This is documentation for the next SDK version. For up-to-date documentation, see the latest version (SDK 57).

TextField

Jetpack Compose TextField components for native Material3 text input.

Android

Included in Expo Go

GitHub

npm

Changelog

Recommended version:

~58.0.0

For cross-platform usage, see the universal TextInput — it renders the appropriate native component per platform.

Expo UI provides three text field components that match the official Jetpack Compose TextField API: TextField (filled), OutlinedTextField (outlined border), and BasicTextField (unstyled). The Material variants TextField and OutlinedTextField share the same props and support composable slot children for label, placeholder, icons, prefix, suffix, and supporting text. BasicTextField has no Material chrome, so you supply your own decoration.

Type	Appearance	Purpose
Filled	Solid background with a bottom indicator line.	Default text input style following Material3 design. Use for most forms and input fields.
Outlined	Transparent background with a border outline.	Alternative style that provides a distinct visual boundary. Use when filled fields blend into the background.
Basic	No container, indicator, or padding. Just the editable text.	Fully custom-styled inputs. Style it yourself and add decoration through `DecorationBox`.

Filled, outlined, and basic (unstyled) text fields

Installation

Terminal

- npx expo install @expo/ui

- yarn expo install @expo/ui

- pnpm expo install @expo/ui

- bun expo install @expo/ui

If you are installing this in an existing React Native app, make sure to install expo in your project.

Usage

Uncontrolled text field

Bind a useNativeState observable to value. The field tracks the user's input on its own, and you read the current value from text.value. The filled style shown here is the default Material3 text input.

UncontrolledTextFieldExample.tsx

import {
  Host,
  TextField,
  Text,
  useNativeState,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

export default function UncontrolledTextFieldExample() {
  const text = useNativeState('');

  return (
    <Host matchContents>
      <TextField value={text}>
        <TextField.Label>
          <Text>Username</Text>
        </TextField.Label>
      </TextField>
    </Host>
  );
}

Controlled text field

Pass a useNativeState observable as value and an onValueChange worklet to transform or validate input before writing it back. The example below uppercases the text as it is typed.

Note: Worklets require installing react-native-worklets.

ControlledTextFieldExample.tsx

import {
  Host,
  TextField,
  Text,
  useNativeState,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';
import { useCallback } from 'react';

export default function ControlledTextFieldExample() {
  const text = useNativeState('');

  const handleValueChange = useCallback(
    (value: string) => {
      'worklet';
      text.value = value.toUpperCase();
    },
    [text]
  );

  return (
    <Host matchContents>
      <TextField value={text} onValueChange={handleValueChange}>
        <TextField.Label>
          <Text>Name</Text>
        </TextField.Label>
      </TextField>
    </Host>
  );
}

Outlined text field

Use OutlinedTextField for a text field with a border outline instead of a filled background.

OutlinedTextFieldExample.tsx

import {
  Host,
  OutlinedTextField,
  Text,
  useNativeState,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

export default function OutlinedTextFieldExample() {
  const text = useNativeState('');

  return (
    <Host matchContents>
      <OutlinedTextField value={text}>
        <OutlinedTextField.Label>
          <Text>Email</Text>
        </OutlinedTextField.Label>
        <OutlinedTextField.Placeholder>
          <Text>you@example.com</Text>
        </OutlinedTextField.Placeholder>
      </OutlinedTextField>
    </Host>
  );
}

Basic text field

BasicTextField is the unstyled Compose primitive, with no container, indicator, or padding. Style it yourself with modifiers and supply decoration through DecorationBox, placing InnerTextField where the editable text should render. Wrap placeholder content in Placeholder to have it shown only while the field is empty, toggled natively from the field's text.

