4.7.0 (Feature release)

Note: This release was created from the support/4.x branch.

New features

Added the Exit This Page component to help users quickly exit a page or service

You can now choose to use the exit this page component to help users quickly leave a page or service which contains sensitive information.

This was added in pull request #2545: Add exit this page component.

Added inverse modifier for buttons on dark backgrounds

You can now choose to use the govuk-button--inverse class to style buttons on dark backgrounds with a white background colour.

This change was made in pull request #3556: Add inverse button styles.

Added inverse modifier for breadcrumbs on dark backgrounds

You can now choose to use the govuk-breadcrumbs--inverse class to style breadcrumbs on dark backgrounds with white text, links and arrows.

This change was made in pull request #3774: Add inverse breadcrumb and back link modifiers and styles.

Added inverse modifier for back links on dark backgrounds

You can now choose to use the govuk-back-link--inverse class to style back links on dark backgrounds with white links and arrows.

This change was made in pull request #3774: Add inverse breadcrumb and back link modifiers and styles.

Fixes

We’ve made fixes to GOV.UK Frontend in the following pull requests:

• #3817: Fix package resolution in Node.js 17+
• #3836: Announce whitespace in screen reader announcements of visually hidden text

4.6.0 (Feature release)

New features

Updated the appearance of disabled form controls

We’ve updated the disabled state of Text Input, Textarea, Select and File Upload components so it is consistent across browsers and devices. They’re also now consistent with the existing disabled styles for Buttons, Checkboxes, and Radios.

Disabled form controls appear at 50% opacity and with an alternative cursor appearance when hovered over.

This was added in pull request #3187: Add disabled styles for form controls.

Added a top-level disabled parameter to form controls

We’ve updated the Nunjucks macros for Text Input, Textarea, Select and File Upload components to include a top-level disabled parameter. This will make it easier to enable the disabled state for these controls.

{{ govukInput({
  id: "disabled-input",
  name: "disabled-input",
  value: "Unchangeable value",
  disabled: true
}) }}

Disabled form controls have poor contrast and can confuse some users, so avoid them if possible.

Only use disabled form controls if research shows it makes the user interface easier to understand.

This was added in pull request #3187: Add disabled styles for form controls.

Configure whether the Accordion remembers and restores sessions

By default, when a user leaves a page, the Accordion will remember the layout of expanded and collapsed sections selected by the user. If the user returns to the page, this layout will be restored and override any sections manually set as expanded in code.

You can now disable this functionality by using the rememberExpanded option in the govukAccordion Nunjucks macro.

If you're not using the Nunjucks macro, you can disable it using the data-remember-expanded HTML attribute.

This was added in pull request #3342: Add option to disable sessionState in Accordion.

Added id parameter to Buttons

We’ve updated the Button Nunjucks macro to include an optional id parameter.

{{ govukButton({
  text: "Save and continue",
  id: "continue-button"
}) }}

This was added in pull request #3344: Adding optional ‘id’ attribute to button component.

Thanks to Tom Billington for this contribution.

Added a modifier for text input styles that accept sequences of digits

We've added a new .govuk-input--extra-letter-spacing class for Text Input. This increases readability of text inputs that receive sequences of digits (like security codes, references or phone numbers).

You can add it through the classes option when using Nunjucks, or directly in the class attribute of the <input> when using HTML.

This was added in pull request #2230: Add extra letter spacing modifier for inputs

Deprecated features

Stop using JavaScript API properties other than the init method

We have deprecated all of the JavaScript properties in the API, except for the init method for each component. We'll make all of the deprecated JavaScript properties private in our next main release.

Please let us know if you're using parts of the API other than the init method by filling in this form. We'll use this information when prioritising future additions to the public API.

This was added in pull request #3499: Deprecate all JavaScript instance properties the except init method.

Stop using the .govuk-button--disabled class on buttons

We have deprecated the .govuk-button--disabled class and will remove it in the next major release.

If a Button uses a <button> or <input> element, use the disabled HTML attribute instead.

