Dynamic datalist Web Component

Web component that enables you to dynamically update a field’s datalist with values retrieved from a URL as the user types

Demos

• Live Demo (Source)
• Unpkg Demo (Source)
• ESM.sh Demo (Source)

Installation

npm install @aarongustafson/dynamic-datalist

Usage

Option 1: Import the class and define manually

Import the class and register the element with your preferred tag name:

import { DynamicDatalistElement } from '@aarongustafson/dynamic-datalist';

customElements.define('my-datalist', DynamicDatalistElement);

Option 2: Auto-define the custom element (browser environments only)

Use the guarded definition helper to register the element when customElements is available:

import '@aarongustafson/dynamic-datalist/define.js';

If you prefer to control when the element is registered, call the helper directly:

import { defineDynamicDatalist } from '@aarongustafson/dynamic-datalist/define.js';

defineDynamicDatalist();

You can also include the guarded script from HTML:

<script src="./node_modules/@aarongustafson/dynamic-datalist/define.js" type="module"></script>

Basic Example (GET Request)

Wrap an input element with <dynamic-datalist> and specify an endpoint:

<dynamic-datalist endpoint="/api/search">
  <input type="text" name="search" placeholder="Type to search..." />
</dynamic-datalist>

This will make a GET request to /api/search?query=WHAT_THE_USER_TYPED.

POST Request

<dynamic-datalist endpoint="/api/search" method="post">
  <input type="text" name="search" placeholder="Type to search..." />
</dynamic-datalist>

This will make a POST request with JSON body: { "query": "WHAT_THE_USER_TYPED" }.

Custom Variable Name

<dynamic-datalist endpoint="/api/search" key="term">
  <input type="text" name="search" placeholder="Type to search..." />
</dynamic-datalist>

This will send the query as /api/search?term=WHAT_THE_USER_TYPED (GET) or { "term": "..." } (POST).

Using Existing Datalist

If your input already has a datalist, the component will use and update it:

<dynamic-datalist endpoint="/api/cities">
  <input type="text" list="cities-list" placeholder="Type a city..." />
  <datalist id="cities-list">
    <option>New York</option>
    <option>Los Angeles</option>
    <option>Los Angeles</option>
    <option>Chicago</option>
  </datalist>
</dynamic-datalist>

The component will preserve and update the existing datalist instead of creating a new one.

API Response Format

Your endpoint should return JSON in this format:

{
  "options": [
    "option 1",
    "option 2",
    "option 3"
  ]
}

Attributes

Events

The component fires custom events that you can listen to:

Example Event Handling

const element = document.querySelector('dynamic-datalist');

element.addEventListener('dynamic-datalist:update', (event) => {
  console.log('Received options:', event.detail.options);
});

element.addEventListener('dynamic-datalist:error', (event) => {
  console.error('Error fetching options:', event.detail.error);
});

Import Options

Auto-define (Recommended)

import '@aarongustafson/dynamic-datalist/define.js';
// Registers <dynamic-datalist> when customElements is available

You can also call the helper manually:

import { defineDynamicDatalist } from '@aarongustafson/dynamic-datalist/define.js';

defineDynamicDatalist();

Manual Registration

import { DynamicDatalistElement } from '@aarongustafson/dynamic-datalist';

customElements.define('my-datalist', DynamicDatalistElement);

Browser Support

This component uses modern web standards:

• Custom Elements v1
• ES Modules
• Fetch API
• URLSearchParams

For older browsers, you may need polyfills.

Migration from jQuery Plugin

This component replaces my older jQuery plugin jquery.easy-predictive-typing.js.

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run tests
npm test

# Run tests with coverage
npm run test:coverage

# View demo
open demo/index.html

License

MIT © Aaron Gustafson