shadcn-syntax-sheet

name	shadcn-syntax-sheet
description	Use when building a side panel, slide-in drawer, off-canvas navigation, filter panel, settings tray, or any container that enters from the top, right, bottom, or left edge of the viewport in shadcn ui. Prevents the common mistakes of omitting SheetTitle (Radix a11y violation), choosing Sheet on mobile where Drawer would feel native, using side="bottom" Sheet where Drawer is the documented mobile-first pattern, and overriding SheetContent styles in a way that breaks the slide-in animation. Covers the side prop (top, right, bottom, left), the eight exported primitives (Sheet, SheetTrigger, SheetClose, SheetContent, SheetHeader, SheetFooter, SheetTitle, SheetDescription), controlled vs uncontrolled state (open + onOpenChange forwarded to the Radix Dialog primitive), showCloseButton prop on SheetContent, Sheet-vs-Dialog decision, and Sheet-vs-Drawer decision. Keywords: shadcn sheet, side panel, drawer-style dialog, SheetContent, SheetTitle, SheetTrigger, SheetClose, SheetDescription, navigation menu sheet, settings sheet, filter panel sheet, side="left" sheet, side="right" sheet, side="bottom" sheet, side="top" sheet, off-canvas panel, slide-in panel, Sheet vs Dialog, Sheet vs Drawer, how do I make a side panel, how do I make a slide-in drawer, sheet not showing, sheet missing title warning, sheet animation not working, showCloseButton sheet, sheet a11y warning, sheet describedby, mobile navigation drawer, responsive side panel.
license	MIT
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code. Requires shadcn ui evergreen-2026.
metadata	{"author":"OpenAEC-Foundation","version":"1.0"}

shadcn-syntax-sheet

Sheet is a Dialog-derivative styled to slide in from one of the four viewport edges. It wraps the same Radix Dialog primitive as shadcn-syntax-dialog, so the state model, a11y rules, and controlled-vs-uncontrolled semantics are identical. The only meaningful additions on top of Dialog are: the side prop on SheetContent (which swaps the slide-in animation and the fixed-position classes) and the renamed exports.

Quick Reference

Minimal Sheet (defaults to side="right"):

import {
  Sheet,
  SheetClose,
  SheetContent,
  SheetDescription,
  SheetFooter,
  SheetHeader,
  SheetTitle,
  SheetTrigger,
} from "@/components/ui/sheet"
import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"

export function FiltersSheet() {
  return (
    <Sheet>
      <SheetTrigger asChild>
        <Button variant="outline">Open filters</Button>
      </SheetTrigger>
      <SheetContent>
        <SheetHeader>
          <SheetTitle>Filters</SheetTitle>
          <SheetDescription>
            Narrow the result list. Changes apply immediately.
          </SheetDescription>
        </SheetHeader>
        {/* body content */}
        <SheetFooter>
          <SheetClose asChild>
            <Button>Done</Button>
          </SheetClose>
        </SheetFooter>
      </SheetContent>
    </Sheet>
  )
}

When to reach for Sheet vs Dialog vs Drawer:

Scenario	Pick	Why
Centered confirmation, short form, alert	Dialog	Centered modal is the conventional shape for confirmation.
Side navigation, filter panel, settings tray, long form	Sheet	Slide-in from edge keeps the underlying context visible.
Mobile-first bottom sheet, touch-drag affordance	Drawer (Vaul)	Drawer has native drag-to-dismiss + spring physics.
Same UI on desktop AND mobile, want native feel each	Responsive Dialog + Drawer	Use shadcn-impl-responsive-dialog-drawer recipe.

side prop

SheetContent accepts a side prop with four values. Default is "right".

Value	Slide direction	Fixed position classes	Typical use
right (default)	Slides in from right edge	inset-y-0 right-0 h-full w-3/4 sm:max-w-sm	Filters, settings, contextual side panel
left	Slides in from left edge	inset-y-0 left-0 h-full w-3/4 sm:max-w-sm	Primary navigation, app menu
top	Slides down from top edge	inset-x-0 top-0 h-auto	Header-attached search, banner-style panel
bottom	Slides up from bottom edge	inset-x-0 bottom-0 h-auto	Desktop-only bottom panel. On mobile, prefer Drawer.

ALWAYS pass side as a literal string on SheetContent, NEVER on the root <Sheet>. The root forwards directly to Dialog.Root and ignores side.

// CORRECT
<Sheet>
  <SheetTrigger>Open</SheetTrigger>
  <SheetContent side="left">{/* ... */}</SheetContent>
</Sheet>

// WRONG: side is silently ignored on root
<Sheet side="left">
  <SheetContent>{/* ... */}</SheetContent>
</Sheet>

Decision tree: Sheet vs Dialog vs Drawer

Is the content a short confirmation, short form, or alert?
  YES -> Use Dialog (see shadcn-syntax-dialog).
  NO  -> continue.

Is the experience primarily mobile (touch-first, expect drag-to-dismiss)?
  YES -> Use Drawer (see shadcn-syntax-drawer).
  NO  -> continue.

Does the same UI need to feel native on BOTH desktop and mobile?
  YES -> Use Dialog (desktop) + Drawer (mobile) via useMediaQuery.
         See shadcn-impl-responsive-dialog-drawer.
  NO  -> continue.

Is it a side-anchored panel (nav, filters, settings, long form)?
  YES -> Use Sheet. Choose side: left for primary nav, right for
         contextual / filters / settings, top/bottom for header- or
         footer-attached panels.

