ui [bug]: Sidebar seems incompatable with a header navigation

Describe the bug

I am building a dashboard and desire to have a header nav bar as well as the sidebar.

Problem:

Ideal:

All examples show the popular use case of a sidebar under a header.

Please let me know if my understanding on this is correct. As i write it may be the case: 1. this pattern may be redundant as the side bar may need to be used for primary navigation. 2. I may need to incorporate the site logo in the head of the sidebar

Affected component/components

Sidebar

How to reproduce

Set up a new next.js application
clear out the default page
add full width header with a logo on the far left and a login button on the far right
implement the header as presented in the documentation

The sidebar overlaps the header covering the site logo vs being a in the div below on the left side with the content on the right side all under the header nav.

Codesandbox/StackBlitz link

https://stackblitz.com/edit/stackblitz-starters-vqqoj5

Logs

No response

System Info

Stackblitz on Firefox and Chrome

Before submitting

[X] I've made research efforts and searched the documentation
[X] I've searched for existing issues

Oct 29 '24 20:10 youngclaude

This is expected with the fixed sidebar (not a bug). Let me add an example for doing navbar and sidebar.

Oct 30 '24 13:10 shadcn

Hey @youngclaude and @shadcn,

I attempted the header and sidebar integration based on the discussion: https://shadcn-10-30-24.vercel.app/

I made several modifications to the Sidebar component to resolve the overlapping issue with the header, and the solution seems to work effectively for my setup. Here are the key adjustments I implemented:

Added a top offset to the Sidebar:
```
<Sidebar className="top-[--header-height]" variant="inset" {...props}>
```
This ensures the sidebar is positioned below the header by offsetting it based on the header's height, preventing any overlap.

Defined the header height as a CSS variable within the body tag:

<body
  className={`${geistSans.variable} ${geistMono.variable} antialiased overflow-hidden`}
  style={{
    "--header-height": HEADER_HEIGHT,
  } as React.CSSProperties}
>

This allows us to reference the header height dynamically across different components.

Modified SidebarInset to factor in the header height:
```
<SidebarInset className="h-full peer-data-[variant=inset]:min-h-[calc(100svh-theme(spacing.4)-var(--header-height))]">
```
The SidebarInset adjustment ensures that the sidebar height takes into account the space occupied by the header, maintaining proper positioning without overlap.
Modified ScrollArea to factor in the double header height:
```
<ScrollArea className="h-[calc(100svh-theme(spacing.4)-(var(--header-height)*2))]">
  {children}
</ScrollArea>
```
The ScrollArea uses header-height * 2 because of the inner header within the SidebarInset, ensuring that the scrollable content respects both the main header and the additional inset header.
Set a high z-index for the NavigationMenu within the root layout header:
```
<NavigationMenu className="z-20">
```
This ensures that the navigation menu is displayed above the sidebar when hovering over the top header, even if the sidebar is open.

⚠️ These modifications might vary slightly depending on the sidebar variant being used. For this example, I used the 'inset' variant, so behavior may differ with other variants.

You can check out the repository for further details: shadcn-10-30-24.

If any of these adjustments seem useful, feel free to incorporate them into the project or let me know if you need further details. I'd be happy to collaborate or refine any part of this solution.

Oct 30 '24 21:10 Jacksonmills

@Jacksonmills Thanks for you're time on this. Fixed header + (fixed sidebar - header height) ≅ gives us the intended dashboard effect. I'll float another idea: there may be an opportunity to handle navigation entirely by taking in a nav bar as a prop/ child for the a parent 'Group'/ 'Provider' component.

Precedence for nesting UI elements already exists in ShadCN in elements like the RadioGroup, ResizablePanelGroup and TooltipProvider.

These elements show support for the pattern of not just deriving a stand-alone component but using a parent provider to ensure desired behavior of child components.

An example solution, using @Jacksonmills 's example, could be:

<ExperimentalNavigationProvider
   header={<MyHeader />}
   sidebar={ <MySidebar /> }
   body={ children }
   
   bodyVerticalScroll={true}
   gapSpacing={4}
/>

A solution like this would be great for dashboards, documentation pages and admin panel use-cases. I can add a feature request of @shadcn has interest.

