Form Checkbox

For cross browser consistency, <b-form-checkbox-group> and <b-form-checkbox> use Bootstrap's custom checkbox input to replace the browser default checkbox input. It is built on top of semantic and accessible markup, so it is a solid replacement for the default checkbox input.

Example 1: Single checkbox

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-checkbox
      id="checkbox-1"
      v-model="status"
      name="checkbox-1"
      value="accepted"
      unchecked-value="not_accepted"
    >
      I accept the terms and use
    </b-form-checkbox>

    <div>State: <strong>{{ status }}</strong></div>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        status: 'not_accepted'
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox.vue -->

Example 2: Multiple choice checkboxes

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-group label="Using options array:" v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }">
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        id="checkbox-group-1"
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        name="flavour-1"
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>

    <b-form-group label="Using sub-components:" v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }">
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        id="checkbox-group-2"
        v-model="selected"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        name="flavour-2"
      >
        <b-form-checkbox value="orange">Orange</b-form-checkbox>
        <b-form-checkbox value="apple">Apple</b-form-checkbox>
        <b-form-checkbox value="pineapple">Pineapple</b-form-checkbox>
        <b-form-checkbox value="grape">Grape</b-form-checkbox>
      </b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>

    <div>Selected: <strong>{{ selected }}</strong></div>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        selected: [], // Must be an array reference!
        options: [
          { text: 'Orange', value: 'orange' },
          { text: 'Apple', value: 'apple' },
          { text: 'Pineapple', value: 'pineapple' },
          { text: 'Grape', value: 'grape' }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox-multiple.vue -->

Feel free to mix and match options prop and <b-form-checkbox> in <b-form-checkbox-group>. Manually placed <b-form-checkbox> inputs will appear below any checkbox inputs generated by the options prop. To have them appear above the inputs generated by options, place them in the named slot first.

Checkbox group options array

options can be an array of strings or objects. Available fields:

value The selected value which will be set on v-model
disabled Disables item for selection
text Display text, or html Display basic inline html

value can be a string, number, or simple object. Avoid using complex types in values.

If both html and text are provided, html will take precedence. Only basic/native HTML is supported in the html field (components will not work). Note that not all browsers will render inline html (i.e. <i>, <strong>, etc.) inside <option> elements of a <select>.

<p class="alert alert-danger"> <strong>Be cautious</strong> of placing user supplied content in the <code>html</code> field, as it may make you vulnerable to <a class="alert-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting"> <abbr title="Cross Site Scripting Attacks">XSS attacks</abbr></a>, if you do not first <a class="alert-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_sanitization">sanitize</a> the user supplied string. </p>

const options = ['A', 'B', 'C', { text: 'D', value: { d: 1 }, disabled: true }, 'E', 'F']

If an array entry is a string, it will be used for both the generated value and text fields.

You can mix using strings and objects in the array.

Internally, BootstrapVue will convert the above array to the following array (the array of objects) format:

const options = [
  { text: 'A', value: 'A', disabled: false },
  { text: 'B', value: 'B', disabled: false },
  { text: 'C', value: 'C', disabled: false },
  { text: 'D', value: { d: 1 }, disabled: true },
  { text: 'E', value: 'E', disabled: false },
  { text: 'F', value: 'F', disabled: false }
]

Options as an array of objects

const options = [
  { text: 'Item 1', value: 'first' },
  { text: 'Item 2', value: 'second' },
  { html: '<b>Item</b> 3', value: 'third', disabled: true },
  { text: 'Item 4' },
  { text: 'Item 5', value: { foo: 'bar', baz: true } }
]

If value is missing, then text will be used as both the value and text fields. If you use the html property, you must supply a value property.