Composition primitives

shadcn ui exports eight Sheet primitives in v4 (mirrors Dialog naming):

1. Sheet : root. Forwards to Dialog.Root (Radix). Accepts open, onOpenChange, defaultOpen, modal.
2. SheetTrigger : button that opens the sheet. Forwards to Dialog.Trigger. Supports asChild for slotting your own button.
3. SheetClose : button that closes the sheet. Forwards to Dialog.Close. Supports asChild.
4. SheetContent : the slide-in surface. Forwards to Dialog.Content. Adds the side and showCloseButton props. Internally renders Radix Dialog.Portal and Dialog.Overlay so you do NOT compose them yourself.
5. SheetHeader : <div> wrapper, flex flex-col gap-1.5 p-4.
6. SheetFooter : <div> wrapper, mt-auto flex flex-col gap-2 p-4.
7. SheetTitle : forwards to Dialog.Title. REQUIRED for a11y.
8. SheetDescription : forwards to Dialog.Description. Strongly recommended for a11y. If you intentionally omit it, pass aria-describedby={undefined} to SheetContent to silence the Radix dev warning.

NOTE: v4 does NOT export SheetPortal or SheetOverlay. They exist as internal helpers inside the shadcn sheet.tsx file but are not part of the public API. If you need to override the overlay or render into a custom container, drop down to the Radix Dialog primitive directly (or copy sheet.tsx and extend the internal helpers locally).

The eight exports are imported from @/components/ui/sheet after running pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add sheet.

Accessibility

Sheet inherits Radix Dialog a11y semantics in full.

• SheetTitle is MANDATORY. Radix logs a console warning in dev when Dialog.Content mounts without an accessible name. Screen readers will announce the sheet without a title.
• SheetDescription is strongly recommended. If you do NOT want a visible description, either:
  • Render SheetDescription inside a visually-hidden wrapper, OR
  • Pass aria-describedby={undefined} to SheetContent to opt out of the Radix warning.
• Focus is automatically trapped inside SheetContent while open and returned to the trigger on close. Do NOT add your own focus-management code that fights Radix.
• Escape closes by default; outside click closes by default. Override via onEscapeKeyDown / onPointerDownOutside on SheetContent (forwarded to the Radix primitive).
• Body scroll is locked while the sheet is open and modal is true (the default). Setting modal={false} on Sheet disables focus trap and scroll lock; only do this for non-blocking patterns.
• When the trigger is a non-button element, wrap with asChild so the composed child is the accessible button:

  <SheetTrigger asChild>
    <Button variant="ghost">Open</Button>
  </SheetTrigger>
  

Common UX patterns

Filters panel (right side, default)

The right side is the conventional location for contextual side panels because it does not collide with the primary left-edge navigation in most layouts. Use side="right" (or omit, since it is the default).

Settings tray (right side, wider)

Override the width with a Tailwind utility, but preserve the slide-animation classes. Pass an extra className to SheetContent and let cn() merge:

<SheetContent className="sm:max-w-lg">{/* ... */}</SheetContent>

NEVER replace the full className string. Doing so strips the data-[state=open]:slide-in-from-right keyframe and the sheet appears without animation.

Mobile navigation menu (left side)

Use side="left" for the primary app navigation drawer on small viewports. This is the same pattern the shadcn Sidebar uses internally on mobile (see LESSONS L-#5746: the internal mobile Sidebar Sheet REQUIRES SheetTitle for a11y).

Bottom panel on desktop

side="bottom" is valid for desktop bottom panels (e.g., docked output console, secondary toolbar). On mobile, prefer Drawer for the same anchor because Drawer provides drag-to-dismiss and spring physics that Sheet does not.

Form inside a Sheet

Long forms are a primary reason to pick Sheet over Dialog: the vertical real estate of a side panel comfortably hosts many fields. Wrap the form body in a scroll container so only the body scrolls, keeping SheetHeader and SheetFooter pinned:

<SheetContent className="flex flex-col">
  <SheetHeader>{/* title + description */}</SheetHeader>
  <div className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto px-4">{/* form fields */}</div>
  <SheetFooter>{/* submit + cancel */}</SheetFooter>
</SheetContent>

Controlled state

Use the same controlled-state pattern as Dialog:

const [open, setOpen] = React.useState(false)
<Sheet open={open} onOpenChange={setOpen}>{/* ... */}</Sheet>

NEVER pass open without onOpenChange. A half-controlled sheet becomes read-only and the user cannot close it (anti-pattern, see Radix #half-open).

Companion Skills

• shadcn-syntax-dialog (sibling, B4) : the parent primitive. Sheet inherits all Dialog semantics (state, a11y, controlled mode, focus trap).
• shadcn-syntax-drawer (B5) : mobile-first slide-in (Vaul). Use Drawer when you want native touch drag-to-dismiss, especially on mobile bottom sheets.
• shadcn-impl-responsive-dialog-drawer (B10) : end-to-end recipe for Dialog-on-desktop / Drawer-on-mobile with useMediaQuery and a shared content component. Compose with Sheet when you specifically want an edge-anchored desktop variant.
• shadcn-core-cn : the cn() helper used to merge className onto SheetContent without clobbering the slide animation classes.

Reference files

• references/methods.md : full signature of every exported Sheet primitive, every forwarded Radix Dialog prop, and the typed side and showCloseButton props.
• references/examples.md : six full working examples (minimal right-side, left-side navigation, bottom on mobile fallback, sheet with form, sheet with controlled state, sheet with custom width).
• references/anti-patterns.md : six common anti-patterns with the actual failure mode and the corrected version side-by-side.