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Carousel

Slides that move left and right, one or a few at a time.

Left out of Dense data Slides hide items, and most people never reach the later ones. Dense data's experts want many records on one screen. Use instead: Table, Card

See it live​

Start Storybook to see it live: npm run storybook
Live from StorybookOpen Carousel in StorybookSee it in dark

When to use it​

  • Use it when: A few images or items people browse for pleasure, where missing some is fine.
  • Not when: Content people must see: most never reach the later slides.

Instead:

  • Card: A grid shows every item at once.

Words​

  • Lead with the object, then the state: "Alert 2041 contained."
  • Use numbers, not words for numbers.
  • One verb per button. No "please", no exclamation marks.
  • Use: Investigate, Filter, Assign, Escalated, Resolved. Avoid: Oops, Awesome, Please, Simply.

The labels components use, from the voice tokens:

  • content.action.commit: Save
  • content.action.cancel: Cancel
  • content.action.destroy: Delete
  • content.action.retry: Retry
  • content.action.empty-action: Change filters

See Voice and tone for the whole voice.

Accessibility and keyboard​

KeyboardWhat happensNot
undefinedArrow keys move between slides when the carousel has focus.undefined

Test before you ship:

  • Previous and next are buttons with names; nothing moves on its own without a pause control. undefined

Use it in code​

npx open-ds add carousel

The component reads only component keys and semantic tokens, so it follows the brand and mode on <html>.

Tokens it reads​

Carousel reads 6 tokens of its own, each an alias of a semantic token. Each row is one part: its own token, the semantic it aliases, and the value it ends at. Change a semantic and every component that reads it follows; override one of Carousel's tokens to change Carousel alone.

Changes with theme

Dense data decides what changes when you switch theme. Here a switch changes colors only, so the marked rows differ between light and dark; everything else holds steady.

PartIts token and the semantic it aliasesValue
Item
Padding leftcomponent.carousel.item.padding-leftcomponent-spacing-map.x4var(--carousel-item-padding-left)space.16:1rem
Padding, topcomponent.carousel.item.padding-topcomponent-spacing-map.x4var(--carousel-item-padding-top)space.16:1rem
Previous
Sizecomponent.carousel.previous.sizesize.control.defaultvar(--carousel-previous-size)size.32:2rem
Cornercomponent.carousel.previous.radiusradius.roundvar(--carousel-previous-radius)radius.full:9999px
Next
Sizecomponent.carousel.next.sizesize.control.defaultvar(--carousel-next-size)size.32:2rem
Cornercomponent.carousel.next.radiusradius.roundvar(--carousel-next-radius)radius.full:9999px