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HTML <datalist> Tag

The HTML <datalist> tag is used to create a list of input options, predefined by the <input> tag. Learn how to use the <datalist> tag with examples.

The <datalist> tag is one of the HTML5 elements. It is used to create a list of input options, defined inside the <datalist> element and linked to an <input> field via the list attribute. Initially, the options are hidden, and the list of them becomes available when the user starts typing. The list attribute of the <input> tag must match the id of the <datalist> element.

Predefined options for input are enclosed in nested <option> elements.

Syntax

The <datalist> tag comes in pairs. The content is written between the opening (<datalist>) and closing (</datalist>) tags.

Example of the HTML <datalist> tag:

HTML <datalist> Tag

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div>Choose browser</div>
    <input list="browsers" />
    <!-- The list attribute value matches the datalist id -->
    <datalist id="browsers">
      <option value="Opera">
      <option value="Safari">
      <option value="Firefox">
      <option value="Google Chrome">
      <option value="Maxthon">
    </datalist>
  </body>
</html>
Result

Attributes

The <datalist> tag supports Global Attributes and the Event Attributes.

Practice

Practice

What is the usage of the HTML <datalist> tag?