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ListItemButton — spec

Synthesized from MUI ListItemButton. The clickable variant of ListItem. Use this whenever a list row should respond to clicks (settings, nav, picker). Without it, ListItem is just a structural container.

When to use

  • Settings rows ("계정 정보", "알림 설정").
  • Nav lists in drawers / sidebars.
  • Picker / chooser rows where the row itself is the selection target.
  • ANY list row with a primary click action.

Anatomy

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [icon]  Primary text          [trailing icon]    │
│         Secondary text                           │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
        ─ entire row is the click target ─

For rows with a separate trailing action (button), wrap ListItemButton inside ListItem and put the action in secondaryAction (which sits outside the button's hit area).

API

<List>
  <ListItem disablePadding>
    <ListItemButton selected={current === 'profile'} onClick={() => navigate('/profile')}>
      <ListItemIcon><PersonIcon /></ListItemIcon>
      <ListItemText primary="프로필" secondary="이름, 이메일, 사진" />
    </ListItemButton>
  </ListItem>
</List>
Prop Type Default Description
children ReactNode — Usually ListItemIcon + ListItemText + optional trailing icon
selected boolean false Highlighted (current/active item in nav)
disabled boolean false Non-interactive; greyed
dense boolean false Reduce vertical padding
divider boolean false Bottom divider line
onClick (e) => void — Click handler
href string — Renders as <a> (use for nav lists)
component ElementType 'div' Override element (e.g., Link from react-router)
disableRipple boolean false Skip the click-ripple effect

States

State Visual
Default transparent bg, fg-default
Hover bg-subtle
Focus-visible bg-subtle + 2px focus ring inset
Active bg-pressed
Selected bg-selected (~ brand-50/dark mode brand-900-30%), fg-on-selected
Selected + hover bg-selected-hover (slight shift)
Disabled reduced opacity, no hover effect

Tokens consumed

--list-item-min-height-44      /* default touch target */
--list-item-min-height-36      /* dense */
--color-bg-default
--color-bg-subtle              /* hover */
--color-bg-pressed             /* active */
--color-bg-selected            /* selected */
--color-fg-default
--color-fg-on-selected
--space-md                     /* horizontal padding */
--motion-duration-100          /* hover/active transition */

Accessibility

  • Default semantic: <div role="button"> with tabIndex=0. With href: renders <a> (preferred for nav).
  • selected={true} → aria-selected="true". For nav lists also add aria-current="page" when the row matches the current route.
  • Keyboard: Enter / Space activates. Disabled rows skipped in tab order.
  • Touch target: ≥ 44pt mobile (default 48px). Don't use dense on mobile primary nav.
  • Cite knowledge/a11y/keyboard-and-focus.md.

Edge cases

  • Long primary text — wraps to 2 lines, then ellipsis. For nav rows, prefer concise labels.
  • href + onClick — onClick fires before navigation; useful for analytics.
  • Inside React Router — pass component={RouterLink} + to="/path" for SPA-style nav (no full page reload).
  • Selected without persistence — selected is for the current item. For multi-select (checkbox lists), use Checkbox inside the row instead of selected.
  • Korean labels — slightly more vertical padding looks less cramped (Hangul reads taller). Default 48px row height works; resist dense for Korean nav.

Code example

function SettingsNav({ section }: { section: string }) {
  const items = [
    { id: 'profile', label: '프로필', icon: <PersonIcon /> },
    { id: 'notifications', label: '알림 설정', icon: <BellIcon /> },
    { id: 'privacy', label: '개인정보', icon: <LockIcon /> },
    { id: 'billing', label: '결제 정보', icon: <CardIcon /> },
  ];

  return (
    <List component="nav" aria-label="설정">
      {items.map((it) => (
        <ListItem key={it.id} disablePadding>
          <ListItemButton
            component={Link}
            to={`/settings/${it.id}`}
            selected={section === it.id}
          >
            <ListItemIcon>{it.icon}</ListItemIcon>
            <ListItemText primary={it.label} />
          </ListItemButton>
        </ListItem>
      ))}
    </List>
  );
}

Don't

  • Don't use ListItemButton outside a ListItem parent — semantics break.
  • Don't make the entire ListItem clickable via onClick on ListItem — wrap the inner content in ListItemButton so secondary actions stay separately focusable.
  • Don't combine ListItemButton with form controls (Checkbox, Switch) inside the same clickable area — a click on the form control conflicts with the row click.
  • Don't override selected styling without keeping enough contrast (color-bg-selected should be ≥ 3:1 against color-bg-default).

References

Cross-reference