BasicTextFieldExample.tsx

import {
  Host,
  BasicTextField,
  Box,
  Text,
  useNativeState,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';
import {
  background,
  clip,
  fillMaxWidth,
  padding,
  Shapes,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose/modifiers';

export default function BasicTextFieldExample() {
  const value = useNativeState('');

  return (
    <Host
      matchContents={{ vertical: true }}
      style={{ width: '100%' }}>
      <BasicTextField
        cursorColor="#7c3aed"
        value={value}
        modifiers={[
          fillMaxWidth(),
          clip(Shapes.RoundedCorner(12)),
          background('#f3f4f6'),
          padding(12, 10, 12, 10),
        ]}>
        <BasicTextField.DecorationBox>
          <Box>
            <BasicTextField.Placeholder>
              <Text color="#9ca3af">Search…</Text>
            </BasicTextField.Placeholder>
            <BasicTextField.InnerTextField />
          </Box>
        </BasicTextField.DecorationBox>
      </BasicTextField>
    </Host>
  );
}

Slots

Both TextField and OutlinedTextField support 7 composable slots that match the Compose API: Label, Placeholder, LeadingIcon, TrailingIcon, Prefix, Suffix, and SupportingText.

TextFieldSlotsExample.tsx

import {
  Host,
  TextField,
  Text,
  useNativeState,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

export default function TextFieldSlotsExample() {
  const text = useNativeState('');

  return (
    <Host matchContents>
      <TextField value={text}>
        <TextField.Label>
          <Text>Price</Text>
        </TextField.Label>
        <TextField.Placeholder>
          <Text>0.00</Text>
        </TextField.Placeholder>
        <TextField.LeadingIcon>
          <Text>💰</Text>
        </TextField.LeadingIcon>
        <TextField.Prefix>
          <Text>$</Text>
        </TextField.Prefix>
        <TextField.Suffix>
          <Text>USD</Text>
        </TextField.Suffix>
        <TextField.SupportingText>
          <Text>Enter the amount</Text>
        </TextField.SupportingText>
      </TextField>
    </Host>
  );
}

Keyboard options

Use the keyboardOptions prop to configure the keyboard type, capitalization, auto-correct, and IME action.

KeyboardOptionsExample.tsx

import {
  Host,
  TextField,
  Text,
  useNativeState,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

export default function KeyboardOptionsExample() {
  const text = useNativeState('');

  return (
    <Host matchContents>
      <TextField
        value={text}
        singleLine
        keyboardOptions={{
          keyboardType: 'email',
          capitalization: 'none',
          autoCorrectEnabled: false,
          imeAction: 'done',
        }}>
        <TextField.Label>
          <Text>Email</Text>
        </TextField.Label>
      </TextField>
    </Host>
  );
}

Keyboard actions

Use the keyboardActions prop to handle IME action button presses. The triggered callback depends on the imeAction set in keyboardOptions. Each callback receives the current text value.

KeyboardActionsExample.tsx

import {
  Host,
  TextField,
  Text,
  useNativeState,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

export default function KeyboardActionsExample() {
  const text = useNativeState('');

  return (
    <Host matchContents>
      <TextField
        value={text}
        singleLine
        keyboardOptions={{ imeAction: 'search' }}
        keyboardActions={{
          onSearch: value => console.log('Searched:', value),
        }}>
        <TextField.Label>
          <Text>Search</Text>
        </TextField.Label>
      </TextField>
    </Host>
  );
}

Imperative ref

Use a ref to imperatively set text, clear the field, change the selection, or move focus.

ImperativeRefExample.tsx

import { useRef } from 'react';
import {
  Host,
  TextField,
  TextFieldRef,
  Button,
  Row,
  Text,
  Column,
  useNativeState,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';
import { padding } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose/modifiers';

export default function ImperativeRefExample() {
  const ref = useRef<TextFieldRef>(null);
  const text = useNativeState('');