Oct 31 '24 13:10 youngclaude

This is expected with the fixed sidebar (not a bug). Let me add an example for doing navbar and sidebar.

@shadcn, have you had a chance to write this up? I'm running into the same issue here.

Nov 11 '24 20:11 theDanielJLewis

Same issue for me as well. We have a full width header with a toggle (ignore the button alignment) . Seems like the panel that comes out on mobile doesn't respect the top header either.

Nov 15 '24 15:11 niemyjski

Would really love a solution to this 🙏

Nov 16 '24 11:11 SamStenner

I'm also looking forward to it with excitement. 🙏🙏

Nov 20 '24 06:11 berkhatirli

Same! It would be a game changer, we also have a header with a sidebar below it. The header will include a sidebar-toggle sort of icon to toggle the sidebar open when it's closed

Nov 20 '24 15:11 tommaso-moro

I'm working on sidebar-16 that will come with a sticky header nav

Nov 21 '24 01:11 Jacksonmills

let me know what you guys think

Nov 21 '24 02:11 Jacksonmills

good job @Jacksonmills , thank you. can you make another example like the first one. https://shadcn-10-30-24.vercel.app

Nov 21 '24 10:11 berkhatirli

good job @Jacksonmills , thank you. can you make another example like the first one. https://shadcn-10-30-24.vercel.app

Take a look at my PR, it introduces the new sidebar-16 block. This block features an inset-style sidebar with site header navigation, designed to match a similar style to: https://shadcn-10-30-24.vercel.app/. CLI support will allow adding it like any other sidebar block. ✨

Nov 21 '24 13:11 Jacksonmills

Is this released yet? @Jacksonmills

Nov 26 '24 17:11 alekfestekjian

Is this released yet? @Jacksonmills

Will have something for you guys to review in the next couple days!

Not released yet no

Nov 26 '24 18:11 Jacksonmills

😇please give example

Dec 04 '24 14:12 tshmieldev

@Jacksonmills Thanks for the effort of creating an example! I had a look at your PR and it seems your solution requires a fixed header height, which is then used to manipulate the top and padding-bottom css properties of the Sidebar. While this does work for the specific use-case of having a fixed height header, it does not work for wrapping the Sidebar Provider and its content in a container that is dynamically sized in height, if I am not mistaken?

Dec 04 '24 19:12 falkfrentzen

@Jacksonmills Thanks for the effort of creating an example! I had a look at your PR and it seems your solution requires a fixed header height, which is then used to manipulate the top and padding-bottom css properties of the Sidebar. While this does work for the specific use-case of having a fixed height header, it does not work for wrapping the Sidebar Provider and its content in a container that is dynamically sized in height, if I am not mistaken?

Correct, I played around with the header living inside the provider but it might require a bigger refactor to how the sidebar provider handles its children

Dec 04 '24 19:12 Jacksonmills

https://github.com/Jacksonmills/shadcn-10-30-24 Thank you, I tried this, navbar is okay, but the footer and sidebar overlap. How to put the sidebar inside the block?

I tried it with DataTable (https://ui.shadcn.com/docs/components/data-table), it breaks the table's responsiveness.

Dec 09 '24 01:12 minhvu7896

Is there an official recommended solution for this?

Dec 11 '24 00:12 maharshi365

Just wanted to add to the conversation as I ended up in this discussion having had the same issues as everyone else. I tried a bunch of things but couldn't get it to work with it not overlaying the footer. The offset for the navbar is easy enough, but it would be nice to have the component be able to work within the confines of both a global nav and footer.

For this project I just ended up building the sidebar myself as it was a pretty simple one and I am using it just for the accounts page. But, I would like to use the shadcn sidebar for other projects, but will run into the same issue. Hopefully there can be an option for this at some point as it seems like a very common use case to me and most of my projects I work on have a footer that the client wants.