You will not need to make any changes if you're using the govukButton Nunjucks macro.

Disabling links that are styled to look like buttons will not be supported by future releases.

This was added in pull request #3326: Deprecate govuk-button--disabled class.

Stop using the deprecated Internet Explorer 8 mixins and settings

The next main release of GOV.UK Frontend will remove support for Internet Explorer 8 (IE8). In preparation for this, we've deprecated the settings and mixins used when generating IE8 specific stylesheets.

You'll start seeing deprecation warnings if you're:

• using the govuk-if-ie8 and govuk-not-ie8 mixins in your own Sass code (for example @include govuk-if-ie8)
• changing the $govuk-is-ie8 and $govuk-ie8-breakpoint settings to anything other than their default values

If you no longer need to support IE8, we recommend you stop generating an IE8 specific stylesheet and remove references to the IE8 mixins from your code.

You can also silence these deprecation warnings by adding ie8 to the $govuk-suppressed-warnings setting, but once we’ve released v5.0 you will need to address them as part of the upgrade process.

Fixes

We’ve made fixes to GOV.UK Frontend in the following pull requests:

• #3255: Including the JavaScript source map in the prototype kit config
• #3272: Add empty alt attribute to logo IE8 fallback PNG
• #3306: Re-enable complete hover link styles on the footer
• #3312: Add default value for warning text icon fallback attribute
• #3426: Add organisation brand colour for Department for Business & Trade - thanks to Barbara Slawinska for contributing this change
• #3454: Update default link underline offset setting

4.5.0 (Feature release)

New features

Use summary cards to visually separate multiple summary lists on a single page

You can now use the summary card. This new variant of the Summary list component can help you:

• design and build pages with multiple summary lists
• show visual dividers between summary lists
• allow users to apply actions to entire lists

This was added in pull request #2931: Add summary card enhancement to summary list.

Search within accordion content on supporting browsers

We've updated the Accordion component to use the new hidden="until-found" attribute value.

This allows the browser's native 'find in page' functionality to search within and automatically open sections of the accordion. Currently, this functionality is only supported by recent versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Samsung Internet.

This was added in pull requests:

• #3053: Enhance the Accordion component with hidden='until-found'
• #3095: Hide Accordion content (again) during .js-enabled page load

Source maps for precompiled files

You can now use source maps to help identify errors and console messages from GOV.UK Frontend precompiled files.

This was added in pull request #3023: Add source maps to compiled JavaScript and CSS.

Fixes

We've fixed errors in IE8 caused by updates to our precompiled JavaScript. The issue prevented some polyfills from running, but was limited to the release-v4.4.1.zip and release-v4.4.0.zip assets on GitHub releases:

• #3137: Enable UglifyJS compatibility workarounds
• #3013: Swap JavaScript minifier from UglifyJS to terser

We've made fixes to GOV.UK Frontend in the following pull requests:

• #2998: Refactor back link and breadcrumb chevrons to use ems
• #3021: Change colour for current page link in the header to improve contrast when printing - thanks to Malcolm Butler for the contribution
• #3094: Fix Accordion margin/padding inconsistencies
• #3112: Remove unused classList polyfill from header component JavaScript
• #3150: Add missing Event polyfill to accordion component JavaScript
• #3156: Correct the closing double quotes in pagination Nunjucks - thanks to Joanna Pinto Paul for the contribution
• #3199: Fix Sass rounding issues with width of grid columns

4.4.1 (Fix release)

Note: This release was created from the support/4.4.x branch.

Fixes

We've made fixes to GOV.UK Frontend in the following pull requests:

• #3087: Fix focus styles for links split over multiple lines in Chromium 108+ (Chrome 108+, Edge 108+, Opera 94+)

4.4.0 (Feature release)

New features

Change the Button component's background and text colour

For non-GOV.UK branded websites, you can now change the Button component background and text colour.

To change the Button component background colour, set the $govuk-button-background-colour Sass variable.

To change the Button component text colour, set the $govuk-button-text-colour Sass variable.

