---
name: Combobox
slug: combobox
category: component
status: published
created: 2026-08-21T00:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-08-21T00:00:00.000Z
definition: A text input paired with a list of suggestions that narrows as you
  type, where the list can be navigated and chosen from with the keyboard.
aliases:
  - name: combo box
    source: hig
  - name: autocomplete
tags:
  - forms
  - search
relations:
  contrastWith:
    - dropdown
    - command-palette
    - select
    - search-field
    - listbox
    - multi-select
    - inline-autocomplete
    - typeahead
  variantOf: []
  partOf: []
  seeAlso:
    - active-descendant
implementations:
  - system: aria-apg
    name: Combobox
    url: https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/combobox/
  - system: shadcn
    name: Combobox
    url: https://ui.shadcn.com/docs/components/combobox
  - system: carbon
    name: Combo box
    url: https://carbondesignsystem.com/components/dropdown/usage/
sources:
  - title: "ARIA Authoring Practices Guide: Combobox pattern"
    url: https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/combobox/
demo: inline
exhibit: false
useWhen: a text field that filters a list as you type
---

A combobox is two controls wearing one coat: a field you can type into and a
listbox that responds to what you typed. That pairing is why it is the hardest
common component to build correctly, and why it is worth building once and reusing.

The accessibility contract is specific. The input carries `role="combobox"`,
`aria-expanded`, and `aria-controls` pointing at the list. Focus stays in the
input while the arrow keys move a highlight through the options, and the option
under the highlight is named by `aria-activedescendant`. Enter commits, Escape
closes. Moving real focus into the list instead is the usual mistake, and it
breaks typing.

Against a [dropdown](/dropdown): if you cannot type into it, it is a select. The
suggestion list is the point here, so a combobox earns its complexity when the
option set is long enough that scanning it would be worse than typing three
letters.