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Tooltip

Tooltips display informative text when users hover over, focus on, or tap an element.

When activated, Tooltips display a text label identifying an element, such as a description of its function.

Basic tooltip

import DeleteIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Delete';
import IconButton from '@mui/material/IconButton';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function BasicTooltip() {
  return (
    <Tooltip title="Delete">
      <IconButton>
        <DeleteIcon />
      </IconButton>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

Labels and descriptions

By default, the tooltip only labels its child element. This is notably different from title which can either label or describe its child depending on whether the child already has a label. For example, in the element below, the title acts as an accessible description:

<button title="some more information">A button</button>

If you want the tooltip to act as an accessible description, you can pass the describeChild prop. You shouldn't use describeChild if the tooltip provides the only visual label. In that case, the child would have no accessible name and the tooltip would violate WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.5.3. If the trigger already has either visible text or an aria-label, use the tooltip as a description and pass the describeChild prop. Otherwise, you can use the default behavior and let the tooltip label the trigger.

import DeleteIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Delete';
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import IconButton from '@mui/material/IconButton';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function AccessibilityTooltips() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Tooltip title="Delete">
        <IconButton>
          <DeleteIcon />
        </IconButton>
      </Tooltip>
      <Tooltip describeChild title="Does not add if it already exists.">
        <Button>Add</Button>
      </Tooltip>
    </div>
  );
}

Positioned tooltips

The Tooltip has 12 placement choices. They don't have directional arrows; instead, they rely on motion emanating from the source to convey direction.

import Box from '@mui/material/Box';
import Stack from '@mui/material/Stack';
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function PositionedTooltips() {
  return (
    <Box sx={{ width: 500 }}>
      <Stack direction="row" sx={{ justifyContent: 'center' }}>
        <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" placement="top-start">
          <Button>top-start</Button>
        </Tooltip>
        <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" placement="top">
          <Button>top</Button>
        </Tooltip>
        <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" placement="top-end">
          <Button>top-end</Button>
        </Tooltip>
      </Stack>
      <Box sx={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'space-between' }}>
        <Stack direction="column" sx={{ alignItems: 'flex-start' }}>
          <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" placement="left-start">
            <Button>left-start</Button>
          </Tooltip>
          <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" placement="left">
            <Button>left</Button>
          </Tooltip>
          <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" placement="left-end">
            <Button>left-end</Button>
          </Tooltip>
        </Stack>
        <Stack direction="column" sx={{ alignItems: 'flex-end' }}>
          <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" placement="right-start">
            <Button>right-start</Button>
          </Tooltip>
          <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" placement="right">
            <Button>right</Button>
          </Tooltip>
          <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" placement="right-end">
            <Button>right-end</Button>
          </Tooltip>
        </Stack>
      </Box>
      <Stack direction="row" sx={{ justifyContent: 'center' }}>
        <Tooltip title="Add" placement="bottom-start">
          <Button>bottom-start</Button>
        </Tooltip>
        <Tooltip title="Add" placement="bottom">
          <Button>bottom</Button>
        </Tooltip>
        <Tooltip title="Add" placement="bottom-end">
          <Button>bottom-end</Button>
        </Tooltip>
      </Stack>
    </Box>
  );
}

Customization

Here are some examples of customizing the component. You can learn more about this in the overrides documentation page.

import * as React from 'react';
import { styled } from '@mui/material/styles';
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip, { tooltipClasses } from '@mui/material/Tooltip';
import type { TooltipProps } from '@mui/material/Tooltip';
import Typography from '@mui/material/Typography';

const LightTooltip = styled(({ className, ...props }: TooltipProps) => (
  <Tooltip describeChild {...props} classes={{ popper: className }} />
))(({ theme }) => ({
  [`& .${tooltipClasses.tooltip}`]: {
    backgroundColor: theme.palette.common.white,
    color: 'rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)',
    boxShadow: theme.shadows[1],
    fontSize: 11,
  },
}));

