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Attribute Plugins

Datastar provides the following data-* attributes.

The Datastar VSCode extension and IntelliJ plugin provided autocompletion for all data-* attributes.

Attribute Order

data-* attributes are evaluated in the order they appear in the DOM.

Elements are evaluated by walking the DOM in a depth-first manner, and attributes are processed in the order they appear in the element. This means that if you use a signal in a Datastar expression, it must be defined before it is used.

<!-- This works: -->
<div data-signals-foo="1" data-text="$foo"></div>

<!-- This works: -->
<div data-signals-foo="1"></div>
<div data-text="$foo"></div>

<!-- This works: -->
<div data-signals-foo="1">
  <div data-text="$foo"></div>
</div>

<!-- This does NOT work: -->
<div data-text="$foo" data-signals-foo="1"></div>

<!-- This does NOT work: -->
<div data-text="$foo"></div>
<div data-signals-foo="1"></div>

Attribute Casing

data-* attributes have special casing rules.

According to the HTML specification, all data-* atttributes (not Datastar the framework, but any time a data attribute appears in the DOM) are case in-sensitive, but are converted to camelCase when accessed from JavaScript by Datastar.

Datastar handles casing of data attributes in two ways:

Signal names: the keys used in attribute plugins that define signals (data-signals-*, data-computed-*, data-ref-*, etc), are, by default, converted to camelCase. For example, data-signals-my-signal defines a signal named mySignal. You would use the signal in a Datastar expression as $mySignal.
All other attribute plugins: the keys used by all other attribute plugins are, by default, converted to kebab-case. For example, data-class-text-blue-700 adds or removes the class text-blue-700, and data-on-rocket-launched would react to the event named rocket-launched.

You can use the __case modifier to convert between camelCase, kebab-case, snake_case, and PascalCase, or alternatively use object syntax when available.

For example, if a web component exposes an event widgetLoaded, you would use data-on-widget-loaded__case.camel to react to it. Whereas, if you wanted to use a signal named my-signal then you would use the kebab modfier: data-signals-my-signal__case.kebab.

Core Attributes

The core attribute plugins are included in every bundle, and contain the core functionality in Datastar.

`data-signals`

Merges one or more signals into the existing signals. Values defined later in the DOM tree override those defined earlier.

<div data-signals-foo="1"></div>

Signals can be namespaced using dot-notation.

<div data-signals-foo.bar="1"></div>

Note when working with namespaced signals that only the leaf nodes are actually signals. So in the example above, only bar is a signal, meaning that while using $foo.bar in an expression is possible, using $foo (the namespace) is not.

The data-signals attribute can also be used to merge multiple signals using a set of key-value pairs, where the keys represent signal names and the values represent expressions.

<div data-signals="{foo: {bar: 1, baz: 2}}"></div>

The value above is written in JavaScript object notation, but JSON, which is a subset and which most templating languages have built-in support for, is also allowed.

Keys used in data-signals-* are converted to camel case, so the signal name mySignal must be written as data-signals-my-signal or data-signals="{mySignal: 1}".

Signals beginning with an underscore are considered local signals and are not included in requests to the backend by default. You can include them by setting the includeLocal option to true.

Signal names cannot begin or contain double underscores (__), due to its use as a modifer delimiter.

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify behavior when merging signals.

__case - Converts the casing of the signal name.
- .camel - Camel case: mySignal (default for signal names)
- .kebab - Kebab case: my-signal (default for everything else)
- .snake - Snake case: my_signal
- .pascal - Pascal case: MySignal
__ifmissing - Only merges signals if their keys do not already exist. This is useful for setting defaults without overwriting existing values.

<div data-signals-my-signal__case.kebab="1" 
     data-signals-foo__ifmissing="1"
></div>

When supplying signals in bulk with object notation, modifiers can also be used:

<!-- Merges the signal `mySignal` -->
<div data-signals="{mySignal: 'value'}"></div>

<!-- Merges the signal `mySignal` only if it doesn't already exist -->
<div data-signals__ifmissing="{mySignal: 'init-value'}"></div>

<!-- Defines a kebab cased signal `my-signal` using object notation -->
<div data-signals="{'my-signal': 'value'}"></div>

<!-- It is possible to set both `data-signals__ifmissing` and `data-signals` on the same element -->
<div data-signals="{'my-signal': 'value'}"
     data-signals__ifmissing="{widgetStatus: 'initial'}">
</div>

`data-computed`

Creates a signal that is computed based on an expression. The computed signal is read-only, and its value is automatically updated when any signals in the expression are updated.