I saw one comment suggesting taking in the nav and footer as props, which at first seemed like a great solution, but upon thinking and unless this is to somehow adjust the sidebar to fit within the bounds of those, I am not sure it will work. I assume taking in the props would be to render the Nav, Sidebar, Footer, but this would end up doubling printing them assuming the global layout has nav and footer already. I could see it working for uses where you wanted it on all routes, but often I only want a sidebar on certain routes.

I could easily be completely wrong also.

Wouldn't it be easier to just have an option where it acts like an aside within the body of the layout like I do when building one? Just for the container itself, and then still have all the amazing options available to work within that container.

Dec 18 '24 18:12 allreddv

I've also stumbled on this issue - while the offset hack works, it breaks overscroll (at least in Chrome on macOS) and looks disjointed when this happens. Having the option to use a variant with non-fixed positioning would be the great.

Dec 19 '24 09:12 ianmuscat

So I edited the Sidebar component itself. Offsets and other approaches don't quite fit my needs. Here's the part:

<div
  className={cn(
    "duration-200 fixed inset-y-0 z-10 hidden h-svh w-[--sidebar-width] transition-[left,right,width] ease-linear md:flex",
    side === "left"
      ? "left-0 group-data-[collapsible=offcanvas]:left-[calc(var(--sidebar-width)*-1)]"
      : "right-0 group-data-[collapsible=offcanvas]:right-[calc(var(--sidebar-width)*-1)]",
    // Adjust the padding for floating and inset variants.
    variant === "floating" || variant === "inset"
      ? "p-2 group-data-[collapsible=icon]:w-[calc(var(--sidebar-width-icon)_+_theme(spacing.4)_+2px)]"
      : "group-data-[collapsible=icon]:w-[--sidebar-width-icon] group-data-[side=left]:border-r group-data-[side=right]:border-l",
    className
  )}
  {...props}
>

Since I'm using the inset variant, I tweaked this portion into:

<div
  className={cn(
    "duration-200 absolute inset-y-0 z-10 hidden h-full w-[--sidebar-width] transition-[left,right,width] ease-linear md:flex",
    side === "left"
      ? "left-0 group-data-[collapsible=offcanvas]:left-[calc(var(--sidebar-width)*-1)]"
      : "right-0 group-data-[collapsible=offcanvas]:right-[calc(var(--sidebar-width)*-1)]",
    // Adjust the padding for floating and inset variants.
    variant === "floating" || variant === "inset"
      ? "top-[var(--header-height)] bottom-[var(--footer-height)] p-2 group-data-[collapsible=icon]:w-[calc(var(--sidebar-width-icon)_+_theme(spacing.4)_+2px)]"
      : "group-data-[collapsible=icon]:w-[--sidebar-width-icon] group-data-[side=left]:border-r group-data-[side=right]:border-l",
    // Handle collapsed state and dynamic width
    collapsible === "icon" && state === "collapsed"
      ? "w-[--sidebar-width-icon]"
      : "w-[--sidebar-width]",
    className
  )}
  {...props}
>
  <div
    data-sidebar="sidebar"
    className={cn(
      "flex h-full w-full flex-col bg-sidebar",
      "group-data-[variant=floating]:rounded-lg group-data-[variant=floating]:border group-data-[variant=floating]:border-sidebar-border group-data-[variant=floating]:shadow",
      // Hide overflow for collapsible icon state
      collapsible === "icon" && state === "collapsed"
        ? "overflow-hidden w-[--sidebar-width-icon]"
        : "w-full"
    )}
  >
    {children}
  </div>
</div>

Now I have it respect its parent container's boundaries.