Internally, BootstrapVue will convert the above array to the following array (the array of objects) format:

const options = [
  { text: 'Item 1', value: 'first', disabled: false },
  { text: 'Item 2', value: 'second', disabled: false },
  { html: '<b>Item</b> 3', value: 'third', disabled: true },
  { text: 'Item 4', value: 'Item 4', disabled: false },
  { text: 'Item 5', value: 'E', disabled: false }
]

Changing the option field names

If you want to customize the field property names (for example using name field for display text) you can easily change them by setting the text-field, html-field, value-field, and disabled-field props to a string that contains the property name you would like to use:

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-checkbox-group
      v-model="selected"
      :options="options"
      class="mb-3"
      value-field="item"
      text-field="name"
      disabled-field="notEnabled"
    ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    <div class="mt-3">Selected: <strong>{{ selected }}</strong></div>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        selected: [],
        options: [
          { item: 'A', name: 'Option A' },
          { item: 'B', name: 'Option B' },
          { item: 'D', name: 'Option C', notEnabled: true },
          { item: { d: 1 }, name: 'Option D' }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox-group-options-fields.vue -->

Inline and stacked checkboxes

<b-form-checkbox-group> components render inline checkboxes by default, while <b-form-checkbox> renders block-level (stacked) checkboxes.

Set the prop stacked on <b-form-checkbox-group> to place each form control one over the other, or if using individual checkboxes not inside a <b-form-checkbox-group>, set the inline prop on <b-form-checkbox>.

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-group
      label="Form-checkbox-group inline checkboxes (default)"
      v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }"
    >
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        name="flavour-1a"
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>

    <b-form-group
      label="Form-checkbox-group stacked checkboxes"
      v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }"
    >
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        name="flavour-2a"
        stacked
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>

    <b-form-group
      label="Individual stacked checkboxes (default)"
      v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }"
    >
      <b-form-checkbox
        v-for="option in options"
        v-model="selected"
        :key="option.value"
        :value="option.value"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        name="flavour-3a"
      >
        {{ option.text }}
      </b-form-checkbox>
    </b-form-group>

    <b-form-group
      label="Individual inline checkboxes"
      v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }"
    >
      <b-form-checkbox
        v-for="option in options"
        v-model="selected"
        :key="option.value"
        :value="option.value"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        name="flavour-4a"
        inline
      >
        {{ option.text }}
      </b-form-checkbox>
    </b-form-group>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        selected: [], // Must be an array reference!
        options: [
          { text: 'Orange', value: 'orange' },
          { text: 'Apple', value: 'apple' },
          { text: 'Pineapple', value: 'pineapple' },
          { text: 'Grape', value: 'grape' }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox-stacked.vue -->

Control sizing

Use the size prop to control the size of the checkbox. The default size is medium. Supported size values are sm (small) and lg (large).

html

<div>
  <b-form-checkbox size="sm">Small</b-form-checkbox>
  <b-form-checkbox>Default</b-form-checkbox>
  <b-form-checkbox size="lg">Large</b-form-checkbox>
</div>

<!-- form-checkbox-sizes.vue -->

Sizes can be set on individual <b-form-checkbox> components, or inherited from the size setting of <b-form-checkbox-group>.

Note: Bootstrap v4.x does not natively support sizes for the custom checkbox control. However, BootstrapVue includes custom SCSS/CSS that adds support for sizing the custom checkboxes.

Checkbox values and `v-model`

By default, <b-form-checkbox> value will be true when checked and false when unchecked. You can customize the checked and unchecked values by specifying the value and unchecked-value properties, respectively.

The v-model binds to the checked prop. When you have multiple checkboxes that bind to a single data state variable, you must provide an array reference ([]) to your v-model. Do not use the checked prop directly.

Note that when v-model is bound to multiple checkboxes (i.e an array ref), the unchecked-value is not used. Only the value(s) of the checked checkboxes will be returned in the v-model bound array. You should provide a unique value for each checkbox's value prop (the default of true will not work when bound to an array)

To pre-check any radios, set the v-model to the value(s) of the checks that you would like pre-selected.

