# Random Content

`<wa-random-content>`

Experimental [Helpers](https://webawesome.com/docs/components/?category=helpers) [Since 3.9](https://webawesome.com/docs/resources/changelog#wa_390)

Selects one or more child elements at random and displays them, hiding the rest.

Randomly picks and displays one or more of its slotted children, hiding the rest. Use it to rotate testimonials, surface featured content, show a tip of the day, or add variety to an otherwise static page.

```html
<div>
  <wa-random-content id="rc-overview">
    <wa-callout variant="brand">
      <wa-icon slot="icon" name="paperclip-vertical"></wa-icon>
      <strong>It looks like you're writing a letter!</strong><br />
      Want a hand with the formatting?
    </wa-callout>
    <wa-callout variant="brand">
      <wa-icon slot="icon" name="paperclip-vertical"></wa-icon>
      <strong>It looks like you're building a web app!</strong><br />
      I can recommend a few components.
    </wa-callout>
    <wa-callout variant="brand">
      <wa-icon slot="icon" name="paperclip-vertical"></wa-icon>
      <strong>It looks like you're stuck.</strong><br />
      Have you tried turning it off and on again?
    </wa-callout>
    <wa-callout variant="brand">
      <wa-icon slot="icon" name="paperclip-vertical"></wa-icon>
      <strong>It looks like you're shipping on a Friday.</strong><br />
      Bold move. I respect it.
    </wa-callout>
  </wa-random-content>

  <wa-divider></wa-divider>

  <wa-button appearance="filled" onclick="document.getElementById('rc-overview').randomize()">Shuffle</wa-button>
</div>
```

## API

### Importing

If you're using the autoloader or a hosted project, components load on demand — no manual import needed. To cherry-pick a component manually, use one of the following snippets.

\*\*CDN\*\*

Import this component directly from the CDN:

```js
import 'https://ka-f.webawesome.com/webawesome@3.11.0/components/random-content/random-content.js';
```

\*\*npm\*\*

After installing Web Awesome via npm, import this component:

```js
import '@awesome.me/webawesome/dist/components/random-content/random-content.js';
```

\*\*Self-Hosted\*\*

If you're self-hosting Web Awesome, import this component from your server:

```js
import './webawesome/dist/components/random-content/random-content.js';
```

\*\*React\*\*

To import this component for React 18 or below, use the following code:

```js
import WaRandomContent from '@awesome.me/webawesome/dist/react/random-content/index.js';
```

### Slots

| Name | Description |
| --- | --- |
| (default) | \`hidden\` The pool of children to choose from. Only direct element children are eligible; unselected children are with the hidden attribute. |

### Attributes & Properties

| Name | Description | Reflects |
| --- | --- | --- |
| \`animation\` animation | \`'none' \\| 'fade' \\| 'fade-up' \\| 'fade-down' \\| 'fade-left' \\| 'fade-right'\` Entrance animation for newly shown children. Type Default 'none' | |
| \`autoplay\` autoplay | \`autoplay-interval\` Rotate the content automatically. Set the cadence with . Type boolean Default false | |
| \`autoplayInterval\` autoplay-interval | \`number\` Autoplay cadence in milliseconds. Type Default 3000 | |
| \`items\` items | \`number\` Number of children to show simultaneously. Clamped to \[1, childCount\]. Type Default 1 | |
| \`mode\` mode | \`unique\` Selection strategy: (default), random, or sequence. Type 'random' \\| 'unique' \\| 'sequence' Default 'unique' | |

### Methods

| Name | Description | Arguments |
| --- | --- | --- |
| \`randomize()\` | Selects a new set of children using the current mode. Returns the elements now shown. | |

### Events

| Name | Description |
| --- | --- |
| \`wa-content-change\` | \`randomize()\` Emitted whenever the displayed selection changes, including on first render, on , and on each autoplay tick. |

### CSS Custom Properties

| Name | Description |
| --- | --- |
| \`--animation-duration\` | \`300ms\` Duration of the entrance animation. Default is . |
| \`--animation-easing\` | \`ease\` Easing function for the entrance animation. Default is . |
| \`--animation-translate\` | \`fade-up\` Translation distance for directional animations (, fade-down, fade-left, fade-right). Default is 0.5em. |

