Tooltip

The Tooltip component displays contextual information when users hover over or focus on an element. It’s useful for providing additional context without cluttering the interface.

Import

import { Tooltip } from '@base-ui/react/tooltip';

Anatomy

The Tooltip component consists of several parts:

<Tooltip.Root> - Groups all parts of the tooltip
<Tooltip.Trigger> - The element that triggers the tooltip
<Tooltip.Positioner> - Positions the tooltip relative to the trigger
<Tooltip.Popup> - The tooltip content container
<Tooltip.Arrow> - An optional arrow pointing to the trigger
<Tooltip.Provider> - Manages shared behavior for multiple tooltips

<Tooltip.Root>
  <Tooltip.Trigger>Hover me</Tooltip.Trigger>
  <Tooltip.Positioner>
    <Tooltip.Popup>
      Tooltip content
      <Tooltip.Arrow />
    </Tooltip.Popup>
  </Tooltip.Positioner>
</Tooltip.Root>

Basic Usage

function MyTooltip() {
  return (
    <Tooltip.Root>
      <Tooltip.Trigger>Hover me</Tooltip.Trigger>
      <Tooltip.Positioner>
        <Tooltip.Popup>
          This is a helpful tooltip
        </Tooltip.Popup>
      </Tooltip.Positioner>
    </Tooltip.Root>
  );
}

Key Features

Multiple triggers: Hover, focus, and custom triggers
Smart positioning: Automatically positions to stay in viewport
Accessible: Proper ARIA attributes and keyboard support
Delay control: Customize open and close delays
Cursor tracking: Optionally follow the cursor
Hoverable content: Keep tooltip open when hovering the popup
Portal support: Render tooltip in a different DOM location
Animation support: Built-in transition states

Component Props

Root

Groups all parts of the tooltip and manages open state. Props:

open (boolean): Controlled open state
defaultOpen (boolean): Initially open state (default: false)
onOpenChange (function): Callback when open state changes
onOpenChangeComplete (function): Callback after animations complete
disabled (boolean): Whether the tooltip is disabled (default: false)
disableHoverablePopup (boolean): Prevent hovering the popup (default: false)
trackCursorAxis (string): Track cursor on ‘x’, ‘y’, ‘both’, or ‘none’ (default: ‘none’)
actionsRef (ref): Access to imperative actions (unmount, close)
handle (TooltipHandle): Associate with external triggers
triggerId (string): ID of the active trigger (controlled mode)
defaultTriggerId (string): Initial trigger ID
Doesn’t render its own HTML element

Trigger

The element that triggers the tooltip. Props:

delay (number): Open delay in milliseconds (default: 600)
closeDelay (number): Close delay in milliseconds (default: 0)
closeOnClick (boolean): Whether clicking closes the tooltip (default: true)
disabled (boolean): Disable this specific trigger (default: false)
handle (TooltipHandle): Associate with a tooltip handle
payload (any): Data to pass to the tooltip
Renders a <button> element

Positioner

Positions the tooltip relative to the trigger. Props:

side (string): Preferred side (‘top’, ‘right’, ‘bottom’, ‘left’)
align (string): Alignment (‘start’, ‘center’, ‘end’)
sideOffset (number): Distance from the trigger
alignOffset (number): Offset along the alignment axis
collisionBoundary (element): Boundary for collision detection
sticky (boolean): Whether to stick to the trigger when scrolling
Renders a <div> element

The container for tooltip content. Props:

Renders a <div> element
Accepts all standard HTML div attributes

State:

open: Whether the tooltip is open
side: The current side of placement
align: The current alignment
instant: The animation instant type
transitionStatus: Current transition state

Arrow

An optional arrow pointing to the trigger. Props:

Renders an <svg> element
Automatically positioned and rotated

Provider

Manages shared behavior for multiple tooltips. Props:

delay (number): Default delay for all tooltips
closeDelay (number): Default close delay for all tooltips

Styling

Tab Title
Tab Title

<Tooltip.Root>
  <Tooltip.Trigger className="tooltip-trigger">
    Hover me
  </Tooltip.Trigger>
  <Tooltip.Positioner className="tooltip-positioner">
    <Tooltip.Popup className="tooltip-popup">
      Helpful information
      <Tooltip.Arrow className="tooltip-arrow" />
    </Tooltip.Popup>
  </Tooltip.Positioner>
</Tooltip.Root>

.tooltip-trigger {
  padding: 0.5rem 1rem;
  background-color: #3b82f6;
  color: white;
  border: none;
  border-radius: 0.375rem;
  cursor: pointer;
}

.tooltip-trigger:hover {
  background-color: #2563eb;
}

.tooltip-popup {
  background-color: #1f2937;
  color: white;
  padding: 0.5rem 0.75rem;
  border-radius: 0.375rem;
  font-size: 0.875rem;
  max-width: 200px;
  box-shadow: 0 10px 15px -3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}

/* Animation */
.tooltip-popup[data-transition-status="entering"] {
  animation: tooltip-fade-in 0.2s ease-out;
}

.tooltip-popup[data-transition-status="exiting"] {
  animation: tooltip-fade-out 0.2s ease-in;
}

@keyframes tooltip-fade-in {
  from {
    opacity: 0;
    transform: scale(0.95);
  }
  to {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: scale(1);
  }
}

@keyframes tooltip-fade-out {
  from {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: scale(1);
  }
  to {
    opacity: 0;
    transform: scale(0.95);
  }
}