When placing individual <b-form-checkbox> components within a <b-form-checkbox-group>, most props and the v-model are inherited from the <b-form-checkbox-group>.

Note: the unchecked-value prop does not affect the native <input>'s value attribute, because browsers don't include unchecked boxes in form submissions. To guarantee that one of two values is submitted in a native <form> submit (e.g. 'yes' or 'no'), use radio inputs instead. This is the same limitation that Vue has with native checkbox inputs.

Multiple checkboxes and accessibility

When binding multiple checkboxes together, you must set the name prop to the same value for all <b-form-checkbox>s in the group individually or via the name prop of <b-form-checkbox-group>. This will inform users of assistive technologies that the checkboxes are related and enables native browser keyboard navigation.

Whenever using multiple checkboxes, it is recommended that the checkboxes be placed in a <b-form-group> component to associate a label with the entire group of checkboxes. See examples above.

Button style checkboxes

You can optionally render checkboxes to appear as buttons, either individually, or in a group.

Button style checkboxes will have the class .active automatically applied to the label when they are in the checked state.

Individual checkbox button style

A single checkbox can be rendered with a button appearance by setting the prop button to true

Change the button variant by setting the button-variant prop to one of the standard Bootstrap button variants (see <b-button> for supported variants). The default variant is secondary.

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-checkbox v-model="checked1" name="check-button" button>
      Button Checkbox <b>(Checked: {{ checked1 }})</b>
    </b-form-checkbox>
    <b-form-checkbox v-model="checked2" name="check-button" button button-variant="info">
      Button Checkbox <b>(Checked: {{ checked2 }})</b>
    </b-form-checkbox>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        checked1: false,
        checked2: false
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox-button.vue -->

The inline prop has no effect on individual button-style checkboxes.

Grouped button style checkboxes

Render groups of checkboxes with the look of a button-group by setting the prop buttons on <b-form-checkbox-group>. Change the button variant by setting the button-variant prop to one of the standard Bootstrap button variants (see <b-button> for supported variants). The default button-variant is secondary.

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-group
      label="Button-group style checkboxes"
      v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }"
    >
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        name="buttons-1"
        buttons
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>

    <b-form-group
      label="Button-group style checkboxes with variant primary and large buttons"
      v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }"
    >
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        buttons
        button-variant="primary"
        size="lg"
        name="buttons-2"
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>

    <b-form-group
      label="Stacked (vertical) button-group style checkboxes"
      v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }"
    >
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        stacked
        buttons
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        selected: [], // Must be an array reference!
        options: [
          { text: 'Orange', value: 'orange' },
          { text: 'Apple', value: 'apple' },
          { text: 'Pineapple', value: 'pineapple' },
          { text: 'Grape', value: 'grape' }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox-button-group.vue -->

Switch style checkboxes

Switch styling is supported on <b-form-checkbox> and <b-form-checkbox-group> components.

Note: If the checkbox is in button mode, switch mode will have no effect.

Individual checkbox switch style

A single checkbox can be rendered with a switch appearance by setting the prop switch to true

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-checkbox v-model="checked" name="check-button" switch>
      Switch Checkbox <b>(Checked: {{ checked }})</b>
    </b-form-checkbox>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        checked: false
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox-switch.vue -->

Grouped switch style checkboxes

Render groups of checkboxes with the look of a switches by setting the prop switches on <b-form-checkbox-group>.

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-group
      label="Inline switch style checkboxes"
      v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }"
    >
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        switches
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>

    <b-form-group
      label="Stacked (vertical) switch style checkboxes"
      v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }"
    >
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        switches
        stacked
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        selected: [], // Must be an array reference!
        options: [
          { text: 'Red', value: 'red' },
          { text: 'Green', value: 'green' },
          { text: 'Yellow (disabled)', value: 'yellow', disabled: true },
          { text: 'Blue', value: 'blue' }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkboxes-switch-group.vue -->

Switch sizing

Use the size prop to control the size of the switch. The default size is medium. Supported size values are sm (small) and lg (large).

html

<div>
  <b-form-checkbox switch size="sm">Small</b-form-checkbox>
  <b-form-checkbox switch>Default</b-form-checkbox>
  <b-form-checkbox switch size="lg">Large</b-form-checkbox>
</div>

<!-- form-checkbox-switch-sizes.vue -->

Sizes can be set on individual <b-form-checkbox> components, or inherited from the size setting of <b-form-checkbox-group>.

