NavigationBar

Navigation bars let people switch between an app's top-level destinations on compact screens. Follows the Material Design 3 Navigation bar specification.

Each destination is an icon over a label, with the active one marked by a secondaryContainer pill behind its icon. The bar is 80dp tall on a surfaceContainer background.

NavigationBar is a bar, not a navigator

NavigationBar renders the destinations and tells you which one was pressed. It does not own screens, mount panels, or integrate with a navigator. Point it at whatever you already use — see Wiring it to a navigator.

Usage

Pass the destinations as items and read the selection from onValueChange. With no value prop, the bar tracks the active destination itself and starts on the first item.

Open on Snack ↗

import { NavigationBar } from '@rootnative/components'
import { mdiResolver } from '@rootnative/components/mdi'
import { ThemeProvider } from '@rootnative/core'
import { SafeAreaProvider } from 'react-native-safe-area-context'
import { useState } from 'react'
import { Text, View } from 'react-native'

const DESTINATIONS = [
  { value: 'home', label: 'Home', icon: 'home-outline', selectedIcon: 'home' },
  { value: 'search', label: 'Search', icon: 'magnify' },
  { value: 'library', label: 'Library', icon: 'bookshelf' },
]

const PANELS = {
  home: 'Fresh picks for you.',
  search: 'Type to find anything.',
  library: 'Everything you saved.',
}

function Screen() {
  const [destination, setDestination] = useState('home')
  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <View style={{ flex: 1, padding: 24 }}>
        <Text>{PANELS[destination]}</Text>
      </View>
      <NavigationBar
        items={DESTINATIONS}
        value={destination}
        onValueChange={setDestination}
        insetBottom
      />
    </View>
  )
}

export default function App() {
  return (
    <SafeAreaProvider>
      <ThemeProvider iconResolver={mdiResolver}>
        <Screen />
      </ThemeProvider>
    </SafeAreaProvider>
  )
}

MD3 recommends 3–5 destinations. The row is split equally between them, whatever the count.

An item's selectedIcon is shown while it is active — MD3 pairs an outlined resting icon with its filled counterpart. Leave it off to keep the same icon in both states.

Selection

value + onValueChange is the controlled form; leave value off and the bar tracks the selection itself, starting on defaultValue or the first item. A navigation bar with nothing active reads as broken, which is why there is no "no selection" state. onValueChange fires on every press, controlled or not.

Wiring it to a navigator

NavigationBar deliberately stops at the bar. With expo-router, drive it from the current route:

import { NavigationBar } from '@rootnative/components'
import { usePathname, useRouter } from 'expo-router'

const DESTINATIONS = [
  { value: '/home', label: 'Home', icon: 'home-outline', selectedIcon: 'home' },
  { value: '/search', label: 'Search', icon: 'magnify' },
]

function AppShellBar() {
  const pathname = usePathname()
  const router = useRouter()

  return (
    <NavigationBar
      items={DESTINATIONS}
      value={DESTINATIONS.find((d) => pathname.startsWith(d.value))?.value}
      onValueChange={(value) => router.replace(value)}
      insetBottom
    />
  )
}

The same shape works for react-navigation — render it as a custom tabBar and map state.index to value.

Label visibility

labelVisibility controls when destination labels are shown:

Value	Meaning
`'always'` (default)	Every destination keeps its label
`'selected'`	Only the active destination's label is visible — it fades in on selection while the inactive icons sit centred
`'never'`	No labels; every icon is centred

The label stays required on the item either way: it is also the destination's screen-reader name.

The indicator

The active indicator is a 56×32dp secondaryContainer pill behind the icon. On selection it fades in while expanding from its centre, riding springDefaultSpatial, and collapses to a hard cut under reduced motion — see Motion. Hover, press, and focus state layers paint inside the same pill shape, on active and inactive destinations alike.

Safe area

A bottom-anchored bar must clear the home indicator. Pass insetBottom to wrap the row in a SafeAreaView that adds the bottom inset below the bar's 80dp — leave it off (the default) when an ancestor already applies the bottom edge, or the inset would be added twice.

