Dialog

Source

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1. Title and support strip

Focus attention on a bounded task or consequential confirmation. Stable ID: SWC-dialog; source IDs: P16, P30, S9, L5, B. Maturity: proposed; availability: documented reference, not a published component package. Owner: Space Works design-system owner, Shaan Shoukath; product maintainers own app integration. Documentation introduced/updated for v2.1.0, planned under decision 397. Last source verification: 2026-11-13. Web implementation is described below; Compose/SwiftUI are starter mappings with no verified component parity.

2. Use it for / choose something else

Use for a short modal task, irreversible confirmation or critical choice. Use Drawer for contextual detail and an inline error for a failed field. Reversible routine actions use immediate effect plus Undo where allowed.

Extracted source contract: P16 — P16. Danger zone (R5, R10) · P30 — P30. Undo and confirmation behaviour (R8, R28) · S9 — S9. Makerspace settings (settings) ← R5 + R6 + R17 · L5 — L5. SettingsLayout — sub-nav + sections of rows + sticky Discard/Save + DangerZone (R5, R6, R16, R17) · B — B. Interaction states. The purpose, anatomy, variants and dimensions below condense those sections without moving their IDs or anchors. Source P rules describe observed reference boards; B/C and later decisions resolve brand adaptations.

Authority and implementation status gives precedence. Source inventory preserves headings, table cells, code and links for publication checks.

3. Live example and complete code

Full-page runnable example: start node examples/web/server.mjs from the repository root, then open http://localhost:4174/examples/web/component-gallery.html#dialog. Choose Light/Dark, preview width and an applicable state; exercise hover, pressed and focus-visible with real input. Complete source: HTML, behaviour, styles. No app module, network API or build step is required. These are portable reference compositions, not replicas of app exports.

<details><summary>Review deletion consequences</summary><p>This permanently deletes the draft.</p><button type="button" data-open="dialog-demo">Open confirmation</button></details><dialog id="dialog-demo" aria-labelledby="dialog-title"><h3 id="dialog-title">Delete draft?</h3><p>This permanently deletes the draft.</p><form method="dialog"><button value="cancel">Cancel</button><button value="confirm">Delete draft</button></form></dialog>

The linked shell supplies CSS/tokens and any data-* behaviour. Static text/native controls remain without JavaScript; modal content has an inline fallback. Copy the complete source for enhancements, not this fragment alone. First-screen setup shows the whole document.

4. Anatomy

Numbered reading-order diagram: [1] → [2] → [3] → [4] → [5]. Slots and name ownership:

1. Opener: remembered focus target.
2. Modal layer/scrim: background becomes inert.
3. Panel with role=dialog and visible h2 name.
4. Scrollable body: optional description and fields.
5. Optional footer actions and explicit Close: remain reachable.

5. Variants

Modal size=‘md’ (max-w-lg) or ‘xl’ (max-w-4xl), backdrop=‘plain’ or ‘blur’. Phones render as a bottom sheet. ConfirmDialog composes Modal with message, pending and optional safePrimary to emphasise Cancel.

Variant	Choose it for
md / xl	Bounded standard task / wide content.
ConfirmDialog	Named consequence plus explicit Cancel/confirm.
Phone sheet	Responsive Modal presentation; no separate Sheet export.

Native products use platform controls with mapped roles/settings. A web keyboard model does not establish native parity. Gallery variants/states are reference compositions, not undocumented app props.

6. States

State handling belongs either to this primitive or the containing task explicitly named below. N/A records a semantic or API limitation, not an omitted requirement.

State	Presentation / copy	Action, focus, announcement and data
Default	Required visible name, correct role and truthful current value/context.	Enabled actions follow §8; no automatic announcement for static content.
Hover	Use B hover roles without hiding the label or necessary boundary.	No hover-exclusive instructions; child controls retain their own contracts.
Pressed	Use B active colours during activation; do not mutate on pointer-down.	Native click/release activates once; optional child actions use Button.
Focus-visible	Visible 2 px ring plus offset; ≥3:1 against actual adjacent colour.	Keep focused actions visible above sticky chrome and the software keyboard.
Selected	N/A — this primitive is not a choice; IconButton can accept aria-pressed for a genuine toggle.	Caller controls selection; keep values stable through failed persistence.
Disabled	N/A for the layer container; disable individual footer actions if needed.	Pending does not automatically prevent Escape/scrim; parent owns cancellation.
Read-only	N/A — no read-only component mode; noneditable information already reads as text.	No read-only API is claimed. For a locked choice, present a labelled static value; native checkbox/radio/select do not honour readOnly.
Loading / pending	Keep title and Close visible; body supplies Loading details… or pending form feedback.	Do not reset first-field focus on rerender. Parent owns fetched state and cancellation.
Empty	Show absence only after a successful load, with a useful next step.	Never confuse no records with pending, denied access or failure.
Filtered-empty	N/A — this primitive does not filter results; the affected result region owns this state.	Preserve query and scope, offer Clear filters and announce the result once.
Error / retry	“Couldn’t save/load. Try again.” plus persistent explanation and specific recovery.	Keep the user’s value/context, relate field errors by ID and retry only the failed operation.
Offline	Keep clearly labelled last-known values and unsent drafts; explain network-only limitations.	Local navigation/editing/Close can remain available. Product owns safe retry/idempotency; queued is not completed.
Success	Show the completed effect and truthful updated value; use precise confirmation.	Announce once without taking focus; visible in-place changes need no redundant toast or invented success prop.
Interrupted work	Retain safe drafts/context and say whether completion is known or still unresolved.	Reconcile server/session state before repeating a mutation; never automatically replay irreversible work.