const BootstrapTooltip = styled(({ className, ...props }: TooltipProps) => (
  <Tooltip describeChild {...props} arrow classes={{ popper: className }} />
))(({ theme }) => ({
  [`& .${tooltipClasses.arrow}`]: {
    color: theme.palette.common.black,
  },
  [`& .${tooltipClasses.tooltip}`]: {
    backgroundColor: theme.palette.common.black,
  },
}));

const HtmlTooltip = styled(({ className, ...props }: TooltipProps) => (
  <Tooltip describeChild {...props} classes={{ popper: className }} />
))(({ theme }) => ({
  [`& .${tooltipClasses.tooltip}`]: {
    backgroundColor: '#f5f5f9',
    color: 'rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)',
    maxWidth: 220,
    fontSize: theme.typography.pxToRem(12),
    border: '1px solid #dadde9',
  },
}));

export default function CustomizedTooltips() {
  return (
    <div>
      <LightTooltip title="Add">
        <Button>Light</Button>
      </LightTooltip>
      <BootstrapTooltip title="Add">
        <Button>Bootstrap</Button>
      </BootstrapTooltip>
      <HtmlTooltip
        title={
          <React.Fragment>
            <Typography
              sx={{
                color: 'inherit',
              }}
            >
              Tooltip with HTML
            </Typography>
            <em>{"And here's"}</em> <b>{'some'}</b> <u>{'amazing content'}</u>.{' '}
            {"It's very engaging. Right?"}
          </React.Fragment>
        }
      >
        <Button>HTML</Button>
      </HtmlTooltip>
    </div>
  );
}

Arrow tooltips

You can use the arrow prop to give your tooltip an arrow indicating which element it refers to.

import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function ArrowTooltips() {
  return (
    <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" arrow>
      <Button>Arrow</Button>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

Distance from anchor

To adjust the distance between the tooltip and its anchor, you can use the slotProps prop to modify the offset of the popper.

import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function TooltipOffset() {
  return (
    <Tooltip
      describeChild
      title="Add"
      slotProps={{
        popper: {
          modifiers: [
            {
              name: 'offset',
              options: {
                offset: [0, -14],
              },
            },
          ],
        },
      }}
    >
      <Button>Offset</Button>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

Alternatively, you can use the slotProps prop to customize the margin of the popper.

import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip, { tooltipClasses } from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function TooltipMargin() {
  return (
    <Tooltip
      title="Add"
      describeChild
      slotProps={{
        popper: {
          sx: {
            [`&.${tooltipClasses.popper}[data-popper-placement*="bottom"] .${tooltipClasses.tooltip}`]:
              {
                marginTop: '0px',
              },
            [`&.${tooltipClasses.popper}[data-popper-placement*="top"] .${tooltipClasses.tooltip}`]:
              {
                marginBottom: '0px',
              },
            [`&.${tooltipClasses.popper}[data-popper-placement*="right"] .${tooltipClasses.tooltip}`]:
              {
                marginLeft: '0px',
              },
            [`&.${tooltipClasses.popper}[data-popper-placement*="left"] .${tooltipClasses.tooltip}`]:
              {
                marginRight: '0px',
              },
          },
        },
      }}
    >
      <Button>Margin</Button>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

Custom child element

The tooltip needs to apply DOM event listeners to its child element. If the child is a custom React element, you need to make sure that it spreads its props to the underlying DOM element.

const MyComponent = React.forwardRef(function MyComponent(props, ref) {
  //  Spread the props to the underlying DOM element.
  return (
    <div {...props} ref={ref}>
      Bin
    </div>
  );
});

// ...

<Tooltip title="Delete">
  <MyComponent />
</Tooltip>;

If using a class component as a child, you'll also need to ensure that the ref is forwarded to the underlying DOM element. (A ref to the class component itself will not work.)

class MyComponent extends React.Component {
  render() {
    const { innerRef, ...props } = this.props;
    //  Spread the props to the underlying DOM element.
    return (
      <div {...props} ref={innerRef}>
        Bin
      </div>
    );
  }
}

// Wrap MyComponent to forward the ref as expected by Tooltip
const WrappedMyComponent = React.forwardRef(function WrappedMyComponent(props, ref) {
  return <MyComponent {...props} innerRef={ref} />;
});

// ...