  return (
    <Host matchContents>
      <Column>
        <TextField ref={ref} value={text} singleLine>
          <TextField.Label>
            <Text>Name</Text>
          </TextField.Label>
        </TextField>
        <Row
          horizontalArrangement={{ spacedBy: 8 }}
          modifiers={[padding(8, 0, 0, 0)]}>
          <Button
            onClick={() => ref.current?.setText('Hello world')}>
            <Text>Set text</Text>
          </Button>
          <Button onClick={() => ref.current?.clear()}>
            <Text>Clear</Text>
          </Button>
          <Button onClick={() => ref.current?.setSelection(0, 5)}>
            <Text>Select first word</Text>
          </Button>
        </Row>
        <Row
          horizontalArrangement={{ spacedBy: 8 }}
          modifiers={[padding(8, 0, 0, 0)]}>
          <Button onClick={() => ref.current?.focus()}>
            <Text>Focus</Text>
          </Button>
          <Button onClick={() => ref.current?.blur()}>
            <Text>Blur</Text>
          </Button>
        </Row>
      </Column>
    </Host>
  );
}

Worklet text masking

When onValueChange is marked with the 'worklet' directive, it runs synchronously on the UI thread, so writes to useNativeState observables inside the callback take effect before the next frame. There is no flicker between the typed text and the masked text. The example below masks a phone number as the user types and writes both value and selection from the worklet to keep the cursor at the end of the formatted value.

Note: Worklets require installing react-native-worklets.

WorkletPhoneMaskExample.tsx

import {
  Host,
  TextField,
  Text,
  useNativeState,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';
import { fillMaxWidth } from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose/modifiers';
import { useCallback } from 'react';

export default function WorkletPhoneMaskExample() {
  const phone = useNativeState('');
  const selection = useNativeState({ start: 0, end: 0 });

  const handleValueChange = useCallback(
    (v: string) => {
      'worklet';
      const digits = v.replace(/\D/g, '').slice(0, 10);
      let formatted = digits;
      if (digits.length > 6) {
        formatted = `(${digits.slice(0, 3)}) ${digits.slice(3, 6)}-${digits.slice(6)}`;
      } else if (digits.length > 3) {
        formatted = `(${digits.slice(0, 3)}) ${digits.slice(3)}`;
      }
      if (formatted !== v) {
        phone.value = formatted;
        // Snaps to end for demo. Real masks need smarter cursor handling.
        selection.value = {
          start: formatted.length,
          end: formatted.length,
        };
      }
    },
    [phone, selection]
  );

  return (
    <Host
      matchContents={{ vertical: true }}
      style={{ width: '100%' }}>
      <TextField
        value={phone}
        selection={selection}
        keyboardOptions={{ keyboardType: 'phone' }}
        modifiers={[fillMaxWidth()]}
        onValueChange={handleValueChange}>
        <TextField.Placeholder>
          <Text>(555) 123-4567</Text>
        </TextField.Placeholder>
      </TextField>
    </Host>
  );
}

API

import {
  TextField,
  OutlinedTextField,
  BasicTextField,
} from '@expo/ui/jetpack-compose';

Components

`BasicTextField`

Android

Type: React.Element<BasicTextFieldProps>

A bare, unstyled Compose BasicTextField with no Material decoration.

Props for BasicTextField. Mirrors Compose's BasicTextField: a bare, unstyled text field with no Material chrome (no container, indicator, or built-in padding). Shares CommonTextFieldProperties with TextField and OutlinedTextField; use BasicTextField.DecorationBox to add your own decoration.

BasicTextFieldProps

`cursorColor`

Android

Optional • Type: ColorValue

Color of the text cursor. Maps to Compose's cursorBrush via SolidColor(color). Defaults to the theme's primary color (MaterialTheme.colorScheme.primary) so it stays visible in light and dark.

Inherited props

CommonTextFieldProperties

`OutlinedTextField`

Android

Type: React.Element<OutlinedTextFieldProps>

A Material3 OutlinedTextField with a transparent background and border outline.

Props shared by every Compose text field variant — TextField, OutlinedTextField, and BasicTextField. The Material variants add their own decoration props (isError, shape, colors, slot children); BasicTextField adds cursorColor.