<div data-computed-foo="$bar + $baz"></div>

Computed signals are useful for memoizing expressions containing other signals. Their values can be used in other expressions.

<div data-computed-foo="$bar + $baz"></div>
<div data-text="$foo"></div>

data-computed is a pure reactive function, this has several implications:

If a computed signal is not consumed, then the computation will not execute.
Computed signals must not be used for performing actions (changing other signals, actions, JavaScript functions, etc.).

<!-- This computation will never execute because $foo is not used anywhere -->
<div data-computed-foo="$bar + $baz"></div> <!-- WRONG -->

<!-- Computed signals must *not* be used for side effects -->
<div data-computed-qux="@post('/qux'); 'quxed'"></div> <!-- WRONG -->
<div data-computed-foo="$bar++"></div> <!-- WRONG -->

If you find yourself wanting to perform some action in reaction to a signal change, refer to the data-on-signals-change attribute in the data-on plugin

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify behavior when defining computed signals.

__case - Converts the casing of the signal name.
- .camel - Camel case: mySignal (default)
- .kebab - Kebab case: my-signal
- .snake - Snake case: my_signal
- .pascal - Pascal case: MySignal

<div data-computed-my-signal__case.kebab="$bar + $baz"></div>

`data-star-ignore`

Datastar walks the entire DOM and applies plugins to each element it encounters. It's possible to tell Datastar to ignore an element and its descendants by placing a data-star-ignore attribute on it. This can be useful for preventing naming conflicts with third-party libraries, or when you are unable to escape user input.

<div data-star-ignore data-show-thirdpartylib>
  <div data-show-thirdpartylib>
    These element will not be processed by Datastar.
  </div>
</div>

Modifiers

__self - Only ignore the element itself, not its descendants.

DOM Attributes

Allow the usage of signals and expressions to affect the DOM.

`data-attr`

Sets the value of any HTML attribute to an expression, and keeps it in sync.

<div data-attr-title="$foo"></div>

The data-attr attribute can also be used to set the values of multiple attributes on an element using a set of key-value pairs, where the keys represent attribute names and the values represent expressions.

<div data-attr="{title: $foo, disabled: $bar}"></div>

`data-bind`

Creates a signal (if one doesn't already exist) and sets up two-way data binding between it and an element's value. This means that the value of the element is updated when the signal changes, and the signal is updated when the value of the element changes.

The data-bind attribute be placed on any HTML element on which data can be input or choices selected from (input, select,textarea elements, and web components). Event listeners are added for change, input and keydown events.

<input data-bind-foo />

The signal name can be specified in the key (as above), or in the value (as below). This can be useful depending on the templating language you are using.

<input data-bind="foo" />

The initial value of the signal is set to the value of the element, unless a signal has already been defined. So in the example below, $foo is set to bar.

<input data-bind-foo value="bar" />

Whereas in the example below, $foo inherits the value baz of the predefined signal.

<div data-signals-foo="baz">
  <input data-bind-foo value="bar" />
</div>

Multiple input values can be assigned to a single signal by predefining the signal as an array. So in the example below, $foo is set to ['bar', 'baz'] when both checkboxes are checked.

<div data-signals-foo="[]">
  <input data-bind-foo type="checkbox" value="bar" />
  <input data-bind-foo type="checkbox" value="baz" />
</div>

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify behavior when binding signals.

__case - Converts the casing of the signal name.
- .camel - Camel case: mySignal (default)
- .kebab - Kebab case: my-signal
- .snake - Snake case: my_signal
- .pascal - Pascal case: MySignal

<input data-bind-my-signal__case.kebab />

`data-class`

Adds or removes a class to or from an element based on an expression.

<div data-class-hidden="$foo"></div>

If the expression evaluates to true, the hidden class is added to the element; otherwise, it is removed.

The data-class attribute can also be used to add or remove multiple classes from an element using a set of key-value pairs, where the keys represent class names and the values represent expressions.

<div data-class="{hidden: $foo, 'font-bold': $bar}"></div>

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify behavior defining a class name.

