Link
1. Title and support strip
Section titled “1. Title and support strip”Navigate to a named destination or resource. Stable ID: SWC-link; source IDs: P11, P3, S6, L4, 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
Section titled “2. Use it for / choose something else”Use for a route, Back link, download or in-page destination. Use Button for save, reveal or mutation; a visual text action can still be a button.
Extracted source contract: P11 — P11. Buttons · P3 — P3. Detail header with back link, identity chip and underline tabs (R7–R10) · S6 — S6. Inventory item detail ← R7 (detail header + tabs) + R5 (settings rows, danger zone) · L4 — L4. DetailLayout — back + identity + title/status/meta + actions + underline tabs + main/aside (R7–R10) · 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
Section titled “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#link. 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.
<a href="#main-content">View the first-screen example</a>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
Section titled “4. Anatomy”Numbered reading-order diagram: [1] → [2] → [3] → [4]. Slots and name ownership:
- Anchor with real href: required destination.
- Visible descriptive text: owns its name.
- Optional external indicator: supplementary to a clear destination.
- Current-page marker: aria-current when used in navigation.
5. Variants
Section titled “5. Variants”Inline text link; detail Back link; navigation current link; external/new-tab link; download. RouteLink chooses router navigation only for eligible internal URLs. It is not a disabled-link widget.
| Variant | Choose it for |
|---|---|
| Inline / back | A text destination or return to list context. |
| Route / external | Client route when eligible / ordinary browser link for external, hash or new-tab destinations. |
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
Section titled “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 | Explicit surface/muted/line colours and an understandable prerequisite. | Use native disabled where supported; aria-disabled requires event guards. Consult §11 for unsupported props. |
| 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 | The destination region owns route loading; href remains meaningful. | RouteLink has no loading prop. Product supplies title and route focus. |
| Empty | N/A — an action/destination is not a result collection; an empty label is invalid. | 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 | Destination errors belong to the destination error region. | Retain a working Back/retry route; Link itself does not fetch. |
| 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
Section titled “7. Specifications and tokens”Use accent-ink for text, an underline in prose, and a focus ring with offset. Inline links can use the inline target-size exception; standalone navigation targets follow the 44 px house rule. Allow long labels and URLs to wrap.
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
Section titled “8. Interaction / accessibility”Tab / Shift+Tab: visit href anchors. Enter: follow. Space scrolls, as for a native link. Preserve open-in-new-tab, copy-link and modified-click behaviour. Route changes require product title and focus handling.
| Key / input | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Tab / Enter | Visit href link / follow destination. |
| Space / modified clicks | Native scroll / browser navigation behaviours, not button activation. |
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
Section titled “9. Content”Name the destination (“Member account”), rather than “Click here”. Explain a new tab when it matters, with an external indicator as required by the UX quality bar. Downloads identify format and size when 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
Section titled “10. Do / don’t”| Do | Don’t / why |
|---|---|
| Use a real href and retain the browser context menu. | Do not put a save mutation in href=‘#’ or treat aria-disabled alone as click prevention. |
| 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
Section titled “11. Implementation”Observed API: RouteLink accepts AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement>. Inside a router, a single-leading-slash href without target=‘_blank’ uses TransitionLink; other hrefs use an anchor. React Router and the app motion module are dependencies. No loading, disabled or readOnly prop is defined.
App source, reference only: frontend/src/components/ui/RouteLink.tsx. Inspected in the supplied int-stage-r2final worktree; uncommitted content may differ from upstream main. Implementation snapshot records exact file hashes. Neighbours: shared types, desk CSS and motion modules.
<RouteLink href='/member/account' aria-current='page'>Account</RouteLink>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: RouteLink does not implement route titles, focus restoration or status feedback. An anchor without href is not a functional link. ActionControl deliberately removes href for blocked actions; products must explain the reason and expose an accessible alternative.
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
Section titled “12. Related and maintenance”Button · Tabs · Menu. 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.