OutlinedTextFieldProps

`colors`

Android

Optional • Type: TextFieldColors

`isError`

Android

Optional • Type: boolean • Default: false

`shape`

Android

Optional • Type: ShapeJSXElement

Shape used for the field's container outline/fill. Use the helpers from Shape (for example, <Shape.Pill /> or <Shape.RoundedCorner cornerRadii={...} />). Defaults to the Material OutlinedTextFieldDefaults.shape/TextFieldDefaults.shape.

Inherited props

CommonTextFieldProperties

`TextField`

Android

Type: React.Element<TextFieldProps>

A Material3 TextField.

TextFieldProps

`colors`

Android

Optional • Type: TextFieldColors

`isError`

Android

Optional • Type: boolean • Default: false

`shape`

Android

Optional • Type: ShapeJSXElement

Inherited props

CommonTextFieldProperties

Types

`BasicTextFieldRef`

Android

Type: TextFieldRef

Imperative methods for BasicTextField. Identical to TextFieldRef.

`CommonTextFieldProperties`

Android

Property	Type	Description
autoFocus(optional)	`boolean`	If true, the text field will be focused automatically when mounted. Default:`false`
children(optional)	`ReactNode`	Slot children that configure the field's decoration.
enabled(optional)	`boolean`	Default:`true`
keyboardActions(optional)	`TextFieldKeyboardActions`	-
keyboardOptions(optional)	`TextFieldKeyboardOptions`	-
maxLength(optional)	`number`	Maximum number of characters allowed. Truncates natively as the user types.
maxLines(optional)	`number`	-
minLines(optional)	`number`	-
modifiers(optional)	`ModifierConfig[]`	-
onFocusChanged(optional)	`(focused: boolean) => void`	A callback triggered when the field gains or loses focus.
onSelectionChange(optional)	`(selection: { end: number, start: number }) => void`	Called when the selection range changes.
onValueChange(optional)	`(value: string) => void`	Fires whenever the text value changes. If marked with the `'worklet'` directive, runs synchronously on the UI thread; otherwise delivered asynchronously as a regular JS event. Use `onSelectionChange` (or read the `selection` observable) to react to selection-only changes.
readOnly(optional)	`boolean`	Default:`false`
ref(optional)	`Ref<TextFieldRef>`	-
selection(optional)	`ObservableState<{ end: number, start: number }>`	Observable state holding the current selection range. Create with `useNativeState({ start: 0, end: 0 })`. The field writes user-driven changes back to it, and writes from JS (or a worklet) update the cursor/selection in the field. Use `ref.setSelection(start, end)` for imperative one-shot updates.
singleLine(optional)	`boolean`	Default:`false`
textSelectionColors(optional)	`{ backgroundColor: ColorValue, handleColor: ColorValue }`	Selection-related colors. Maps to Compose's `TextSelectionColors` via `LocalTextSelectionColors`. `handleColor` controls the drag handles (and the caret's drag handle); `backgroundColor` is the highlighted-text background (typically the same tint at lower alpha so the underlying text stays readable). Independent of `cursorColor`, which tints the caret line.
textStyle(optional)	`TextFieldTextStyle`	Text styling for the field's content. Maps to Compose's `TextStyle`.
value(optional)	`ObservableState<string>`	An observable state that holds the current text value. Create one with `useNativeState('initial text')`. If omitted, the field manages its own internal state.
visualTransformation(optional)	`'password' \| 'none'`	Display-time text transformation. `'password'` masks every character; `'none'` (default) leaves the buffer as-is.

`ObservableState`

Android

Observable state shared between JavaScript and native views (Jetpack Compose on Android and SwiftUI on iOS).