@import "node_modules/govuk-frontend/govuk/base";

$govuk-button-background-colour: govuk-colour("yellow");
$govuk-button-text-colour: govuk-colour("black");
@import "node_modules/govuk-frontend/govuk/components/button/index";

This was added in pull request #2752: Change the Button component background and text colour. Thanks to Nick Colley for this contribution.

Localise the navigation menu toggle button

When using the header Nunjucks macro, you can now translate the text of the mobile navigation menu toggle button by using the menuButtonText parameter.

You should avoid lengthy values for the menuButtonText parameter. If the text is too long it can overflow and cause visual issues.

This was added in pull request #2720: Add parameter to localise mobile menu toggle button.

Localise the character count's textarea description/fallback text

When using the character count Nunjucks macro, you can now translate the description of textarea by using the textareaDescriptionText option.

This text is announced by screen readers when the character count input is focused. It's also displayed visually as a fallback if JavaScript is not available.

This was added in pull request #2742: Add ability to customise character count fallback text, and the option renamed to textareaDescriptionText in pull request #2915.

Localise the character count's counter message

You can now translate the text shown by the character count component to inform users of:

• when they have reached the maximum number of characters or words
• the number of characters or words over or under the allowed maximum

The Nunjucks macro accepts new options so you can customise each message. You can:

• Use charactersAtLimitText or wordsAtLimitText to provide the text that shows when users have reached the limit.
• Use charactersUnderLimitText or wordsUnderLimitText to provide the text that shows when users are under the limit. The component will pluralise the message according to the configured locale and the number of characters or words remaining.
• Use charactersOverLimitText or wordsOverLimitText to provide the text that shows when users are over the limit. The component will pluralise the message according to the configured locale and the number of characters or words remaining.

You'll find guidance about the plural forms in our documentation about localising GOV.UK Frontend. The component will replace %{count} with the number of characters over or under the limit.

If you're not using Nunjucks macros, you can use data-* attributes to provide these translations. Within the attribute value, any quotation marks or other characters reserved by HTML needs to be converted into their HTML entity equivalents.

You can:

• use data-i18n.characters-at-limit or data-i18n.words-at-limit for when users are at the limit
• configure the text that informs the end user they are under the character or word limit, by using data-i18n.characters-under-limit.{other,many,few,two,one,zero} or data-i18n.words-under-limit.{other,many,few,two,one,zero}, with one suffix for each plural form required by your locale
• configure the text that informs the end user they are over the character or word limit, by using data-i18n.characters-over-limit.{other,many,few,two,one,zero} or data-i18n.words-over-limit.{other,many,few,two,one,zero}, with one suffix for each plural form required by your locale

You can also provide these messages using a JavaScript configuration object when creating an instance of the component or initialising all components. See our guidance on localising GOV.UK Frontend for how to do this.

This was added in the following pull requests:

• #2895 Add macro options to configure CharacterCount translations
• #2887 Allow CharacterCount component to receive i18n config via JS

Localise the character count's input description for assistive technologies

When configuring the character count's limit in JavaScript, you can customise the description provided to assistive technologies when users focus the input (so it indicates the overall limit of characters or words).

Depending on the plural form required by your locale, you can pass the description in the HTML using the data-i18n.textarea-description.{other,many,few,two,one,zero} attribute on the element to provide the text to set as the description.

You can also provide these messages using a JavaScript configuration object when creating an instance of the component or initialising all components. See our guidance on localising GOV.UK Frontend for how to do this.

This was added in pull request #2915.

Localise the accordion's toggle buttons

You can now translate the text of the accordion component's show and hide toggle buttons.

When using the Nunjucks macro, you can use the new showSectionText and hideSectionText parameters to customise the text of the 'show' and 'hide' toggles in each section.

You can also use showAllSectionsText and hideAllSectionsText parameters to customise the text of the toggle at the top of the accordion.

If you're not using the Nunjucks macro, you can customise these using data-* attributes. Within the attribute value, any quotation marks or other characters reserved by HTML needs to be converted into their HTML entity equivalents.