<Tooltip title="Delete">
  <WrappedMyComponent />
</Tooltip>;

Triggers

You can define the types of events that cause a tooltip to show.

The touch action requires a long press due to the enterTouchDelay prop being set to 700ms by default.

import * as React from 'react';
import Grid from '@mui/material/Grid';
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';
import ClickAwayListener from '@mui/material/ClickAwayListener';

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

  const handleTooltipClose = () => {
    setOpen(false);
  };

  const handleTooltipOpen = () => {
    setOpen(true);
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <Grid container sx={{ justifyContent: 'center' }}>
        <Grid>
          <Tooltip describeChild disableFocusListener title="Add">
            <Button>Hover or touch</Button>
          </Tooltip>
        </Grid>
        <Grid>
          <Tooltip describeChild disableHoverListener title="Add">
            <Button>Focus or touch</Button>
          </Tooltip>
        </Grid>
        <Grid>
          <Tooltip
            describeChild
            disableFocusListener
            disableTouchListener
            title="Add"
          >
            <Button>Hover</Button>
          </Tooltip>
        </Grid>
        <Grid>
          <ClickAwayListener onClickAway={handleTooltipClose}>
            <div>
              <Tooltip
                describeChild
                onClose={handleTooltipClose}
                open={open}
                disableFocusListener
                disableHoverListener
                disableTouchListener
                title="Add"
                slotProps={{
                  popper: {
                    disablePortal: true,
                  },
                }}
              >
                <Button onClick={handleTooltipOpen}>Click</Button>
              </Tooltip>
            </div>
          </ClickAwayListener>
        </Grid>
      </Grid>
    </div>
  );
}

Controlled tooltips

You can use the open, onOpen and onClose props to control the behavior of the tooltip.

import * as React from 'react';
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

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

  const handleClose = () => {
    setOpen(false);
  };

  const handleOpen = () => {
    setOpen(true);
  };

  return (
    <Tooltip
      describeChild
      open={open}
      onClose={handleClose}
      onOpen={handleOpen}
      title="Add"
    >
      <Button>Controlled</Button>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

Variable width

The Tooltip wraps long text by default to make it readable.

import { styled } from '@mui/material/styles';
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip, { tooltipClasses } from '@mui/material/Tooltip';
import type { TooltipProps } from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

const CustomWidthTooltip = styled(({ className, ...props }: TooltipProps) => (
  <Tooltip describeChild {...props} classes={{ popper: className }} />
))({
  [`& .${tooltipClasses.tooltip}`]: {
    maxWidth: 500,
  },
});

const NoMaxWidthTooltip = styled(({ className, ...props }: TooltipProps) => (
  <Tooltip describeChild {...props} classes={{ popper: className }} />
))({
  [`& .${tooltipClasses.tooltip}`]: {
    maxWidth: 'none',
  },
});

const longText = `
Aliquam eget finibus ante, non facilisis lectus. Sed vitae dignissim est, vel aliquam tellus.
Praesent non nunc mollis, fermentum neque at, semper arcu.
Nullam eget est sed sem iaculis gravida eget vitae justo.
`;

export default function VariableWidth() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Tooltip describeChild title={longText}>
        <Button sx={{ m: 1 }}>Default Width [300px]</Button>
      </Tooltip>
      <CustomWidthTooltip title={longText}>
        <Button sx={{ m: 1 }}>Custom Width [500px]</Button>
      </CustomWidthTooltip>
      <NoMaxWidthTooltip title={longText}>
        <Button sx={{ m: 1 }}>No wrapping</Button>
      </NoMaxWidthTooltip>
    </div>
  );
}

Interactive

Tooltips are interactive by default (to pass WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.4.13). It won't close when the user hovers over the tooltip before the leaveDelay is expired. You can disable this behavior (thus failing the success criterion which is required to reach Level AA) by passing disableInteractive.

import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function NonInteractiveTooltips() {
  return (
    <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" disableInteractive>
      <Button>Not interactive</Button>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