Type: SharedObject extended by:

Property	Type	Description
onChange	`[listener] \| null`	A single listener invoked on the native UI runtime whenever the value changes (after iOS `didSet` and Android's setter). Assigning replaces the previous listener; assign `null` to clear. The initial value does not fire `onChange`. The callback must be a worklet so it can run synchronously on the UI thread. Attach it inside `useEffect` and clear it in the cleanup so the listener lifecycle matches the component lifecycle. Example `const state = useNativeState(0); useEffect(() => { state.onChange = (value) => { 'worklet'; console.log('changed to', value); }; }, []);`
value	`T`	The current value. Writes from a UI worklet are synchronous and immediately readable. Writes from the JS thread are scheduled to the UI thread asynchronously, the new value is not readable until the update has been applied. Prefer writing from a worklet when you need synchronous updates
get	`() => T`	Reads the current value. A React Compiler compliant alternative to reading `.value`
set	`(value: T) => void`	Writes a new value. A React Compiler-compliant alternative to assigning `.value`

`TextFieldCapitalization`

Android

Literal type: string

Acceptable values are: 'none' | 'characters' | 'words' | 'sentences'

`TextFieldColors`

Android

Colors for TextField and OutlinedTextField. Maps to TextFieldColors in Compose, shared by both variants.

Property	Type	Description
cursorColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledContainerColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledIndicatorColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledLabelColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledLeadingIconColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledPlaceholderColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledPrefixColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledSuffixColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledSupportingTextColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledTextColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
disabledTrailingIconColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorContainerColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorCursorColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorIndicatorColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorLabelColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorLeadingIconColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorPlaceholderColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorPrefixColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorSuffixColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorSupportingTextColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorTextColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
errorTrailingIconColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedContainerColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedIndicatorColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedLabelColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedLeadingIconColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedPlaceholderColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedPrefixColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedSuffixColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedSupportingTextColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedTextColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
focusedTrailingIconColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedContainerColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedIndicatorColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedLabelColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedLeadingIconColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedPlaceholderColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedPrefixColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedSuffixColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedSupportingTextColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedTextColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
unfocusedTrailingIconColor(optional)	`ColorValue`	-

`TextFieldImeAction`

Android

Literal type: string

`TextFieldKeyboardActions`

Android

Keyboard actions matching Compose KeyboardActions. The triggered callback depends on the imeAction in keyboardOptions.

Property	Type	Description
onDone(optional)	`(value: string) => void`	-
onGo(optional)	`(value: string) => void`	-
onNext(optional)	`(value: string) => void`	-
onPrevious(optional)	`(value: string) => void`	-
onSearch(optional)	`(value: string) => void`	-
onSend(optional)	`(value: string) => void`	-

`TextFieldKeyboardOptions`

Android

Keyboard options matching Compose KeyboardOptions.

Property	Type	Description
autoCorrectEnabled(optional)	`boolean`	Default:`true`
capitalization(optional)	`TextFieldCapitalization`	Default:`'none'`
imeAction(optional)	`TextFieldImeAction`	Default:`'default'`
keyboardType(optional)	`TextFieldKeyboardType`	Default:`'text'`

`TextFieldKeyboardType`

Android

Literal type: string

`TextFieldRef`

Android

Can be used for imperatively focusing and setting text/selection on the TextField, OutlinedTextField, and BasicTextField components.

Property	Type	Description
blur	`() => Promise<void>`	-
clear	`() => Promise<void>`	Clear the current text.
focus	`() => Promise<void>`	-
setSelection	`(start: number, end: number) => Promise<void>`	Programmatically set the selection range.
setText	`(newText: string) => Promise<void>`	-

`TextFieldTextStyle`

Android

Text styling for a text field's content. Maps to Compose's TextStyle. Shared by TextField, OutlinedTextField, and BasicTextField.

Property	Type	Description
color(optional)	`ColorValue`	-
fontFamily(optional)	`string`	-
fontSize(optional)	`number`	-
fontWeight(optional)	`'100' \| '200' \| '300' \| '400' \| '500' \| '600' \| '700' \| '800' \| '900' \| 'normal' \| 'bold'`	-
letterSpacing(optional)	`number`	-
lineHeight(optional)	`number`	-
textAlign(optional)	`'left' \| 'right' \| 'center' \| 'justify'`	-