• data-i18n.show-section
• data-i18n.show-section-aria-label
• data-i18n.hide-section
• data-i18n.hide-section-aria-label
• data-i18n.show-all-sections
• data-i18n.hide-all-sections

You can also change this text for all instances of the Accordion using a JavaScript configuration object. See our guidance on localising GOV.UK Frontend for how to do this.

This was added in pull requests:

• #2818: Add support for localisation via data-* attributes to Accordion component
• #2826: Add support for localisation via JavaScript configuration to Accordion component

Suppress deprecation warnings

You can now suppress warnings from deprecations within GOV.UK Frontend by updating the $govuk-suppressed-warnings map in Sass. Every deprecation warning will now include a warning "key" which you can use in the following code, placed at the root of your sass project:

$govuk-suppressed-warnings: (
  deprecated-feature
);

This was added in #2911 Add warning suppression functionality

Configure components in JavaScript

JavaScript components can get the same configuration options in 2 ways - through data attributes, as before, and now when creating an instance. These components are:

• the Button component, for its preventDoubleClick option (matching data-prevent-double-click)
• the CharacterCount component, for its maxlength, maxwords and threshold options (matching data-maxlength, data-maxwords and data-threshold, respectively)
• the ErrorSummary component, for its disableAutoFocus option (matching data-disable-auto-focus)
• the NotificationBanner component, for its disableAutoFocus option (matching data-disable-auto-focus)

You can leave out these configuration options when using the Nunjucks macro and provide configuration when:

• creating a component, in a configuration object as second argument
• initialising components in bulk using initAll

For example:

// Creating a single instance
var button = document.querySelector('[data-module="button"]')
new GOVUKFrontend.Button(button, {preventDoubleClick: true})

// Or initialising components in bulk
GOVUKFrontend.initAll({
  button: {
    preventDoubleClick: true
  }
  // Or, for the other components,
  // characterCount: {/* options */},
  // errorSummary: {/* options */},
  // notificationBanner: {/* options */}
})

You can find more information about component configuration in GOV.UK Frontend documentation.

This was added in pull requests specific for each components:

• NotificationBanner – #2843
• ErrorSummary – #2854
• Button – #2867
• CharacterCount – #2883

Recommended changes

Update the HTML for the error summary

If you're not using the Nunjucks macros, you can improve the experience for screen reader users by making these changes to the error summary markup:

• Remove aria-labelledby="error-summary-title" and role="alert" from the parent element (govuk-error-summary)
• Add a div wrapper around the contents of govuk-error-summary with the attribute role="alert"
• Remove id="error-summary-title" from the error summary h2 (govuk-error-summary__title)

This will enable screen reader users to have a better, more coherent experience with the error summary. It will make sure users of JAWS 2022 or later will hear the entire contents of the error summary on page load and therefore have further context on why there is an error on the page they're on.

This was added in pull request #2677: Amend error summary markup to fix page load focus bug in JAWS 2022.

Deprecated features

Stop using the compatibility mode settings

In GOV.UK Frontend v5.0 we will stop supporting compatibility with legacy codebases. We are therefore deprecating the compatibility mode variables associated with legacy codebases:

• $govuk-compatibility-govukfrontendtoolkit
• $govuk-compatibility-govuktemplate
• $govuk-compatibility-govukelements

This was introduced in pull request #2882: Deprecate compatibility mode settings.

Stop using settings associated with legacy codebases

In GOV.UK Frontend v5.0 we will stop supporting compatibility with legacy codebases. As part of this, we're deprecating settings controlled by compatibility mode variables. This includes the govuk-compatibility mixin and the following settings:

• $govuk-use-legacy-palette
• $govuk-use-legacy-font
• $govuk-typography-use-rem
• $govuk-font-family-tabular

This was introduced in pull request #2844: Remove compatibility mode from govuk-frontend.

Fixes

In pull request 2851: Support Prototype Kit v13 we've introduced support for the plugins system included in the upcoming Prototype Kit v13.