## Examples

### Providing Content

Slot virtually any HTML — text, badges, cards, images, or other components — as long as each item is a **direct child**. Nested elements and bare text nodes are ignored. The host renders [`display: contents`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/display#contents), so it stays invisible to layout.

```html
<div>
  <div class="wa-cluster wa-align-items-center" style="min-height: 5rem">
    <wa-random-content id="rc-providing">
      <p>Plain text works fine.</p>
      <wa-badge variant="brand">So do components</wa-badge>
      <wa-card>Even rich cards with their own content.</wa-card>
    </wa-random-content>
  </div>

  <wa-divider></wa-divider>

  <wa-button appearance="filled" onclick="document.getElementById('rc-providing').randomize()">Shuffle</wa-button>
</div>
```

### Number of Items

Set `items` to show more than one child at a time. The value is clamped to the number of available children.

```html
<div class="rc-items-demo">
  <wa-random-content id="rc-items" items="2">
    <wa-badge variant="brand">New</wa-badge>
    <wa-badge variant="success">Sale</wa-badge>
    <wa-badge variant="warning">Low stock</wa-badge>
    <wa-badge variant="neutral">Popular</wa-badge>
    <wa-badge variant="danger">Last chance</wa-badge>
  </wa-random-content>

  <wa-divider></wa-divider>

  <div class="wa-cluster" style="align-items: flex-end">
    <wa-select id="rc-items-count" label="Items" value="2" style="width: 8rem">
      <wa-option value="1">1</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="2">2</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="3">3</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="4">4</wa-option>
    </wa-select>
    <wa-button appearance="filled" onclick="document.getElementById('rc-items').randomize()">Shuffle</wa-button>
  </div>
</div>

<script>
  document.getElementById('rc-items-count').addEventListener('change', event => {
    document.getElementById('rc-items').items = Number(event.target.value);
  });
</script>
```

### Changing the Mode

The `mode` attribute controls how the next selection is chosen. Switch modes and shuffle a few times to feel the difference — the recent picks are listed underneath.

| Mode | Behavior | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| \`unique\` default | Never repeats the previous selection. | Tip rotators and timed loops. |
| \`random\` | Picks at complete random, so the same item can appear twice in a row. | A one-time shuffle on load. |
| \`sequence\` | \`items\` Steps through children in DOM order, wrapping at the end (advances by ). | Stepping through content in order. |

```html
<div class="rc-modes-demo">
  <wa-random-content id="rc-modes" mode="unique">
    <wa-tag variant="brand">A</wa-tag>
    <wa-tag variant="success">B</wa-tag>
    <wa-tag variant="warning">C</wa-tag>
    <wa-tag variant="danger">D</wa-tag>
  </wa-random-content>

  <wa-divider></wa-divider>

  <div class="wa-cluster" style="align-items: flex-end">
    <wa-select id="rc-modes-mode" label="Mode" value="unique" style="width: 10rem">
      <wa-option value="unique">unique</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="random">random</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="sequence">sequence</wa-option>
    </wa-select>
    <wa-button appearance="filled" onclick="document.getElementById('rc-modes').randomize()">Shuffle</wa-button>
  </div>

  <small style="display: block; margin-block-start: var(--wa-space-s)">
    Recent picks: <span id="rc-modes-history"></span>
  </small>
</div>

<script>
  const rcModes = document.getElementById('rc-modes');
  const rcModesHistory = document.getElementById('rc-modes-history');

  document.getElementById('rc-modes-mode').addEventListener('change', event => {
    rcModes.mode = event.target.value;
  });

  rcModes.addEventListener('wa-content-change', event => {
    const labels = event.detail.items.map(item => item.textContent.trim()).join('');
    const picks = (rcModesHistory.textContent + ' ' + labels).trim().split(/\s+/).slice(-16);
    rcModesHistory.textContent = picks.join(' ');
  });
</script>
```

### Animating New Content

Use the `animation` attribute to play an entrance transition when new content is shown.

```html
<div class="rc-animation-demo">
  <wa-random-content id="rc-animation" animation="fade-up">
    <p>Good morning!</p>
    <p>Welcome back.</p>
    <p>What are you building today?</p>
  </wa-random-content>

  <wa-divider></wa-divider>

  <div class="wa-cluster" style="align-items: flex-end">
    <wa-select id="rc-animation-select" label="Animation" value="fade-up" style="width: 10rem">
      <wa-option value="none">none</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="fade">fade</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="fade-up">fade-up</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="fade-down">fade-down</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="fade-left">fade-left</wa-option>
      <wa-option value="fade-right">fade-right</wa-option>
    </wa-select>
    <wa-button appearance="filled" onclick="document.getElementById('rc-animation').randomize()">Next</wa-button>
  </div>
</div>

<script>
  document.getElementById('rc-animation-select').addEventListener('change', event => {
    document.getElementById('rc-animation').animation = event.target.value;
  });
</script>
```

