending on your browser and OS, you’ll see a slightly different style of feedback.
While these feedback styles cannot be styled with CSS, you can still customize the feedback text through JavaScript.
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import {
MDBInput,
MDBBtn,
MDBCheckbox,
MDBRow,
MDBCol
} from 'mdb-react-ui-kit';
export default function App() {
const [formValue, setFormValue] = useState({
fname: 'Mark',
lname: 'Otto',
email: '',
city: '',
state: '',
zip: '',
});
const onChange = (e: any) => {
setFormValue({ ...formValue, [e.target.name]: e.target.value });
};
return (
<MDBRow tag="form" className='g-3'>
<MDBCol md="4">
<MDBInput
value={formValue.fname}
name='fname'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom01'
required
label='First name'
/>
</MDBCol>
<MDBCol md="4">
<MDBInput
value={formValue.lname}
name='lname'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom02'
required
label='Last name'
/>
</MDBCol>
<MDBCol md="4">
<div className='input-group has-validation'>
<span className='input-group-text' id='inputGroupPrepend'>
@
</span>
<input
type='text'
className='form-control'
id='validationCustomUsername'
placeholder='Username'
required
/>
<div className='invalid-feedback'>Please choose a username.</div>
</div>
</MDBCol>
<MDBCol md="6">
<MDBInput
value={formValue.city}
name='city'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom03'
required
label='City'
/>
</MDBCol>
<MDBCol md="6">
<MDBInput
value={formValue.zip}
name='zip'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom05'
required
label='Zip'
/>
</MDBCol>
<MDBCol size="12">
<MDBCheckbox label='Agree to terms and conditions' id='invalidCheck2' required />
</MDBCol>
<MDBCol size="12">
<MDBBtn type='submit'>Submit form</MDBBtn>
</MDBCol>
</MDBRow>
);
}
Server side
We recommend using client-side validation, but in case you require server-side validation, you
can indicate invalid and valid form fields with
.is-invalid and .is-valid. Note that
.invalid-feedback is also supported with these classes.
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import {
MDBInput,
MDBInputGroup,
MDBBtn,
MDBCheckbox,
MDBValidation,
MDBValidationItem
} from 'mdb-react-ui-kit';
export default function App() {
const [formValue, setFormValue] = useState({
fname: 'Mark',
lname: 'Otto',
email: '',
city: '',
state: '',
zip: '',
});
const onChange = (e: any) => {
setFormValue({ ...formValue, [e.target.name]: e.target.value });
};
return (
<MDBValidation className='row g-3' isValidated>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-md-4'>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.fname}
name='fname'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom01'
required
label='First name'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-md-4'>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.lname}
name='lname'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom02'
required
label='Last name'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem feedback='Please choose a username.' invalid className='col-md-4'>
<MDBInputGroup textBefore='@'>
<input
type='text'
className='form-control'
id='validationCustomUsername'
placeholder='Username'
required
/>
</MDBInputGroup>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-md-6' feedback='Please provide a valid city.' invalid>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.city}
name='city'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom03'
required
label='City'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-md-6' feedback='Please provide a valid zip.' invalid>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.zip}
name='zip'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom05'
required
label='Zip'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem className='col-12' feedback='You must agree before submitting.' invalid>
<MDBCheckbox label='Agree to terms and conditions' id='invalidCheck' required />
</MDBValidationItem>
<div className='col-12'>
<MDBBtn type='submit'>Submit form</MDBBtn>
</div>
</MDBValidation>
);
}
Supported elements
import React from 'react';
import {
MDBInput,
MDBBtn,
MDBCheckbox,
MDBTextArea,
MDBRadio,
MDBValidation,
MDBValidationItem,
} from 'mdb-react-ui-kit';
export default function App() {
return (
<MDBValidation isValidated>
<MDBValidationItem className='mb-3 pb-1' feedback='Please enter a message in the textarea.' invalid>
<MDBTextArea
label='Textarea'
id='validationTextarea'
placeholder='Required example textarea'
required
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem className='mb-2 pb-1' invalid feedback='Example invalid feedback text.'>
<MDBCheckbox label='Check this checkbox' id='validationFormCheck1' required />
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBRadio label='Toggle this radio' required id='validationFormCheck2' name='radio-stacked' />
<MDBValidationItem invalid feedback='More example invalid feedback text.'>
<MDBRadio
label='Or toggle this other radio'
required
id='validationFormCheck3'
name='radio-stacked'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem
className='mt-3 mb-5'
feedback='Example invalid form file feedback'
invalid
>
<input type='file' className='form-control' aria-label='file example' required />
</MDBValidationItem>
<div>
<MDBBtn type='submit' disabled>
Submit form
</MDBBtn>
</div>
</MDBValidation>
);
}
Tooltips
Add validationTooltip prop to display validation feedback in a styled tooltip. Be
sure to have a parent with position: relative on it for tooltip positioning. In
the example below, our column classes have this already, but your project may require an
alternative setup.
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import {
MDBInput,
MDBInputGroup,
MDBBtn,
MDBCheckbox,
MDBValidation,
MDBValidationItem
} from 'mdb-react-ui-kit';
export default function App() {
const [formValue, setFormValue] = useState({
fname: 'Mark',
lname: 'Otto',
email: '',
city: '',
state: '',
zip: '',
});
const onChange = (e: any) => {
setFormValue({ ...formValue, [e.target.name]: e.target.value });
};
return (
<MDBValidation className='row g-3'>
<MDBValidationItem tooltip className='col-md-4'>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.fname}
name='fname'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom01'
required
label='First name'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem tooltip className='col-md-4'>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.lname}
name='lname'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom02'
required
label='Last name'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem tooltip feedback='Please choose a username.' invalid className='col-md-4'>
<MDBInputGroup textBefore='@'>
<input
type='text'
className='form-control'
id='validationCustomUsername'
placeholder='Username'
required
/>
</MDBInputGroup>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem tooltip className='col-md-6' feedback='Please provide a valid city.' invalid>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.city}
name='city'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom03'
required
label='City'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<MDBValidationItem tooltip className='col-md-6' feedback='Please provide a valid zip.' invalid>
<MDBInput
value={formValue.zip}
name='zip'
onChange={onChange}
id='validationCustom05'
required
label='Zip'
/>
</MDBValidationItem>
<div className='col-12'>
<MDBBtn type='submit'>Submit form</MDBBtn>
</div>
</MDBValidation>
);
}
Validation - API
Import
import { MDBValidation } from 'mdb-react-ui-kit';
Properties
MDBValidation
| Name | Type | Default | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
formRef
|
React.MutableRefObject<any> | false |
Reference to form element |
<MDBValidation formRef={reference} />
|
isValidated
|
boolean | false |
Set MDBValidation form validated |
<MDBValidation isValidated />
|
MDBValidationItem
| Name | Type | Default | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
feedback
|
React.ReactNode | 'Looks good!' |
Feedback displayed on validation |
<MDBValidationItem feedback='Correct!' />
|
invalid
|
boolean | false |
Sets input validation to invalid mode |
<MDBValidationItem invalid />
|
tag
|
string | 'div' |
MDBValidationItem tag element |
<MDBValidationItem tag="span" />
|
tooltip
|
boolean | false |
Enables tooltip mode |
<MDBValidationItem tooltip />
|