Navs

Documentation and examples for how to use Bootstrap’s included navigation components.

Base nav

Navigation available in Bootstrap share general markup and styles, from the base .nav class to the active and disabled states. Swap modifier classes to switch between each style.

The base .nav component is built with flexbox and provide a strong foundation for building all types of navigation components. It includes some style overrides (for working with lists), some link padding for larger hit areas, and basic disabled styling.

The base .nav component does not include any .active state. The following examples include the class, mainly to demonstrate that this particular class does not trigger any special styling.

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

Classes are used throughout, so your markup can be super flexible. Use <ul>s like above, or roll your own with say a <nav> element. Because the .nav uses display: flex, the nav links behave the same as nav items would, but without the extra markup.

Result
HTML

<nav class="nav">
  <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
</nav>

Available styles

Change the style of .navs component with modifiers and utilities. Mix and match as needed, or build your own.

Horizontal alignment

Change the horizontal alignment of your nav with flexbox utilities . By default, navs are left-aligned, but you can easily change them to center or right aligned.

Centered with .justify-content-center:

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav justify-content-center">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

Right-aligned with .justify-content-end:

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav justify-content-end">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

Vertical

Stack your navigation by changing the flex item direction with the .flex-column utility. Need to stack them on some viewports but not others? Use the responsive versions (e.g., .flex-sm-column).

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav flex-column">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

As always, vertical navigation is possible without <ul>s, too.

Result
HTML

<nav class="nav flex-column">
  <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
</nav>

Tabs

Takes the basic nav from above and adds the .nav-tabs class to generate a tabbed interface.

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav nav-tabs">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

Pills

Take that same HTML, but use .nav-pills instead:

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav nav-pills">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

Classic

Take that same HTML, but use .nav-classic instead:

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav nav-classic">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

Disable the border wrapper with .nav-borderless class:

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav nav-classic nav-borderless">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

<ul class="nav nav-classic nav-shadow">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

Rounded

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav nav-classic nav-rounded">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

Fill and justify

Force your .nav’s contents to extend the full available width one of two modifier classes. To proportionately fill all available space with your .nav-items, use .nav-fill. Notice that all horizontal space is occupied, but not every nav item has the same width.

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav nav-pills nav-fill">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

When using a <nav>-based navigation, be sure to include .nav-item on the anchors.

Result
HTML

<nav class="nav nav-pills nav-fill">
  <a class="nav-item nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  <a class="nav-item nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="nav-item nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="nav-item nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
</nav>

For equal-width elements, use .nav-justified. All horizontal space will be occupied by nav links, but unlike the .nav-fill above, every nav item will be the same width.

Result
HTML

<nav class="nav nav-pills nav-justified">
  <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  <a class="nav-link" href="#">Longer nav link</a>
  <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
</nav>

Similar to the .nav-fill example using a <nav>-based navigation, be sure to include .nav-item on the anchors.

Result
HTML

<nav class="nav nav-pills nav-justified">
  <a class="nav-item nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  <a class="nav-item nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="nav-item nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="nav-item nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
</nav>

Icon style

Result
HTML

<nav class="nav nav-icon nav-justified text-center">
  <a href="#" class="nav-item active">
    <span class="nav-icon-action">
      <span class="fas fa-user-circle nav-icon-action-inner"></span>
    </span>
    Select payer
  </a>
  <a href="#" class="nav-item">
    <span class="nav-icon-action">
      <span class="fas fa-file-invoice-dollar nav-icon-action-inner"></span>
    </span>
    Payment details
  </a>
  <a href="#" class="nav-item">
    <span class="nav-icon-action">
      <span class="fas fa-paperclip nav-icon-action-inner"></span>
    </span>
    Attachment
  </a>
</nav>

White style

Result
HTML

<div class="bg-dark p-4">
  <ul class="nav nav-white nav-pills">
    <li class="nav-item">
      <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
    </li>
    <li class="nav-item">
      <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
    </li>
    <li class="nav-item">
      <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
    </li>
    <li class="nav-item">
      <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div>

White border style

Result
HTML

<div class="bg-dark p-4">
  <ul class="nav nav-border-white">
    <li class="nav-item">
      <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
    </li>
    <li class="nav-item">
      <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
    </li>
    <li class="nav-item">
      <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
    </li>
    <li class="nav-item">
      <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div>

Box style

Result
HTML

<ul class="nav nav-white nav-pills">
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  </li>
  <li class="nav-item">
    <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
  </li>
</ul>

Working with flex utilities

If you need responsive nav variations, consider using a series of flexbox utilities . While more verbose, these utilities offer greater customization across responsive breakpoints. In the example below, our nav will be stacked on the lowest breakpoint, then adapt to a horizontal layout that fills the available width starting from the small breakpoint.

Result
HTML

<nav class="nav nav-pills flex-column flex-sm-row">
  <a class="flex-sm-fill text-sm-center nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
  <a class="flex-sm-fill text-sm-center nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="flex-sm-fill text-sm-center nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
  <a class="flex-sm-fill text-sm-center nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
</nav>

Regarding accessibility

If you’re using navs to provide a navigation bar, be sure to add a role="navigation" to the most logical parent container of the <ul>, or wrap a <nav> element around the whole navigation. Do not add the role to the <ul> itself, as this would prevent it from being announced as an actual list by assistive technologies.

Note that navigation bars, even if visually styled as tabs with the .nav-tabs class, should not be given role="tablist", role="tab" or role="tabpanel" attributes. These are only appropriate for dynamic tabbed interfaces, as described in the WAI ARIA Authoring Practices .