__case - Converts the casing of the class.
- .camel - Camel case: myClass
- .kebab - Kebab case: my-class (default)
- .snake - Snake case: my_class
- .pascal - Pascal case: MyClass

<div data-class-my-class__case.camel="$foo"></div>

`data-on`

Attaches an event listener to an element, executing an expression whenever the event is triggered.

<button data-on-click="$foo = ''">Reset</button>

An evt variable that represents the event object is available in the expression.

<div data-on-myevent="$foo = evt.detail"></div>

The data-on attribute works with built-in events and custom events. Note that the data-on-submit event listener prevents the default submission behavior of forms.

Special Events

Datastar provides a few special events of its own:

data-on-load is triggered when an element is loaded into the DOM.
data-on-interval is triggered at a regular interval. The interval duration defaults to 1 second and can be modified using the __duration modifier.
data-on-raf is triggered on every requestAnimationFrame event.
data-on-signals-change is triggered when any signals change. This is useful when you need to perform side effects. A key can be provided to only trigger the event when the signal with that key changes (data-on-signals-change-foo).
```

<div data-on-signals-change-foo="doSideEffect($foo)"></div>
```

Note that the evt variable is not available in the expression when using special events.

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify behavior when events are triggered. Some modifiers have tags to further modify the behavior.

__once * - Only trigger the event listener once.
__passive * - Do not call preventDefault on the event listener.
__capture * - Use a capture event listener.
__case - Converts the casing of the event.
- .camel - Camel case: myEvent
- .kebab - Kebab case: my-event (default)
- .snake - Snake case: my_event
- .pascal - Pascal case: MyEvent
__delay - Delay the event listener.
- .500ms - Delay for 500 milliseconds.
- .1s - Delay for 1 second.
__debounce - Debounce the event listener.
- .500ms - Debounce for 500 milliseconds.
- .1s - Debounce for 1 second.
- .leading - Debounce with leading edge.
- .notrail - Debounce without trailing edge.
__throttle - Throttle the event listener.
- .500ms - Throttle for 500 milliseconds.
- .1s - Throttle for 1 second.
- .noleading - Throttle without leading edge.
- .trail - Throttle with trailing edge.
__duration - Sets the interval duration for data-on-interval.
- .500ms - Interval duration of 500 milliseconds.
- .1s - Interval duration of 1 second.
- .leading - Execute the first interval immediately.
__viewtransition - Wraps the expression in document.startViewTransition() when the View Transition API is available.
__window - Attaches the event listener to the window element.
__outside - Triggers when the event is outside the element.
__prevent - Calls preventDefault on the event listener.
__stop - Calls stopPropagation on the event listener.

* Only works on built-in events.

<div data-on-click__window__debounce.500ms.leading="$foo = ''"
     data-on-my-event__case.camel="$foo = ''"
></div>

`data-ref`

Creates a new signal that is a reference to the element on which the data attribute is placed.

<div data-ref-foo></div>

The signal name can be specified in the key (as above), or in the value (as below). This can be useful depending on the templating language you are using.

<div data-ref="foo"></div>

The signal value can then be used to reference the element.

`$foo` holds a <span data-text="$foo.tagName"></span> element.

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify behavior when defining references.

__case - Converts the casing of the signal name.
- .camel - Camel case: mySignal (default)
- .kebab - Kebab case: my-signal
- .snake - Snake case: my_signal
- .pascal - Pascal case: MySignal

<div data-ref-my-signal__case.kebab></div>

`data-show`

Show or hides an element based on whether an expression evaluates to true or false. For anything with custom requirements, use data-class instead.

<div data-show="$foo"></div>

To prevent flickering of the element before Datastar has processed the DOM, you can add a display: none style to the element to hide it initially.

<div data-show="$foo" style="display: none"></div>

`data-text`

Binds the text content of an element to an expression.

<div data-text="$foo"></div>

Backend Attributes

Add integrations with backend plugin actions.

`data-indicator`

Creates a signal and sets its value to true while an SSE request request is in flight, otherwise false. The signal can be used to show a loading indicator.

<button data-on-click="@get('/endpoint')" data-indicator-fetching></button>

This can be useful for show a loading spinner, disabling a button, etc.

<button
  data-on-click="@get('/endpoint')"
  data-indicator-fetching
  data-attr-disabled="$fetching"
></button>
<div data-show="$fetching">Loading...</div>

The signal name can be specified in the key (as above), or in the value (as below). This can be useful depending on the templating language you are using.

