Roving Highlight System

Playground

Tune the props live — the code snippet updates as you go, so you can dial in the look you want before copying it.

<RovingHighlightSystem />

Installation

npx shadcn@latest add https://webberui.com/r/roving-highlight-system.json

Usage

Wrap any containers and the RovingHighlightItems inside them in a single RovingHighlight, and the whole set shares one travelling highlight. When the selection crosses from one container to another, the highlight surface morphs smoothly across to the new position.

import {
  RovingHighlight,
  RovingHighlightItem,
} from "@/components/ui/roving-highlight-system";

<RovingHighlight defaultValue="overview" variant="solid">
  {/* Container one: tab strip */}
  <div className="flex gap-1">
    <RovingHighlightItem value="overview">Overview</RovingHighlightItem>
    <RovingHighlightItem value="activity">Activity</RovingHighlightItem>
  </div>

  {/* Container two: sidebar — the highlight travels all the way here from the tab strip */}
  <div className="flex flex-col gap-1">
    <RovingHighlightItem value="inbox">Inbox</RovingHighlightItem>
    <RovingHighlightItem value="starred">Starred</RovingHighlightItem>
  </div>
</RovingHighlight>;

Controlled mode

Pass value and onValueChange to enter controlled mode, where the selection state is owned by the outside:

const [value, setValue] = React.useState("overview");

<RovingHighlight value={value} onValueChange={setValue}>
  {/* ... */}
</RovingHighlight>;

Selection follows focus

With selectOnFocus on, moving focus with the arrow keys also selects (automatic activation), so the highlight tracks focus directly:

<RovingHighlight defaultValue="overview" selectOnFocus>
  {/* ... */}
</RovingHighlight>

Props

RovingHighlight

RovingHighlightItem

All other native button attributes (aria-label, onClick, and so on) are forwarded to the underlying element.

How it works

• Travelling across containers: only the selected item in the whole set renders the highlight surface; on switch, the old position unmounts and the new one mounts, and Motion's layoutId shared layout animation takes over so the highlight morphs smoothly across different containers.
• Namespace isolation: each RovingHighlight names its layoutId through a LayoutGroup, so multiple instances on the same page never pair their highlights with each other.
• Three highlight styles: solid filled surface, outline ring, underline — all of them travel.

Accessibility

• Roving tabindex: the whole set has exactly one tab stop (focus > selection > first available item); Tab enters, arrow keys roam across every registered item, Home / End jump to the first and last, Enter / Space select.
• Focus ring synchronization: a :focus-visible-like detection shows the focus ring only for keyboard operation; the focus ring is likewise a shared element and morphs across containers as focus moves.
• The selected item carries aria-current="true"; disabled items carry aria-disabled and are excluded from keyboard navigation.
• When the user has "reduce motion" enabled at the system level, the highlight and focus ring simply appear at their new position instead of travelling.