Dec 26 '24 04:12 quarter-pounder

So I edited the Sidebar component itself. Offsets and other approaches don't quite fit my needs. Here's the part:

<div
  className={cn(
    "duration-200 fixed inset-y-0 z-10 hidden h-svh w-[--sidebar-width] transition-[left,right,width] ease-linear md:flex",
    side === "left"
      ? "left-0 group-data-[collapsible=offcanvas]:left-[calc(var(--sidebar-width)*-1)]"
      : "right-0 group-data-[collapsible=offcanvas]:right-[calc(var(--sidebar-width)*-1)]",
    // Adjust the padding for floating and inset variants.
    variant === "floating" || variant === "inset"
      ? "p-2 group-data-[collapsible=icon]:w-[calc(var(--sidebar-width-icon)_+_theme(spacing.4)_+2px)]"
      : "group-data-[collapsible=icon]:w-[--sidebar-width-icon] group-data-[side=left]:border-r group-data-[side=right]:border-l",
    className
  )}
  {...props}
>

Since I'm using the inset variant, I tweaked this portion into:

<div
  className={cn(
    "duration-200 absolute inset-y-0 z-10 hidden h-full w-[--sidebar-width] transition-[left,right,width] ease-linear md:flex",
    side === "left"
      ? "left-0 group-data-[collapsible=offcanvas]:left-[calc(var(--sidebar-width)*-1)]"
      : "right-0 group-data-[collapsible=offcanvas]:right-[calc(var(--sidebar-width)*-1)]",
    // Adjust the padding for floating and inset variants.
    variant === "floating" || variant === "inset"
      ? "top-[var(--header-height)] bottom-[var(--footer-height)] p-2 group-data-[collapsible=icon]:w-[calc(var(--sidebar-width-icon)_+_theme(spacing.4)_+2px)]"
      : "group-data-[collapsible=icon]:w-[--sidebar-width-icon] group-data-[side=left]:border-r group-data-[side=right]:border-l",
    // Handle collapsed state and dynamic width
    collapsible === "icon" && state === "collapsed"
      ? "w-[--sidebar-width-icon]"
      : "w-[--sidebar-width]",
    className
  )}
  {...props}
>
  <div
    data-sidebar="sidebar"
    className={cn(
      "flex h-full w-full flex-col bg-sidebar",
      "group-data-[variant=floating]:rounded-lg group-data-[variant=floating]:border group-data-[variant=floating]:border-sidebar-border group-data-[variant=floating]:shadow",
      // Hide overflow for collapsible icon state
      collapsible === "icon" && state === "collapsed"
        ? "overflow-hidden w-[--sidebar-width-icon]"
        : "w-full"
    )}
  >
    {children}
  </div>
</div>

Now I have it respect its parent container's boundaries.

This works great for me - had to add h-full to the rail to keep it working

Dec 26 '24 22:12 charlietlamb

first time trying the sidebar from shadcn i in my layout created a appsidebar which is in a div and that sidebar is acting very different from the div settings i set for sidebar. its working independent from the div i wrapped it around. its overlapping the header and footer . i am sad this component is half baked need more work its not ready to use properly for now like other components .

Jan 05 '25 13:01 navjot101

Hey 👋 same for me 😢 , I would have preferred the sidebar to fit its container and not overlap everything, need to completely override its styling to make it work..

Jan 20 '25 17:01 Yousria

@navjot101 It's due to the fixed class. That means it's positioned relative to the window, not any wrapper div https://tailwindcss.com/docs/position#fixed-positioning-elements. I ran into a similar problem. It's why it overlaps.

It would be nice if there was an option to toggle fixed built in to the provided component. For now you have to edit it. For example notice how @charlietlamb has changed fixed to absolute. That way it's instead positioned relative to its parent (well, that which has relative).

Jan 25 '25 23:01 gregmsanderson

I ended up here because I also tried to use the sidebar together with a header. I'm sure there are many others facing the same issue. It's unfortunate that the PR hasn't been merged yet, and I have to create my own sidebar.

Jan 26 '25 02:01 SvetoslavAsenov

PR seems to be merged, but the example on the live website no longer has the inset sidebar, does anyone know why?

Feb 09 '25 07:02 Zeryther

PR seems to be merged, but the example on the live website no longer has the inset sidebar, does anyone know why?

Probably for simplicity sake, I assume you can change the sidebar style just fine though?

Feb 09 '25 16:02 Jacksonmills

How can I use sidebar-16 in my project? Do I need to run a command similar to "npx shadcn@latest add sidebar"?

Feb 11 '25 15:02 emilycanas