---
title: Carousel
description: A carousel with motion and swipe built using Embla.
base: base
component: true
links:
  doc: https://www.embla-carousel.com/get-started/react
  api: https://www.embla-carousel.com/api
---

<ComponentPreview
  styleName="base-nova"
  name="carousel-demo"
  title="Carousel"
  description="A carousel with 5 items and a previous and next button."
/>

## About

The carousel component is built using the [Embla Carousel](https://www.embla-carousel.com/) library.

## Installation

<CodeTabs>

<TabsList>
  <TabsTrigger value="cli">CLI</TabsTrigger>
  <TabsTrigger value="manual">Manual</TabsTrigger>
</TabsList>

<TabsContent value="cli">

```bash
npx shadcn@latest add carousel
```

</TabsContent>

<TabsContent value="manual">

<Steps>

<Step>Install the following dependencies:</Step>

```bash
npm install embla-carousel-react
```

<Step>Copy and paste the following code into your project.</Step>

<ComponentSource
  name="carousel"
  title="components/ui/carousel.tsx"
  styleName="base-nova"
/>

<Step>Update the import paths to match your project setup.</Step>

</Steps>

</TabsContent>

</CodeTabs>

## Usage

```tsx showLineNumbers
import {
  Carousel,
  CarouselContent,
  CarouselItem,
  CarouselNext,
  CarouselPrevious,
} from "@/components/ui/carousel"
```

```tsx showLineNumbers
<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
  <CarouselPrevious />
  <CarouselNext />
</Carousel>
```

## Examples

### Sizes

To set the size of the items, you can use the `basis` utility class on the `<CarouselItem />`.

<ComponentPreview
  styleName="base-nova"
  name="carousel-size"
  title="Carousel"
  description="A carousel with 3 active items of equal size."
/>

```tsx showLineNumbers {4-6}
// 33% of the carousel width.
<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem className="basis-1/3">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="basis-1/3">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="basis-1/3">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>
```

```tsx showLineNumbers {4-6}
// 50% on small screens and 33% on larger screens.
<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem className="md:basis-1/2 lg:basis-1/3">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="md:basis-1/2 lg:basis-1/3">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="md:basis-1/2 lg:basis-1/3">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>
```

### Spacing

To set the spacing between the items, we use a `pl-[VALUE]` utility on the `<CarouselItem />` and a negative `-ml-[VALUE]` on the `<CarouselContent />`.

<Callout className="mt-6">
  **Why:** I tried to use the `gap` property or a `grid` layout on the `
  <CarouselContent />` but it required a lot of math and mental effort to get the
  spacing right. I found `pl-[VALUE]` and `-ml-[VALUE]` utilities much easier to
  use.

You can always adjust this in your own project if you need to.

</Callout>

<ComponentPreview
  styleName="base-nova"
  name="carousel-spacing"
  title="Carousel"
  description="A carousel with 3 items with a spacing of 1rem."
/>

```tsx showLineNumbers /-ml-4/ /pl-4/
<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>
```

```tsx showLineNumbers /-ml-2/ /pl-2/ /md:-ml-4/ /md:pl-4/
<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-2 md:-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>
```

### Orientation

Use the `orientation` prop to set the orientation of the carousel.

<ComponentPreview
  styleName="base-nova"
  name="carousel-orientation"
  title="Carousel"
  description="A vertical carousel."
/>

```tsx showLineNumbers /vertical | horizontal/
<Carousel orientation="vertical | horizontal">
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>
```

## Options

You can pass options to the carousel using the `opts` prop. See the [Embla Carousel docs](https://www.embla-carousel.com/api/options/) for more information.

```tsx showLineNumbers {2-5}
<Carousel
  opts={{
    align: "start",
    loop: true,
  }}
>
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>
```

## API

Use a state and the `setApi` props to get an instance of the carousel API.

<ComponentPreview
  styleName="base-nova"
  name="carousel-api"
  title="Carousel"
  description="A carousel with a slide counter."
/>

```tsx showLineNumbers {1,4,22}
import { type CarouselApi } from "@/components/ui/carousel"

export function Example() {
  const [api, setApi] = React.useState<CarouselApi>()
  const [current, setCurrent] = React.useState(0)
  const [count, setCount] = React.useState(0)

  React.useEffect(() => {
    if (!api) {
      return
    }

    setCount(api.scrollSnapList().length)
    setCurrent(api.selectedScrollSnap() + 1)

    api.on("select", () => {
      setCurrent(api.selectedScrollSnap() + 1)
    })
  }, [api])

  return (
    <Carousel setApi={setApi}>
      <CarouselContent>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
      </CarouselContent>
    </Carousel>
  )
}
```

## Events

You can listen to events using the api instance from `setApi`.

```tsx showLineNumbers {1,4-14,16}
import { type CarouselApi } from "@/components/ui/carousel"

export function Example() {
  const [api, setApi] = React.useState<CarouselApi>()

  React.useEffect(() => {
    if (!api) {
      return
    }

    api.on("select", () => {
      // Do something on select.
    })
  }, [api])

  return (
    <Carousel setApi={setApi}>
      <CarouselContent>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
      </CarouselContent>
    </Carousel>
  )
}
```

See the [Embla Carousel docs](https://www.embla-carousel.com/api/events/) for more information on using events.

## Plugins

You can use the `plugins` prop to add plugins to the carousel.

```ts showLineNumbers {1,6-10}
import Autoplay from "embla-carousel-autoplay"

export function Example() {
  return (
    <Carousel
      plugins={[
        Autoplay({
          delay: 2000,
        }),
      ]}
    >
      // ...
    </Carousel>
  )
}
```

<ComponentPreview
  styleName="base-nova"
  name="carousel-plugin"
  title="Carousel"
  description="A carousel with the autoplay plugin."
/>

See the [Embla Carousel docs](https://www.embla-carousel.com/api/plugins/) for more information on using plugins.
