Skip to main content
Light Dark System

Avatar

<sl-avatar> | SlAvatar
Since 2.0 stable

Avatars are used to represent a person or object.

By default, a generic icon will be shown. You can personalize avatars by adding custom icons, initials, and images. You should always provide a label for assistive devices.

<sl-avatar label="User avatar"></sl-avatar>
import SlAvatar from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/avatar';

const App = () => <SlAvatar label="User avatar" />;

Examples

Images

To use an image for the avatar, set the image and label attributes. This will take priority and be shown over initials and icons. Avatar images can be lazily loaded by setting the loading attribute to lazy.

<sl-avatar
  image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1529778873920-4da4926a72c2?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=300&q=80"
  label="Avatar of a gray tabby kitten looking down"
></sl-avatar>
<sl-avatar
  image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1591871937573-74dbba515c4c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=300&q=80"
  label="Avatar of a white and grey kitten on grey textile"
  loading="lazy"
></sl-avatar>
import SlAvatar from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/avatar';

const App = () => (
  <SlAvatar
    image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1529778873920-4da4926a72c2?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=300&q=80"
    label="Avatar of a gray tabby kitten looking down"
  />
  <SlAvatar
    image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1591871937573-74dbba515c4c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=300&q=80"
    label="Avatar of a white and grey kitten on grey textile"
    loading="lazy"
  />
);

Initials

When you don’t have an image to use, you can set the initials attribute to show something more personalized than an icon.

<sl-avatar initials="SL" label="Avatar with initials: SL"></sl-avatar>
import SlAvatar from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/avatar';

const App = () => <SlAvatar initials="SL" label="Avatar with initials: SL" />;

Custom Icons

When no image or initials are set, an icon will be shown. The default avatar shows a generic “user” icon, but you can customize this with the icon slot.

<sl-avatar label="Avatar with an image icon">
  <sl-icon slot="icon" name="image"></sl-icon>
</sl-avatar>

<sl-avatar label="Avatar with an archive icon">
  <sl-icon slot="icon" name="archive"></sl-icon>
</sl-avatar>

<sl-avatar label="Avatar with a briefcase icon">
  <sl-icon slot="icon" name="briefcase"></sl-icon>
</sl-avatar>
import SlAvatar from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/avatar';
import SlIcon from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/icon';

const App = () => (
  <>
    <SlAvatar label="Avatar with an image icon">
      <SlIcon slot="icon" name="image" />
    </SlAvatar>

    <SlAvatar label="Avatar with an archive icon">
      <SlIcon slot="icon" name="archive" />
    </SlAvatar>

    <SlAvatar label="Avatar with a briefcase icon">
      <SlIcon slot="icon" name="briefcase" />
    </SlAvatar>
  </>
);

Shapes

Avatars can be shaped using the shape attribute.

<sl-avatar shape="square" label="Square avatar"></sl-avatar>
<sl-avatar shape="rounded" label="Rounded avatar"></sl-avatar>
<sl-avatar shape="circle" label="Circle avatar"></sl-avatar>
import SlAvatar from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/avatar';
import SlIcon from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/icon';

const App = () => (
  <>
    <SlAvatar shape="square" label="Square avatar" />
    <SlAvatar shape="rounded" label="Rounded avatar" />
    <SlAvatar shape="circle" label="Circle avatar" />
  </>
);

Avatar Groups

You can group avatars with a few lines of CSS.

<div class="avatar-group">
  <sl-avatar
    image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1490150028299-bf57d78394e0?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=256&h=256&q=80&crop=right"
    label="Avatar 1 of 4"
  ></sl-avatar>

  <sl-avatar
    image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1503454537195-1dcabb73ffb9?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=256&h=256&crop=left&q=80"
    label="Avatar 2 of 4"
  ></sl-avatar>

  <sl-avatar
    image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1456439663599-95b042d50252?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=256&h=256&crop=left&q=80"
    label="Avatar 3 of 4"
  ></sl-avatar>

  <sl-avatar
    image="https://images.unsplash.com/flagged/photo-1554078875-e37cb8b0e27d?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=256&h=256&crop=top&q=80"
    label="Avatar 4 of 4"
  ></sl-avatar>
</div>

<style>
  .avatar-group sl-avatar:not(:first-of-type) {
    margin-left: -1rem;
  }

  .avatar-group sl-avatar::part(base) {
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-0);
  }
</style>
import SlAvatar from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/avatar';
import SlIcon from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/icon';

const css = `
  .avatar-group sl-avatar:not(:first-of-type) {
    margin-left: -1rem;
  }

  .avatar-group sl-avatar::part(base) {
    border: solid 2px var(--sl-color-neutral-0);
  }
`;

const App = () => (
  <>
    <div className="avatar-group">
      <SlAvatar
        image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1490150028299-bf57d78394e0?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=256&h=256&q=80&crop=right"
        label="Avatar 1 of 4"
      />

      <SlAvatar
        image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1503454537195-1dcabb73ffb9?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=256&h=256&crop=left&q=80"
        label="Avatar 2 of 4"
      />

      <SlAvatar
        image="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1456439663599-95b042d50252?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=256&h=256&crop=left&q=80"
        label="Avatar 3 of 4"
      />

      <SlAvatar
        image="https://images.unsplash.com/flagged/photo-1554078875-e37cb8b0e27d?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=256&h=256&crop=top&q=80"
        label="Avatar 4 of 4"
      />
    </div>

    <style>{css}</style>
  </>
);

Importing

If you’re using the autoloader or the traditional loader, you can ignore this section. Otherwise, feel free to use any of the following snippets to cherry pick this component.

Script Import Bundler React

To import this component from the CDN using a script tag:

<script type="module" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@shoelace-style/shoelace@2.6.0/cdn/components/avatar/avatar.js"></script>

To import this component from the CDN using a JavaScript import:

import 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@shoelace-style/shoelace@2.6.0/cdn/components/avatar/avatar.js';

To import this component using a bundler:

import '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/components/avatar/avatar.js';

To import this component as a React component:

import SlAvatar from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/react/avatar';

Slots

Name Description
icon The default icon to use when no image or initials are present. Works best with <sl-icon>.

Learn more about using slots.

Properties

Name Description Reflects Type Default
image The image source to use for the avatar. string ''
label A label to use to describe the avatar to assistive devices. string ''
initials Initials to use as a fallback when no image is available (1–2 characters max recommended). string ''
loading Indicates how the browser should load the image. 'eager' | 'lazy' 'eager'
shape The shape of the avatar. 'circle' | 'square' | 'rounded' 'circle'
updateComplete A read-only promise that resolves when the component has finished updating.

Learn more about attributes and properties.

Custom Properties

Name Description Default
--size The size of the avatar.

Learn more about customizing CSS custom properties.

Parts

Name Description
base The component’s base wrapper.
icon The container that wraps the avatar’s icon.
initials The container that wraps the avatar’s initials.
image The avatar image. Only shown when the image attribute is set.

Learn more about customizing CSS parts.

Dependencies

This component automatically imports the following dependencies.

  • <sl-icon>