---
productId: material-ui
title: React Tabs component
components: Tabs, Tab, TabScrollButton, TabContext, TabList, TabPanel
githubLabel: 'scope: tabs'
materialDesign: https://m2.material.io/components/tabs
waiAria: https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/tabs/
githubSource: packages/mui-material/src/Tabs
---

# Tabs

<p class="description">Tabs make it easy to explore and switch between different views.</p>

Tabs organize and allow navigation between groups of content that are related and at the same level of hierarchy.

{{"component": "@mui/docs/ComponentLinkHeader"}}

## Introduction

Tabs are implemented using a collection of related components:

- `<Tab />` - the tab element itself. Clicking on a tab displays its corresponding panel.
- `<Tabs />` - the container that houses the tabs. Responsible for handling focus and keyboard navigation between tabs.

{{"demo": "BasicTabs.js"}}

## Basics

```jsx
import Tabs from '@mui/material/Tabs';
import Tab from '@mui/material/Tab';
```

## Experimental API

`@mui/lab` offers utility components that inject props to implement accessible tabs
following [WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices](https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/tabs/):

- `<TabList />` - the container that houses the tabs. Responsible for handling focus and keyboard navigation between tabs.
- `<TabPanel />` - the card that hosts the content associated with a tab.
- `<TabContext />` - the top-level component that wraps the Tab List and Tab Panel components.

{{"demo": "LabTabs.js"}}

## Wrapped labels

Long labels will automatically wrap on tabs.
If the label is too long for the tab, it will overflow, and the text will not be visible.

{{"demo": "TabsWrappedLabel.js"}}

## Colored tab

{{"demo": "ColorTabs.js"}}

## Disabled tab

A tab can be disabled by setting the `disabled` prop.

{{"demo": "DisabledTabs.js"}}

## Fixed tabs

Fixed tabs should be used with a limited number of tabs, and when a consistent placement will aid muscle memory.

### Full width

The `variant="fullWidth"` prop should be used for smaller views.

{{"demo": "FullWidthTabs.js", "bg": true}}

### Centered

The `centered` prop should be used for larger views.

{{"demo": "CenteredTabs.js", "bg": true}}

## Scrollable tabs

### Automatic scroll buttons

Use the `variant="scrollable"` and `scrollButtons="auto"` props to display left and right scroll buttons on desktop that are hidden on mobile:

{{"demo": "ScrollableTabsButtonAuto.js", "bg": true}}

### Forced scroll buttons

Apply `scrollButtons={true}` and the `allowScrollButtonsMobile` prop to display the left and right scroll buttons on all viewports:

{{"demo": "ScrollableTabsButtonForce.js", "bg": true}}

If you want to make sure the buttons are always visible, you should customize the opacity.

```css
.MuiTabs-scrollButtons.Mui-disabled {
  opacity: 0.3;
}
```

{{"demo": "ScrollableTabsButtonVisible.js", "bg": true}}

### Prevent scroll buttons

Left and right scroll buttons are never be presented with `scrollButtons={false}`.
All scrolling must be initiated through user agent scrolling mechanisms (for example left/right swipe, shift mouse wheel, etc.)

{{"demo": "ScrollableTabsButtonPrevent.js", "bg": true}}

## Customization

Here is an example of customizing the component.
You can learn more about this in the [overrides documentation page](/material-ui/customization/how-to-customize/).

{{"demo": "CustomizedTabs.js"}}

🎨 If you are looking for inspiration, you can check [MUI Treasury's customization examples](https://mui-treasury.com/?path=/docs/tabs-introduction--docs).

## Vertical tabs

To make vertical tabs instead of default horizontal ones, there is `orientation="vertical"`:

{{"demo": "VerticalTabs.js", "bg": true}}

Note that you can restore the scrollbar with `visibleScrollbar`.

## Nav tabs

By default, tabs use a `button` element, but you can provide your custom tag or component. Here's an example of implementing tabbed navigation:

{{"demo": "NavTabs.js"}}

### Third-party routing library

One frequent use case is to perform navigation on the client only, without an HTTP round-trip to the server.
The `Tab` component provides the `component` prop to handle this use case.
Here is a [more detailed guide](/material-ui/integrations/routing/#tabs).

## Icon tabs

Tab labels may be either all icons or all text.

{{"demo": "IconTabs.js"}}

{{"demo": "IconLabelTabs.js"}}

## Icon position

By default, the icon is positioned at the `top` of a tab. Other supported positions are `start`, `end`, `bottom`.

{{"demo": "IconPositionTabs.js"}}

## Accessibility

(WAI-ARIA: https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/tabs/)

The following steps are needed in order to provide necessary information for assistive technologies:

1. Label `Tabs` via `aria-label` or `aria-labelledby`.
2. `Tab`s need to be connected to their
   corresponding `[role="tabpanel"]` by setting the correct `id`, `aria-controls` and `aria-labelledby`.

An example for the current implementation can be found in the demos on this page. We've also published [an experimental API](#experimental-api) in `@mui/lab` that does not require
extra work.

### Keyboard navigation

The components implement keyboard navigation using the "manual activation" behavior.
If you want to switch to the "selection automatically follows focus" behavior you have to pass `selectionFollowsFocus` to the `Tabs` component.
The WAI-ARIA authoring practices have a detailed guide on [how to decide when to make selection automatically follow focus](https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/practices/keyboard-interface/#x6-4-deciding-when-to-make-selection-automatically-follow-focus).

#### Demo

The following two demos only differ in their keyboard navigation behavior.
Focus a tab and navigate with arrow keys to notice the difference, for example <kbd class="key">Arrow Left</kbd>.

```jsx
/* Tabs where selection follows focus */
<Tabs selectionFollowsFocus />
```

{{"demo": "AccessibleTabs1.js", "defaultCodeOpen": false}}

```jsx
/* Tabs where each tab needs to be selected manually */
<Tabs />
```

{{"demo": "AccessibleTabs2.js", "defaultCodeOpen": false}}