.tooltip-arrow {
  fill: #1f2937;
}

<Tooltip.Root>
  <Tooltip.Trigger className="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-500 text-white rounded-md hover:bg-blue-600">
    Hover me
  </Tooltip.Trigger>
  <Tooltip.Positioner>
    <Tooltip.Popup className="bg-gray-800 text-white px-3 py-2 rounded-md text-sm max-w-xs shadow-lg data-[transition-status=entering]:animate-in data-[transition-status=entering]:fade-in data-[transition-status=exiting]:animate-out data-[transition-status=exiting]:fade-out">
      Helpful information
      <Tooltip.Arrow className="fill-gray-800" />
    </Tooltip.Popup>
  </Tooltip.Positioner>
</Tooltip.Root>

Common Patterns

function ControlledTooltip() {
  const [open, setOpen] = React.useState(false);

  return (
    <Tooltip.Root open={open} onOpenChange={setOpen}>
      <Tooltip.Trigger>Hover or click</Tooltip.Trigger>
      <Tooltip.Positioner>
        <Tooltip.Popup>
          Controlled tooltip content
        </Tooltip.Popup>
      </Tooltip.Positioner>
    </Tooltip.Root>
  );
}

Custom Delay

<Tooltip.Root>
  <Tooltip.Trigger delay={200} closeDelay={100}>
    Quick tooltip
  </Tooltip.Trigger>
  <Tooltip.Positioner>
    <Tooltip.Popup>
      This opens quickly!
    </Tooltip.Popup>
  </Tooltip.Positioner>
</Tooltip.Root>

Follow Cursor

<Tooltip.Root trackCursorAxis="both">
  <Tooltip.Trigger>Follow me</Tooltip.Trigger>
  <Tooltip.Positioner>
    <Tooltip.Popup>
      I follow your cursor
    </Tooltip.Popup>
  </Tooltip.Positioner>
</Tooltip.Root>

Rich Content

<Tooltip.Root>
  <Tooltip.Trigger>User info</Tooltip.Trigger>
  <Tooltip.Positioner>
    <Tooltip.Popup>
      <div style={{ display: 'flex', gap: '0.75rem' }}>
        <img 
          src="/avatar.jpg" 
          alt="User" 
          style={{ width: 40, height: 40, borderRadius: '50%' }}
        />
        <div>
          <div style={{ fontWeight: 600 }}>Jane Doe</div>
          <div style={{ fontSize: '0.875rem', opacity: 0.8 }}>Product Designer</div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </Tooltip.Popup>
  </Tooltip.Positioner>
</Tooltip.Root>

Multiple Tooltips with Provider

<Tooltip.Provider delay={400}>
  <Tooltip.Root>
    <Tooltip.Trigger>Tooltip 1</Tooltip.Trigger>
    <Tooltip.Positioner>
      <Tooltip.Popup>First tooltip</Tooltip.Popup>
    </Tooltip.Positioner>
  </Tooltip.Root>

  <Tooltip.Root>
    <Tooltip.Trigger>Tooltip 2</Tooltip.Trigger>
    <Tooltip.Positioner>
      <Tooltip.Popup>Second tooltip</Tooltip.Popup>
    </Tooltip.Positioner>
  </Tooltip.Root>
</Tooltip.Provider>

<Tooltip.Root disabled>
  <Tooltip.Trigger>Won't show tooltip</Tooltip.Trigger>
  <Tooltip.Positioner>
    <Tooltip.Popup>
      This won't appear
    </Tooltip.Popup>
  </Tooltip.Positioner>
</Tooltip.Root>

Imperative Control

function ImperativeTooltip() {
  const actionsRef = React.useRef(null);

  return (
    <div>
      <Tooltip.Root actionsRef={actionsRef}>
        <Tooltip.Trigger>Hover me</Tooltip.Trigger>
        <Tooltip.Positioner>
          <Tooltip.Popup>
            Tooltip content
          </Tooltip.Popup>
        </Tooltip.Positioner>
      </Tooltip.Root>

      <button onClick={() => actionsRef.current?.close()}>
        Close tooltip
      </button>
    </div>
  );
}

With Keyboard Shortcut

<Tooltip.Root>
  <Tooltip.Trigger>Save</Tooltip.Trigger>
  <Tooltip.Positioner>
    <Tooltip.Popup>
      <div>Save file</div>
      <div style={{ fontSize: '0.75rem', opacity: 0.7, marginTop: '0.25rem' }}>
        ⌘S
      </div>
    </Tooltip.Popup>
  </Tooltip.Positioner>
</Tooltip.Root>

Getting Started

Handbook

Inputs

Data Display

Navigation

Overlays

Forms

Layout

Utilities

Tooltip

Import

Anatomy

Basic Usage

Key Features

Component Props

Root

Trigger

Positioner

Arrow

Provider

Styling

Common Patterns

Controlled Tooltip

Custom Delay

Follow Cursor

Rich Content

Multiple Tooltips with Provider

Disabled Tooltip

Imperative Control

With Keyboard Shortcut

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Handbook

Inputs

Data Display

Navigation

Overlays

Forms

Layout

Utilities

Documentation Index

​Tooltip

​Import

​Anatomy

​Basic Usage

​Key Features

​Component Props

​Root

​Trigger

​Positioner

​Popup

​Arrow

​Provider

​Styling

​Common Patterns

​Controlled Tooltip

​Custom Delay

​Follow Cursor

​Rich Content

​Multiple Tooltips with Provider

​Disabled Tooltip

​Imperative Control

​With Keyboard Shortcut

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Tooltip

Import

Anatomy

Basic Usage

Key Features

Component Props

Root

Trigger

Positioner

Popup

Arrow

Provider

Styling

Common Patterns

Controlled Tooltip

Custom Delay

Follow Cursor

Rich Content

Multiple Tooltips with Provider

Disabled Tooltip

Imperative Control

With Keyboard Shortcut