Implementing Command Palettes

Overview

Command palettes (Cmd+K / Ctrl+K) need precise keyboard navigation, scroll behavior, and stable references to avoid re-render loops. This skill covers the mechanical patterns that make command palettes feel responsive.

When to Use

• Building a Cmd+K command palette in React
• Implementing arrow key navigation with visual selection
• Keeping selected items visible during keyboard navigation
• Filtering commands by label text AND keyboard shortcuts
• Experiencing infinite re-renders when commands update

Quick Reference

| Feature | Implementation | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | Arrow navigation | Track selectedIndex, clamp with Math.min/max | | Keep in view | scrollIntoView({ block: 'nearest', behavior: 'smooth' }) | | Shortcut matching | Strip spaces from shortcuts, match against query | | Stable icons | Define icon elements outside component | | Stable handlers | useCallback + noop constant for disabled states |

Keyboard Navigation

Critical: Wrapper Pattern for Conditional Rendering

This is the most common source of bugs. The keyboard effect must ONLY run when the palette is open. Use a wrapper component:

tsx
// Wrapper ensures effects only run when open
export function CommandPalette(props: CommandPaletteProps) {
  if (!props.isOpen) return null;
  return <CommandPaletteContent {...props} />;
}

// Content component - effects run on mount/unmount
function CommandPaletteContent({ onClose, ... }: CommandPaletteProps) {
  // Effects here only run when palette is visible
  useEffect(() => {
    const handleKeyDown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => { ... };
    window.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
    return () => window.removeEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
  }, [deps]);

  return <div>...</div>;
}

Why this matters:

• If you put if (!isOpen) return null AFTER useEffect hooks, the effects still run when closed
• This causes keyboard listeners to be registered even when palette is invisible
• The wrapper pattern ensures effects only run when the component actually renders

Input Focus + Window Listener Pattern

The input MUST be focused (for typing to work), and keyboard navigation MUST use window.addEventListener. This works because:

• The window listener receives keydown events for ALL keys
• Arrow keys don't insert text into inputs, so e.preventDefault() just stops page scrolling
• Regular character keys still reach the input for typing

tsx
// Input with autoFocus - NOT setTimeout focus
<input
  autoFocus
  type="text"
  value={query}
  onChange={(e) => {
    setQuery(e.target.value);
    setSelectedIndex(0); // Reset to first item when query changes
  }}
/>

Index Management

tsx
const [selectedIndex, setSelectedIndex] = useState(0);

useEffect(() => {
  if (!isOpen) return;

  const handleKeyDown = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
    switch (e.key) {
      case 'ArrowDown':
        e.preventDefault();
        // Clamp to last item
        setSelectedIndex((prev) => Math.min(prev + 1, filteredItems.length - 1));
        break;
      case 'ArrowUp':
        e.preventDefault();
        // Clamp to first item
        setSelectedIndex((prev) => Math.max(prev - 1, 0));
        break;
      case 'Enter':
        e.preventDefault();
        if (filteredItems[selectedIndex]) {
          executeCommand(filteredItems[selectedIndex]);
          close();
        }
        break;
      case 'Escape':
        e.preventDefault();
        close();
        break;
    }
  };

  // NO capture phase needed - simple window listener works with focused input
  window.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
  return () => window.removeEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown);
}, [isOpen, filteredItems, selectedIndex, close]);

Key patterns:

• e.preventDefault() stops arrow keys from scrolling the page
• Math.min/max prevents index going out of bounds
• Effect depends on filteredItems so navigation updates when filter changes
• Use autoFocus on input, NOT setTimeout(() => ref.current?.focus(), 0)

Keeping Selected Item in View

Using Refs Array

tsx
const itemRefs = useRef<(HTMLButtonElement | null)[]>([]);

// Scroll effect - runs when selection changes
useEffect(() => {
  const selectedItem = itemRefs.current[selectedIndex];
  if (selectedItem) {
    selectedItem.scrollIntoView({
      block: 'nearest', // Minimal scroll - only scroll if needed
      behavior: 'smooth', // Smooth animation
    });
  }
}, [selectedIndex]);

// Assign refs in render
{
  filteredItems.map((item, index) => (
    <button
      key={index}
      ref={(el) => {
        itemRefs.current[index] = el;
      }}
      className={index === selectedIndex ? 'bg-blue-100' : ''}
    >
      {item.label}
    </button>
  ));
}

Alternative: Single Ref for Selected Item

tsx
const selectedItemRef = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(null);

useEffect(() => {
  if (isOpen && selectedItemRef.current) {
    selectedItemRef.current.scrollIntoView({
      block: 'nearest',
      behavior: 'smooth',
    });
  }
}, [isOpen, selectedIndex]);

// Only assign ref to selected item
<button
  ref={index === selectedIndex ? selectedItemRef : null}
>

Why block: 'nearest'?

• 'nearest' only scrolls if the element is outside the visible area
• 'center' would scroll even when item is already visible, causing jarring movement
• 'start' or 'end' would always align to top/bottom

Filtering with Shortcut Matching

tsx
const filteredCommands = commands.filter((command) => {
  const q = query.toLowerCase().trim();
  if (!q) return true;

  // Standard label matching
  if (command.label.toLowerCase().includes(q)) return true;

  // Shortcut matching: "gd" matches "g d", "gb" matches "g b"
  if (command.shortcut) {
    const shortcutNoSpaces = command.shortcut.toLowerCase().replace(/\s+/g, '');
    if (shortcutNoSpaces.startsWith(q) || shortcutNoSpaces.includes(q)) {
      return true;
    }
  }

  // For numbered items (PRs, issues), match by number
  if (command.type === 'pr') {
    const numberMatch = q.match(/^#?(\d+)$/);
    if (numberMatch) {
      return String(command.pr.number).startsWith(numberMatch[1]);
    }
  }

  return false;
});

Why strip spaces from shortcuts? Users type continuously without spaces. Shortcut "g d" should match when user types "gd".