We've made fixes to GOV.UK Frontend in the following pull requests:

• #2807: Tidy up and refactor the Character Count JavaScript
• #2811: Use Element.id to get module id for accordion
• #2821: Avoid duplicated --error class on Character Count
• #2800: Improve Pagination component print styles
• #2909: Fix JavaScript errors when entering text into the Character Count in IE8

4.3.1 (Patch release)

Recommended changes

Replace deprecated govuk-!-margin-static and govuk-!-padding-static classes

We've fixed an error in the naming convention of the static spacing override classes we'd introduced in v4.3.0. These classes should start with govuk-!-static, and we've now deprecated the incorrect classes.

If you're using the static spacing margin override classes, replace any classes starting with govuk-!-margin-static with govuk-!-static-margin. For example: govuk-!-margin-static-2 would become govuk-!-static-margin-2.

If you're using the static spacing padding override classes, replace any classes starting with govuk-!-padding-static with govuk-!-static-padding. For example: govuk-!-padding-static-2 would become govuk-!-static-padding-2.

We've deprecated the govuk-!-margin-static and govuk-!-padding-static classes, and will remove them in a future major release.

This change was introduced in pull request #2770: Fix ordering of properties in static spacing override classes. Thanks to @garrystewart for reporting this issue.

Fixes

We’ve made fixes to GOV.UK Frontend in the following pull requests:

• #2766: Remove unused console.log calls from accordion JavaScript

4.3.0 (Feature release)

New features

Customise the Open Graph image URL without duplicate meta tags

You can now customise the Open Graph image URL included in the head by setting the opengraphImageUrl Nunjucks option.

Also, the default Open Graph image URL meta tag will now only be included if you set the either opengraphImageUrl or assetUrl.

This was added in pull request #2673: Allow Open Graph image URL to be customised.

Localise the content licence and copyright statements

When using the footer Nunjucks macro, you can now translate the text of the Open Government Licence (OGL) and Crown copyright statements using the contentLicence and copyright parameters.

Visit The National Archives' documentation on OGL and Crown copyright for information on what you need to include in these statements.

This was added in pull request #2702: Allow localisation of content licence and copyright notices in Footer.

Pass HTML directly into compatible components

If using the Nunjucks macros, you can now pass HTML content directly into compatible components using the Nunjucks call syntax. If HTML is provided through the call syntax, the nunjucks macro will ignore the HTML and text options.

Components updated to support this syntax are:

• Details
• Error summary (mapped to descriptionHtml parameter)
• Inset text
• Notification banner
• Panel

This was added in pull request #2734: Update various components to be callable.

Use new override classes to apply static spacing

You can now use static spacing override classes to apply spacing from the static spacing scale to elements of your design.

The new classes start with: govuk-!-static- followed by either margin- or padding-, and then a spacing unit number.

To apply spacing in a single direction, include left-, right-, top-, or bottom- just before the spacing unit.

For example:

• govuk-!-static-margin-9 will apply a 60px margin to all sides of the element at all screen sizes
• govuk-!-static-padding-right-5 will apply 25px of padding to the right side of the element at all screen sizes
• govuk-!-static-margin-0 will remove all margins at all screen sizes

This was added in pull request #2672: Add static spacing override classes. Thanks to @patrickpatrickpatrick for this contribution.

Deprecated features

Remove deprecated govuk-header__navigation--no-service-name class in the header

We've deprecated the govuk-header__navigation--no-service-name class, and will remove it in a future major release.

This was added in pull request #2694: Deprecate .govuk-header__navigation--no-service-name.

Recommended changes

We've recently made some non-breaking changes to GOV.UK Frontend. Implementing these changes will make your service work better.

Add hidden to the mobile menu button in the header component

If you're not using the Nunjucks macros, add the hidden attribute to the mobile menu button in the header component. The mobile menu button is govuk-header__menu-button.

We've changed the header's mobile menu functionality to use the hidden attribute instead of using CSS to show/hide the mobile menu. Adding hidden to the mobile menu button by default will make sure that it does not display for users when javascript does not load.