Note: Bootstrap v4.x does not natively support sizes for the custom switch control. However, BootstrapVue includes custom SCSS/CSS that adds support for sizing the custom switches.

Non custom check inputs (plain)

You can have <b-form-checkbox-group> or <b-form-checkbox> render a browser native checkbox input by setting the plain prop.

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-group label="Plain inline checkboxes" v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }">
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        plain
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>

    <b-form-group label="Plain stacked checkboxes" v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }">
      <b-form-checkbox-group
        v-model="selected"
        :options="options"
        :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
        plain
        stacked
      ></b-form-checkbox-group>
    </b-form-group>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        selected: [], // Must be an array reference!
        options: [
          { text: 'Orange', value: 'orange' },
          { text: 'Apple', value: 'apple' },
          { text: 'Pineapple', value: 'pineapple' },
          { text: 'Grape', value: 'grape' }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox-plain.vue -->

Note: The plain prop has no effect when button or buttons is set.

Contextual states

Bootstrap includes validation styles for valid and invalid states on most form controls.

Generally speaking, you'll want to use a particular state for specific types of feedback:

false (denotes invalid state) is great for when there's a blocking or required field. A user must fill in this field properly to submit the form.
true (denotes valid state) is ideal for situations when you have per-field validation throughout a form and want to encourage a user through the rest of the fields.
null Displays no validation state (neither valid nor invalid)

To apply one of the contextual state icons on <b-form-checkbox>, set the state prop to false (for invalid), true (for valid), or null (no validation state).

Note: Contextual states are not supported when in button mode.

Contextual state and validation example

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-checkbox-group
      v-model="value"
      :options="options"
      :state="state"
      name="checkbox-validation"
    >
      <b-form-invalid-feedback :state="state">Please select two</b-form-invalid-feedback>
      <b-form-valid-feedback :state="state">Thank you</b-form-valid-feedback>
    </b-form-checkbox-group>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        value: [],
        options: [
          { text: 'First Check', value: 'first' },
          { text: 'Second Check', value: 'second' },
          { text: 'Third Check', value: 'third' }
        ]
      }
    },
    computed: {
      state() {
        return this.value.length === 2
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- form-checkbox-validation.vue -->

Required constraint

When using individual <b-form-checkbox> components (not in a <b-form-checkbox-group>), and you want the checkbox(es) to be required in your form, you must provide a name on each <b-form-checkbox> in order for the required constraint to work. All <b-form-checkbox> components tied to the same v-model must have the same name.

The name is required in order for Assistive Technologies (such as screen readers, and keyboard only users) to know which checkboxes belong to the same form variable (the name also automatically enables native browser keyboard navigation), hence required will only work if name is set. <b-form-checkbox-group> will automatically generate a unique input name if one is not provided on the group.

Autofocus

When the autofocus prop is set on <b-form-checkbox>, the input will be auto-focused when it is inserted (i.e. mounted) into the document, or re-activated when inside a Vue <keep-alive> component. Note that this prop does not set the autofocus attribute on the input, nor can it tell when the input becomes visible.

Indeterminate (tri-state) support

Normally a checkbox input can only have two states: checked or unchecked. They can have any value, but they either submit that value (checked) or don't (unchecked) with a form submission (although BootstrapVue allows a value for the unchecked state on a single checkbox)

Visually, there are actually three states a checkbox can be in: checked, unchecked, or indeterminate.