<button data-indicator="fetching"></button>

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify behavior when defining indicator signals.

__case - Converts the casing of the signal name.
- .camel - Camel case: mySignal (default)
- .kebab - Kebab case: my-signal
- .snake - Snake case: my_signal
- .pascal - Pascal case: MySignal

Browser Attributes

`data-custom-validity`

Allows you to add custom validity to an element using an expression. The expression must evaluate to a string that will be set as the custom validity message. If the string is empty, the input is considered valid. If the string is non-empty, the input is considered invalid and the string is used as the reported message.

<form>
  <input data-bind-foo name="foo" />
  <input data-bind-bar name="bar"
    data-custom-validity="$foo === $bar ? '' : 'Field values must be the same.'" 
  />
  <button>Submit form</button>
</form>

`data-intersects`

Runs an expression when the element intersects with the viewport.

<div data-intersects="$intersected = true"></div>

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify the element intersection behavior.

__once - Only triggers the event once.
__half - Triggers when half of the element is visible.
__full - Triggers when the full element is visible.

<div data-intersects__once="$intersected = true"></div>

`data-persist`

Persists signals in Local Storage. This is useful for storing values between page loads.

<div data-persist></div>

If one or more space-separated values are provided as a string, only those signals are persisted.

<div data-persist="foo bar"></div>

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify the storage target.

__session - Persists signals in Session Storage.

<div data-persist__session="foo bar"></div>

`data-replace-url`

Replaces the URL in the browser without reloading the page. The value can be a relative or absolute URL, and is an evaluated expression.

<div data-replace-url="`/page${page}`"></div>

`data-scroll-into-view`

Scrolls the element into view. Useful when updating the DOM from the backend, and you want to scroll to the new content.

<div data-scroll-into-view></div>

Modifiers

Modifiers allow you to modify scrolling behavior.

__smooth - Scrolling is animate smoothly.
__instant - Scrolling is instant.
__auto - Scrolling is determined by the computed scroll-behavior CSS property.
__hstart - Scrolls to the left of the element.
__hcenter - Scrolls to the horizontal center of the element.
__hend - Scrolls to the right of the element.
__hnearest - Scrolls to the nearest horizontal edge of the element.
__vstart - Scrolls to the top of the element.
__vcenter - Scrolls to the vertical center of the element.
__vend - Scrolls to the bottom of the element.
__vnearest - Scrolls to the nearest vertical edge of the element.
__focus - Focuses the element after scrolling.

<div data-scroll-into-view__smooth></div>

`data-view-transition`

Sets the view-transition-name style attribute explicitly.

<div data-view-transition="$foo"></div>

Page level transitions are automatically handled by an injected meta tag. Inter-page elements are automatically transitioned if the View Transition API is available in the browser and useViewTransitions is true.

Aliasing Data Attributes

It is possible to alias data-* attributes to a custom alias (data-foo-*, for example) using the bundler. A custom alias should only be used if you have a conflict with a legacy library and data-star-ignore cannot be used.

We maintain a data-star-* aliased version that can be included as follows.

<script type="module" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/starfederation/datastar@v1.0.0-beta.10/bundles/datastar-aliased.js"></script>

21 KiB Raw Blame History

Attribute Plugins

Core Attributes

DOM Attributes

Backend Attributes

Browser Attributes

Attribute Order

Attribute Casing

Core Attributes

data-signals

Modifiers

data-computed

Modifiers

data-star-ignore

Modifiers

DOM Attributes

data-attr

data-bind

Modifiers

data-class

Modifiers

data-on

Special Events

Modifiers

data-ref

Modifiers

data-show

data-text

Backend Attributes

data-indicator

Modifiers

Browser Attributes

data-custom-validity

data-intersects

Modifiers

data-persist

Modifiers

data-replace-url

data-scroll-into-view

Modifiers

data-view-transition

Aliasing Data Attributes

21 KiB

Raw Blame History

`data-signals`

`data-computed`

`data-star-ignore`

`data-attr`

`data-bind`

`data-class`

`data-on`

`data-ref`

`data-show`

`data-text`

`data-indicator`

`data-custom-validity`

`data-intersects`

`data-persist`

`data-replace-url`

`data-scroll-into-view`

`data-view-transition`