Anatomy
The Chip consists of three primary elements that work together to visually label and organize information.
- Content
- Close action
- Custom background
Options
The Chip supports clickable, closeable, and customizable configurations to accommodate various labeling scenarios.
Clickable
By default, a Chip is a non-clickable label. Use a clickable Chip for navigational contexts.
Close
Chips can also have a close action, allowing a user to manually remove the Chip. Clickable and close can also be used together in a single Chip, but only when the size is set to medium.
Custom background colors
Chips provide one color by default. They can accept any color or Token value. Text color is auto-calculated to be the highest available contrast. It is suggested to use a Token value that supports theming.
Sizes
| Size | Height | Font size |
|---|
| Medium | 26px | 14px |
| Small | 18px | 12px |
Refer to the choosing a chip size section for more sizing recommendations.
Behavior
The Chip responds to user interaction with distinct visual states and flexible overflow handling.
Visual States
With custom colors, the hover background is lighter when the text is white, and darker when the text is black.
Without close
With close
Overflow handling
Truncation
By default, Chips will truncate, rather than wrap.
Wrapping
Chips can be configured to individually wrap when there is not enough space.
Suggested group overflow
The Chip on its own does not provide an opinion on grouping. Wrap groups first, prioritizing group wrapping before wrapping individual Chips.
Usage Guidelines
Use the Chip when visually labeling and organizing statuses, metadata, and objects.
Alternatives
Chip vs Badge
Chips are used to categorize, label, and add context to items whereas Badges are used to indicate something requires attention, such as a notification. Additionally, Chips can be interactive while Badges are not.
How to Use
Default
The default Chip visually highlights elements and provides user interaction.
Chip group
Chips are frequently paired together to form a Chip group.
Color
When implementing Chips, it is important to carefully consider what color is being used so that meaning and relationships are not implied when there is none.
For example, green is often meant to indicate “success” and red is used to indicate “danger” or “failure”. Consistent usage is essential for helping users efficiently understand the status of something.
Choosing a Chip size
Choose a Chip size based on its relative importance within the UI. Some general suggestions for Chips are provided below.
| Medium Chip | Small Chip |
|---|
| Part of a Tab | ❌ | ✅ |
| Part of a Side Nav | ❌ | ✅ |
| Part of a Combobox | ✅ | ❌ |
| Table Cell main content | ✅ | ⚠️ |
| Table Cell secondary content | ⚠️ | ✅ |
| Group of Chips on the page | ✅ | ⚠️ |
| Chip(s) in the page header | ✅ | ⚠️ |
| Needing an interactive Chip + close | ✅ | ❌ |
Legend
✅ recommended
⚠️ use with caution
❌ do not use
Content
Content within the Chip should be short and descriptive, helping users understand context at a glance.
- Chips should be short and descriptive. Users should understand context at a glance.
- Use both color and text together to provide meaning so that color alone is not the only indicator of meaning.
- Use Chips in moderation as they add visual noise to the page.
- Chips may be used for both textual and numerical content.
Keyboard Interaction
Users can navigate the Chip using standard keyboard controls.
With clickable Chip
| Key | Description |
|---|
| Enter | Engages the Chip and moves focus to the click target. |
| Backspace or Delete | If the close action exists, removes the Chip from the screen. |
Accessibility
The Chip provides all accessibility needs out of the box. With custom background colors, the Chip will automatically provide a text color that will be at least a 4.5:1 ratio, satisfying WCAG AA requirements.
For more guidance on accessible interaction components, see button accessibility best practices. Last modified on January 23, 2026