Preventing Re-Render Loops

Command palettes often suffer from infinite re-renders when command objects are recreated every render.

Problem: Unstable References

tsx
// BAD: Icons recreated every render
function usePageCommands() {
  const commands = useMemo(
    () => [
      {
        label: 'Sync',
        icon: <RefreshCw size={16} />, // New element every render!
        action: () => onSync(), // New function every render!
      },
    ],
    [onSync]
  ); // Even with deps, icon is new

  useRegisterCommands(commands); // Triggers re-registration → re-render loop
}

Solution: Stable References

tsx
// GOOD: Icons defined OUTSIDE component
const refreshIcon = <RefreshCw size={16} />;
const refreshSpinIcon = <RefreshCw size={16} className="animate-spin" />;
const noop = () => {};

function usePageCommands({ onSync, isSyncing }: Props) {
  // Memoize handlers
  const handleSync = useCallback(() => onSync?.(), [onSync]);

  const commands = useMemo(
    () => [
      {
        label: isSyncing ? 'Syncing...' : 'Sync',
        icon: isSyncing ? refreshSpinIcon : refreshIcon, // Stable references
        action: isSyncing ? noop : handleSync, // noop, not undefined
      },
    ],
    [isSyncing, handleSync]
  );

  useRegisterCommands(commands);
}

Label-Based Change Detection

Instead of comparing object references, compare by labels:

tsx
export function useRegisterCommands(commands: CommandItem[]) {
  const { registerCommands, unregisterCommands } = useCommandPalette();

  // Create stable ID based on LABELS, not object references
  const commandIds = useMemo(
    () =>
      commands
        .map((c) => {
          if (c.type === 'nav') return `nav:${c.path}`;
          return `action:${c.label}`;
        })
        .sort()
        .join('|'),
    [commands]
  );

  const commandsRef = useRef<CommandItem[]>(commands);
  useEffect(() => {
    commandsRef.current = commands;
  });

  const prevIdsRef = useRef<string>('');

  useEffect(() => {
    // Only register if structure actually changed
    if (commandIds !== prevIdsRef.current) {
      registerCommands(commandsRef.current);
      prevIdsRef.current = commandIds;
      return () => unregisterCommands(commandsRef.current);
    }
  }, [commandIds, registerCommands, unregisterCommands]);
}

Command Type Patterns

tsx
type CommandItem =
  | { type: 'action'; label: string; icon?: React.ReactNode; action: () => void; shortcut?: string }
  | { type: 'nav'; label: string; icon?: React.ReactNode; path: string; shortcut?: string }
  | { type: 'file'; file: FileType; label: string; icon?: React.ReactNode }
  | { type: 'pr'; pr: PRType; label: string; icon?: React.ReactNode };

// Execute based on type
function executeCommand(command: CommandItem) {
  switch (command.type) {
    case 'action':
      command.action();
      break;
    case 'nav':
      navigate(command.path);
      break;
    case 'file':
      onFileSelect(command.file);
      break;
    case 'pr':
      navigate(`/repos/${command.owner}/${command.repo}/pulls/${command.pr.number}`);
      break;
  }
}

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Why It Fails | Fix | | --------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Icons inside useMemo | New icon element every render | Define icons as constants outside component | | Not resetting index on filter | Arrow keys start from wrong position | setSelectedIndex(0) in onChange | | block: 'center' in scrollIntoView | Jarring scroll when item already visible | Use block: 'nearest' | | Missing e.preventDefault() | Arrow keys scroll page AND move selection | Add preventDefault for ArrowUp/Down | | Forgetting cleanup in useEffect | Event listeners accumulate | Return cleanup function | | undefined for disabled action | Type error or click does nothing | Use noop constant | | Using { capture: true } on window listener | Not needed and can cause issues | Use simple addEventListener without options | | Focusing a container instead of input | Typing won't work, UX feels broken | Use autoFocus on input, window listener handles arrows | | setTimeout for focus | Race conditions, focus may fail | Use autoFocus attribute on input | | onKeyDown on input element | Works but less reliable than window | Use window.addEventListener in useEffect | | Using refs to avoid re-registering listener | Stale closures, missed updates | Include deps in array, let listener re-register | | if (!isOpen) return null after useEffect | Effects run even when closed, listener always active | Use wrapper component pattern (see above) | | bg-transparent with conditional bg-accent-light | Tailwind CSS conflict - both set background-color, compiled order wins | Put background classes in conditional: ${selected ? 'bg-accent-light' : 'bg-transparent hover:bg-gray-100'} |

Testing Checklist

• ] Cmd+K opens palette, Escape closes
• ] Arrow Down moves to next item (stops at last)
• ] Arrow Up moves to previous item (stops at first)
• ] Enter executes selected command and closes palette
• ] Selected item scrolls into view when navigating long lists
• ] Typing resets selection to first matching item
• ] Shortcuts like "gd" match commands with shortcut "g d"
• ] No console errors about re-renders or maximum update depth