JavaScript
Bring Bootstrap to life with our optional JavaScript plugins built on jQuery. Learn about each plugin, our data and programmatic API options, and more.
Individual or compiled
Plugins can be included individually (using Bootstrap’s individual *.js
files), or all at once using bootstrap.js
or the minified bootstrap.min.js
(don’t include both).
Dependencies
Some plugins and CSS components depend on other plugins. If you include plugins individually, make sure to check for these dependencies in the docs. Also note that all plugins depend on jQuery (this means jQuery must be included before the plugin files). Consult our bower.json
to see which versions of jQuery are supported.
Our tooltips and popovers also depend on Popper.js.
Data attributes
Nearly all Bootstrap plugins can be enabled and configured through HTML alone with data attributes (our preferred way of using JavaScript functionality). Be sure to only use one set of data attributes on a single element (e.g., you cannot trigger a tooltip and modal from the same button.)
However, in some situations it may be desirable to disable this functionality. To disable the data attribute API, unbind all events on the document namespaced with data-api
like so:
Alternatively, to target a specific plugin, just include the plugin’s name as a namespace along with the data-api namespace like this:
Events
Bootstrap provides custom events for most plugins’ unique actions. Generally, these come in an infinitive and past participle form - where the infinitive (ex. show
) is triggered at the start of an event, and its past participle form (ex. shown
) is triggered on the completion of an action.
All infinitive events provide preventDefault()
functionality. This provides the ability to stop the execution of an action before it starts. Returning false from an event handler will also automatically call preventDefault()
.
Programmatic API
We also believe you should be able to use all Bootstrap plugins purely through the JavaScript API. All public APIs are single, chainable methods, and return the collection acted upon.
All methods should accept an optional options object, a string which targets a particular method, or nothing (which initiates a plugin with default behavior):
Each plugin also exposes its raw constructor on a Constructor
property: $.fn.popover.Constructor
. If you’d like to get a particular plugin instance, retrieve it directly from an element: $('[rel="popover"]').data('popover')
.
Asynchronous functions and transitions
All programmatic API methods are asynchronous and returns to the caller once the transition is started but before it ends.
In order to execute an action once the transition is complete, you can listen to the corresponding event.
In addition a method call on a transitioning component will be ignored.
Default settings
You can change the default settings for a plugin by modifying the plugin’s Constructor.Default
object:
No conflict
Sometimes it is necessary to use Bootstrap plugins with other UI frameworks. In these circumstances, namespace collisions can occasionally occur. If this happens, you may call .noConflict
on the plugin you wish to revert the value of.
Version numbers
The version of each of Bootstrap’s jQuery plugins can be accessed via the VERSION
property of the plugin’s constructor. For example, for the tooltip plugin:
No special fallbacks when JavaScript is disabled
Bootstrap’s plugins don’t fall back particularly gracefully when JavaScript is disabled. If you care about the user experience in this case, use <noscript>
to explain the situation (and how to re-enable JavaScript) to your users, and/or add your own custom fallbacks.
Third-party libraries
Bootstrap does not officially support third-party JavaScript libraries like Prototype or jQuery UI. Despite .noConflict
and namespaced events, there may be compatibility problems that you need to fix on your own.
Util
All Bootstrap’s JavaScript files depend on util.js
and it has to be included alongside the other JS files. If you’re using the compiled (or minified) bootstrap.js
, there is no need to include this—it’s already there.
util.js
includes utility functions and a basic helper for transitionEnd
events as well as a CSS transition emulator. It’s used by the other plugins to check for CSS transition support and to catch hanging transitions.