HTML <datalist> Tag

The HTML <datalist> tag represents a set of option elements that represent predefined options for other controls.

The tag can be used for providing an "autocomplete" feature on form elements. It lets you provide a list of predefined options to the user as they input data.

For example, if a user begins entering text into an input field, a list would drop down with prefilled values that they could choose from. These values are invisible to the user, except those that are relevant to what the user is typing at that moment.

The <datalist> tag was introduced in HTML 5.

Syntax

The <datalist> tag is written as <datalist id=""></datalist> with any number of <option> tags inserted between the start and end tags. The id attribute provides the ID of the <datalist> element. This ID can be referred to by an <input> element that contains a list attribute. The list attribute references the value of the <datalist> element's id attribute.

Like this:

Examples

Basic tag usage

Legacy Support

To provide support for browsers that don't support the <datalist> element, simply place a <select> element inside the <datalist> element.

Attributes

Attributes can be added to an HTML element to provide more information about how the element should appear or behave.

The <datalist> element accepts the following attributes.

AttributeDescription
None 

Global Attributes

The following attributes are standard across all HTML elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <datalist> tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.

Event Handlers

Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain "event" occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.

Most event handler content attributes can be used on all HTML elements, but some event handlers have specific rules around when they can be used and which elements they are applicable to.

For more detail, see HTML event handler content attributes.