This was added in pull request 2727: Make use of hidden in header navigation functionality. Thanks to @NickColley and @kr8n3r for their contributions.

Fixes

In pull request 2678: Replace ex units with ems for input lengths, we changed how we define input lengths in our CSS. Browsers might now display these inputs as being slightly wider than before. The difference is usually fewer than 3 pixels.

We’ve also made fixes in the following pull requests:

• #2668: Fix Summary List action link alignment
• #2670: Define minimum width for select component - thanks @Nosfistis for reporting this issue
• #2723: Style accordion and tabs text content with govuk-body class
• #2724: Remove redundant aria-hidden attribute from the content when using the Details polyfill
• #2725: Remove padding-right from last column in summary list row - thanks @edwardhorsford for reporting this issue and suggesting a fix
• #2737: Avoid unnecessary spacing-related media queries
• #2747: Ensure accordion uses overriden focus colour - thanks @NickColley for reporting this issue and suggesting a fix

4.2.0 (Feature release)

New features

Help users navigate through pages with pagination

You can now use pagination to help users navigate forwards and backwards through a series of pages. For example, in search results or guidance that's divided into multiple website pages.

This was added in pull request #2610: Add pagination component.

Check checkboxes by using the values Nunjucks option

When using the govukCheckboxes Nunjucks macro, you can now use the values option to determine which checkboxes should already be checked when the page loads.

For example, values: ['red', 'blue'] would check any checkboxes that have a value of 'red' or 'blue'.

You can use this option instead of setting the boolean checked option on each individual checkbox.

This change was introduced in pull request #2616: Allow selecting options by passing current values.

Check a radio button by using the value Nunjucks option

When using the govukRadios Nunjucks macro, you can now use the value option to determine which radio should already be checked when the page loads.

For example, value: 'red' would check the radio that has a value of 'red'.

You can use this option instead of setting the boolean checked option on each individual radio.

This change was introduced in pull request #2616: Allow selecting options by passing current values.

Select an option in a select by using the value Nunjucks option

When using the govukSelect Nunjucks macro, you can now use the value option to determine which option should already be selected when the page loads.

For example, value: 'red' would select the option that has a value of 'red'.

You can use this option instead of setting the boolean selected option on each individual option.

This change was introduced in pull request #2616: Allow selecting options by passing current values.

Recommended changes

Replace deprecated govuk-header__link--service-name class in the header

If you're not using the Nunjucks macros in the header, replace any instances of the class govuk-header__link--service-name with govuk-header__service-name.

We've deprecated the govuk-header__link--service-name class, and will remove it in a future major release.

This change was introduced in pull request #2617: Do not make the service name in the header a link if no serviceUrl is provided.

File extensions added for JavaScript ES Module imports

We have updated our component ES module JavaScript to include missing file extensions not provided in release 4.1.0. If you have received an error similar to the following, for example when running or building your application, this fix should resolve the issue.

Cannot find module '../node_modules/govuk-frontend/govuk-esm/common' imported from ../node_modules/govuk-frontend/govuk-esm/all.mjs

You should not need to make any changes if you are successfully importing our JavaScript as ES modules with version 4.1.0, but there still might be config you can remove. For example, removing fullySpecified: false from your Webpack config file.

This change was introduced in pull request #2658: Add missing mandatory file extensions for ESM JavaScript. Thanks to @colinrotherham and @tvararu for reporting issues and suggesting and testing fixes.

Fixes

We’ve made fixes to GOV.UK Frontend in the following pull requests:

• #2617: Do not make the service name in the header a link if no serviceUrl is provided
• #2640: Add top padding to accordion section
• #2644: Allow users to use require.resolve to import GOV.UK Frontend JavaScript - thanks to @HughePaul for reporting this issue and testing the fix
• #2647: Allow users to import sass files via Webpack sass-loader - thanks to @Garethp for reporting this issue, and to @Garethp and @richpjames for testing the fix
• #2659: Add missing label and legend classes to HTML fixtures

4.1.0 (Feature release)

New features