Overrides

Prop	Target
`containerColor`	The bar background
`contentColor`	Icon and label color of inactive destinations
`selectedContentColor`	Icon and label color of the active destination; the state layers re-derive from it
`indicatorColor`	The active indicator pill
`labelStyle`	Every destination's label `Text` — does not affect the icons
`style`	The bar container

Disabled destinations always use the MD3 disabled treatment (38% content); no override changes that.

When you pass testID, each destination carries <testID>-item-<value> and its indicator <testID>-item-<value>-indicator so a test can assert on them.

Tokens

Token	Value
Container	`surfaceContainer`, elevation level 2
Height	80dp (+ bottom inset with `insetBottom`)
Active indicator	56×32dp pill, `secondaryContainer`, full corners
Icon	24dp — active `onSecondaryContainer`, inactive `onSurfaceVariant`
Label	`labelMedium` — active `secondary`, inactive `onSurfaceVariant`
Indicator → label gap	4dp
Item padding	8dp horizontal, destinations split the row equally

These are the Expressive-updated androidx tokens: the indicator is 56dp wide (not the pre-Expressive 64dp) and the active label is secondary (not onSurface). The 64dp-tall Expressive short bar is a possible 1.x variant; this bar uses compose's TallContainerHeight.

Accessibility

The bar reports role="tablist" and each destination role="tab" with accessibilityState.selected. Pass accessibilityLabel to name the bar itself ("Main navigation").
A destination's screen-reader name falls back to its label — including when labelVisibility hides the visible label; set accessibilityLabel on the item to override it.
Disabled destinations expose accessibilityState.disabled and stop responding.
On web, destinations show a keyboard focus ring (secondary, 3dp) around the indicator pill, driven by the same focus-visible state as the rest of the library.

Props

Prop	Type	Default	Required	Description
`items`	`NavigationBarItem[]`	-	Yes	The destinations to render. MD3 recommends 3–5.
`value`	`string`	-	No	Value of the active destination (controlled).
`defaultValue`	`string`	-	No	Value of the initially active destination (uncontrolled). Defaults to the first item — a navigation bar with nothing active reads as broken.
`onValueChange`	`(value: string) => void`	-	No	Called with the value of the destination that was pressed.
`labelVisibility`	`enum`	`always`	No	When destination labels are shown.
`insetBottom`	`boolean`		No	When `true`, wraps the row in a SafeAreaView that adds the bottom inset below the bar's 80dp, so it clears the home indicator. Leave it off when an ancestor (e.g. `Layout` with a `bottom` edge) already handles it.
`containerColor`	`string`	`surfaceContainer`	No	Override the bar background.
`contentColor`	`string`	`onSurfaceVariant`	No	Override the icon and label color of inactive destinations.
`selectedContentColor`	`string`	`onSecondaryContainer (icon) / secondary (label)`	No	Override the icon and label color of the active destination. State-layer colors are derived from it automatically.
`indicatorColor`	`string`	`secondaryContainer`	No	Override the active indicator pill color.
`labelStyle`	`StyleProp<TextStyle>`	-	No	Style applied to every destination's label `Text` — does not affect the icons.
`style`	`StyleProp<ViewStyle>`	-	No	Style applied to the bar container.
`accessibilityLabel`	`string`	-	No	Screen-reader label for the bar itself.
`testID`	`string`	-	No	Test id applied to the bar container. Each destination carries `<testID>-item-<value>` and its indicator `<testID>-item-<value>-indicator`.
`hrefAttrs`	`{ target?: string; rel?: string; download?: string \| boolean; }`	-	No	Web only. The `target`, `rel` and `download` of the `<a>` that a view with an `href` renders, for example under Expo Router's `<Link asChild>`. `target: '_blank'` opens the link in a new tab. Native ignores it.
`onKeyDown`	`(event: { nativeEvent: { key?: string; }; }) => void`	-	No	-

Usage​

Selection​

Wiring it to a navigator​

Label visibility​

The indicator​

Safe area​

Overrides​

Tokens​

Accessibility​

Props​