The indeterminate state is visual only. The checkbox is still either checked or unchecked as a value. That means the visual indeterminate state masks the real value of the checkbox, so that better make sense in your UI!

<b-form-checkbox> supports setting this visual indeterminate state via the indeterminate prop (defaults to false). Clicking the checkbox will clear its indeterminate state. The indeterminate prop can be synced to the checkbox's state by v-binding the indeterminate prop with the .sync modifier.

Note: indeterminate styling is not supported in button or switch mode, nor is it supported in <b-form-checkbox-group> (multiple checkboxes).

Single Indeterminate checkbox:

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-checkbox v-model="checked" :indeterminate.sync="indeterminate">
      Click me to see what happens
    </b-form-checkbox>

    <div class="mt-3">
      Checked: <strong>{{ checked }}</strong>

      Indeterminate: <strong>{{ indeterminate }}</strong>
    </div>

    <b-button @click="toggleIndeterminate">Toggle Indeterminate State</b-button>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        checked: true,
        indeterminate: true
      }
    },
    methods: {
      toggleIndeterminate() {
        this.indeterminate = !this.indeterminate
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox-indeterminate.vue -->

Indeterminate checkbox use-case example:

html

<template>
  <div>
    <b-form-group>
      <template #label>
        <b>Choose your flavours:</b>

        <b-form-checkbox
          v-model="allSelected"
          :indeterminate="indeterminate"
          aria-describedby="flavours"
          aria-controls="flavours"
          @change="toggleAll"
        >
          {{ allSelected ? 'Un-select All' : 'Select All' }}
        </b-form-checkbox>
      </template>

      <template v-slot="{ ariaDescribedby }">
        <b-form-checkbox-group
          id="flavors"
          v-model="selected"
          :options="flavours"
          :aria-describedby="ariaDescribedby"
          name="flavors"
          class="ml-4"
          aria-label="Individual flavours"
          stacked
        ></b-form-checkbox-group>
      </template>
    </b-form-group>

    <div>
      Selected: <strong>{{ selected }}</strong>

      All Selected: <strong>{{ allSelected }}</strong>

      Indeterminate: <strong>{{ indeterminate }}</strong>
    </div>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    data() {
      return {
        flavours: ['Orange', 'Grape', 'Apple', 'Lime', 'Very Berry'],
        selected: [],
        allSelected: false,
        indeterminate: false
      }
    },
    methods: {
      toggleAll(checked) {
        this.selected = checked ? this.flavours.slice() : []
      }
    },
    watch: {
      selected(newValue, oldValue) {
        // Handle changes in individual flavour checkboxes
        if (newValue.length === 0) {
          this.indeterminate = false
          this.allSelected = false
        } else if (newValue.length === this.flavours.length) {
          this.indeterminate = false
          this.allSelected = true
        } else {
          this.indeterminate = true
          this.allSelected = false
        }
      }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- b-form-checkbox-indeterminate-multiple.vue -->

Note: indeterminate is not supported in button mode, nor in multiple checkbox mode. Also pay attention that plain checkbox (i.e. with prop plain) also supports indeterminate state on Windows/Linux/Mac/Android, but not on iOS.

Indeterminate state and accessibility

Not all screen readers will convey the indeterminate state to screen reader users. So it is recommended to provide some form of textual feedback to the user (possibly by via the .sr-only class) if the indeterminate state has special contextual meaning in your application.

Form Checkbox

Form Checkbox

Checkbox group options array

Options as an array of objects

Changing the option field names

Inline and stacked checkboxes

Control sizing

Checkbox values and v-model

Multiple checkboxes and accessibility

Button style checkboxes

Individual checkbox button style

Grouped button style checkboxes

Switch style checkboxes

Individual checkbox switch style

Grouped switch style checkboxes

Switch sizing

Non custom check inputs (plain)

Contextual states

Contextual state and validation example

Required constraint

Autofocus

Indeterminate (tri-state) support

Indeterminate state and accessibility

Checkbox values and `v-model`