Disabled elements

By default disabled elements like <button> do not trigger user interactions so a Tooltip will not activate on normal events like hover. To accommodate disabled elements, add a simple wrapper element, such as a span.

import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function DisabledTooltips() {
  return (
    <Tooltip describeChild title="You don't have permission to do this">
      <span>
        <Button disabled>A Disabled Button</Button>
      </span>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

<Tooltip describeChild title="You don't have permission to do this">
  <span>
    <button disabled={disabled} style={disabled ? { pointerEvents: 'none' } : {}}>
      A disabled button
    </button>
  </span>
</Tooltip>

Transitions

Use slots.transition and slotProps.transition to use a different transition.

import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';
import Fade from '@mui/material/Fade';
import Zoom from '@mui/material/Zoom';

export default function TransitionsTooltips() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Tooltip describeChild title="Add">
        <Button>Grow</Button>
      </Tooltip>
      <Tooltip
        describeChild
        title="Add"
        slots={{
          transition: Fade,
        }}
        slotProps={{
          transition: { timeout: 600 },
        }}
      >
        <Button>Fade</Button>
      </Tooltip>
      <Tooltip
        describeChild
        title="Add"
        slots={{
          transition: Zoom,
        }}
      >
        <Button>Zoom</Button>
      </Tooltip>
    </div>
  );
}

Follow cursor

You can enable the tooltip to follow the cursor by setting followCursor={true}.

Disabled Action
import Box from '@mui/material/Box';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function FollowCursorTooltips() {
  return (
    <Tooltip describeChild title="You don't have permission to do this" followCursor>
      <Box sx={{ bgcolor: 'text.disabled', color: 'background.paper', p: 2 }}>
        Disabled Action
      </Box>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

Virtual element

In the event you need to implement a custom placement, you can use the anchorEl prop: The value of the anchorEl prop can be a reference to a fake DOM element. You need to create an object shaped like the VirtualElement.

Hover
import * as React from 'react';
import Box from '@mui/material/Box';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';
import type { Instance } from '@popperjs/core';

export default function AnchorElTooltips() {
  const positionRef = React.useRef<{ x: number; y: number }>({
    x: 0,
    y: 0,
  });
  const popperRef = React.useRef<Instance>(null);
  const areaRef = React.useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);

  const handleMouseMove = (event: React.MouseEvent) => {
    positionRef.current = { x: event.clientX, y: event.clientY };

    if (popperRef.current != null) {
      popperRef.current.update();
    }
  };

  return (
    <Tooltip
      describeChild
      title="Add"
      placement="top"
      arrow
      slotProps={{
        popper: {
          popperRef,
          anchorEl: {
            getBoundingClientRect: () => {
              return new DOMRect(
                positionRef.current.x,
                areaRef.current!.getBoundingClientRect().y,
                0,
                0,
              );
            },
          },
        },
      }}
    >
      <Box
        ref={areaRef}
        onMouseMove={handleMouseMove}
        sx={{ bgcolor: 'primary.main', color: 'primary.contrastText', p: 2 }}
      >
        Hover
      </Box>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

Showing and hiding

The tooltip is normally shown immediately when the user's mouse hovers over the element, and hides immediately when the user's mouse leaves. A delay in showing or hiding the tooltip can be added through the enterDelay and leaveDelay props.

On mobile, the tooltip is displayed when the user longpresses the element and hides after a delay of 1500ms. You can disable this feature with the disableTouchListener prop.

import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Tooltip from '@mui/material/Tooltip';

export default function DelayTooltips() {
  return (
    <Tooltip describeChild title="Add" enterDelay={500} leaveDelay={200}>
      <Button>[500ms, 200ms]</Button>
    </Tooltip>
  );
}

Accessibility

(WAI-ARIA: https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/tooltip/)

Tooltips should wrap triggers that are focusable and hoverable (for example, buttons) so that all users can activate them. When tooltips are displayed, they are automatically linked to the trigger. The trigger element is either labeled or described by the tooltip content. However, tooltip content should not be used as a full text alternative for truncated content.

API

See the documentation below for a complete reference to all of the props and classes available to the components mentioned here.