7. Specifications and tokens

Viewport-capped panel, independently scrolling body, safe-area padding and keyboard-safe field reveal. Layer z-50, shadow-overlay only. Phone footer stacks/wraps; desktop footer wraps at the end. Never crop task controls at 320 px or enlarged text.

Load tokens CSS once. Theme pairs: bg/surface/panel with ink or muted; fills use matching on-*; standalone links/essential accent marks use accent-ink or brand-boundary. line is decorative. No alpha text or opacity-based disabled state. outline on hover and raw dark accent on panel need special contrast care; use the tested functional boundary role. Geometry described here is a source contract, not a claim that new CSS variables exist. Wrap translation and enlarged text; use min-inline-size:0 and 320 CSS px reflow rather than clipping.

8. Interaction / accessibility

Open: app focuses first rendered focusable descendant, or panel if none. Tab/Shift+Tab wrap in the top layer. Escape closes only the top layer unless already prevented. Closing restores the connected opener; missing opener falls back to body in the source. Products must supply a meaningful fallback when deleting the opener.

Key / input	Behaviour
Tab / Shift+Tab	Cycle within the top modal layer; keep background inert.
Escape / Close	Dismiss according to parent cancellation policy; restore connected opener or meaningful product fallback.

Test name/role/value and reading order with a screen reader. The name contains the visible label. Associate errors with unique description IDs and announce status once without moving focus. Test both themes, 400% zoom, forced colours and reduced motion. Use system colours/visible borders in forced colours; do not suppress adaptation by default. Keep focus clear of sticky chrome. The house target is 44 px; WCAG minimum is 24×24 CSS px with exceptions. Provide click/tap alternatives to dragging. Native integrations test TalkBack/VoiceOver, large type and platform focus. These are required checks, not claims of completed AT tests. Accessibility maps criteria, system contracts and product responsibilities.

9. Content

Name the object and actual consequence; use “Delete draft” instead of “OK”. A safe alternative is explicit Cancel. Explain pending cancellation honestly; do not close before an unresolved irreversible operation is known.

Sentence case; translated labels and locale-aware plurals/numbers/dates/currency. Never expose raw error codes or invent a count. Money/evidence outcomes require actual confirmed completion and precise auditable consequences.

10. Do / don’t

Do	Don’t / why
Keep Cancel first where it is safest, explain permanent consequences and test nested focus restoration.	Do not show unrelated modal tasks simultaneously or treat disabling confirm as preventing Escape.
Use semantic role tokens and complete visible copy.	Do not copy reference hex colours, alpha text or paid Gilroy weights: they bypass the current theme/type contract.

11. Implementation

Observed API: Modal({open,onClose,title,children,footer?,size='md',backdrop='plain'}). ConfirmDialog({open,title,message,confirmLabel?,cancelLabel?,tone='default',onConfirm,onCancel,pending=false,safePrimary=false}). The parent owns open/pending and callback completion. ConfirmDialog pending disables action buttons; onClose still calls onCancel.

App source, reference only: frontend/src/components/ui/Modal.tsx. Inspected in the supplied int-stage-r2final worktree; uncommitted content may differ from upstream main. Implementation snapshot records exact file hashes. Neighbours: ConfirmDialog.tsx, dialogFocus.ts, OverlayPortal.tsx.

<ConfirmDialog open={open} title='Delete draft?' message='This permanently deletes the draft.'
  confirmLabel='Delete draft' tone='danger' pending={pending}
  onCancel={() => setOpen(false)} onConfirm={deleteDraft} />

The snippet assumes the source app’s imports/state handlers. It is not a standalone install. Observed app dependencies include React 19.2, React Router 7.18, Tailwind 4.3, Lingui 6.10.1 and local motion/session modules. The separate React starter avoids these app dependencies. Preserve controlled values separately from fetched data. Only validated public/member brand roles take tenant overrides; staff chrome remains Space Works.

Known limitations: Initial focus is DOM-first, not automatically the safest control or heading. Modal has no aria-describedby prop; give long content its own structure. ConfirmDialog does not await onConfirm or change pending text. Parent must preserve data and choose cancellation policy; backdrop/Escape can still invoke onClose while pending.

The standalone gallery uses local sample data/simulated outcomes. Without JS, ordinary content/controls and inline explanations remain; async/modal enhancements require JS. Native source is starter-only, not compiled here.

12. Related and maintenance

Drawer / Sheet · Button · Toast. Named patterns/layouts retain P1–P30/L1–L10 and screen backlinks. Fonts/licences, portable logo master and design-resource availability connect the assets; no public editable library or native component download is asserted.

Evidence: source inspection/captured hashes, not an app/site AT certificate. History: first dedicated contract for planned v2.1.0; no API removal introduced here. Release policy, migrations and contribution route govern maintenance.