Directional animations (`fade-up`, `fade-down`, `fade-left`, `fade-right`) rely on CSS `transform`, which has no effect on `display: inline` elements. The component promotes inline children to `inline-block` while a directional animation plays, so they work inline without extra markup.

Tune the duration, easing, and travel distance with the `--animation-duration`, `--animation-easing`, and `--animation-translate` custom properties. Animations are skipped automatically when the user [prefers reduced motion](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/@media/prefers-reduced-motion).

### Autoplay

Add the `autoplay` attribute to rotate content on a timer, and set the cadence with `autoplay-interval` (milliseconds). It pauses while the pointer is over the component or focus is inside it, and resumes when the user moves away. It respects reduced motion, too: content still rotates, but the entrance animation is skipped. Each new item is announced to screen readers using its text, so give icon-only content an accessible label (for example [`<wa-icon label="…">`](https://webawesome.com/docs/components/icon)).

```html
<div class="rc-autoplay-demo">
  <dl>
    <dt>Did you know?</dt>
    <wa-random-content id="rc-autoplay" mode="unique" animation="fade-up" autoplay autoplay-interval="3000">
      <dd><wa-icon name="octopus"></wa-icon> Octopuses have three hearts.</dd>
      <dd><wa-icon name="bee"></wa-icon> Honey never spoils.</dd>
      <dd><wa-icon name="feather"></wa-icon> A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance.</dd>
      <dd><wa-icon name="banana"></wa-icon> Bananas are botanically berries.</dd>
      <dd><wa-icon name="cat"></wa-icon> Cheetahs meow rather than roar.</dd>
    </wa-random-content>
  </dl>

  <wa-divider></wa-divider>

  <wa-button id="rc-autoplay-toggle" appearance="filled">Pause</wa-button>
</div>

<style>
  .rc-autoplay-demo dl {
    margin: 0;
  }
  .rc-autoplay-demo dt {
    font-weight: var(--wa-font-weight-semibold);
    margin-block-end: var(--wa-space-2xs);
  }
  .rc-autoplay-demo dd {
    margin-inline-start: 0;
  }
  .rc-autoplay-demo dd wa-icon {
    margin-inline-end: var(--wa-space-2xs);
    color: var(--wa-color-brand-fill-loud);
  }
</style>

<script>
  const rcAutoplay = document.getElementById('rc-autoplay');
  const rcAutoplayToggle = document.getElementById('rc-autoplay-toggle');

  rcAutoplayToggle.addEventListener('click', () => {
    rcAutoplay.autoplay = !rcAutoplay.autoplay;
    rcAutoplayToggle.textContent = rcAutoplay.autoplay ? 'Pause' : 'Play';
  });
</script>
```

**If you turn on `autoplay`, give people a way to pause it.**  
The built-in hover and focus pausing doesn't help someone using a keyboard when the rotating content isn't focusable, so add a visible pause button like the one above.

### Styling the Container

The host is `display: contents` by default, so it adds no box of its own. To lay several shown items out as a row or grid, give the host its own `display` — that overrides the transparent default. Here it shows three of six people at random in a flex row.

```html
<div>
  <wa-random-content id="rc-layout" items="3" style="display: flex; gap: var(--wa-space-m); flex-wrap: wrap">
    <wa-avatar label="Jordan Hayes" initials="JH"></wa-avatar>
    <wa-avatar label="Mara Goldberg" initials="MG"></wa-avatar>
    <wa-avatar label="Beck Watts" initials="BW"></wa-avatar>
    <wa-avatar label="Avi Lin" initials="AL"></wa-avatar>
    <wa-avatar label="Rae Park" initials="RP"></wa-avatar>
    <wa-avatar label="Sam Cho" initials="SC"></wa-avatar>
  </wa-random-content>

  <wa-divider></wa-divider>

  <wa-button appearance="filled" onclick="document.getElementById('rc-layout').randomize()">Shuffle</wa-button>
</div>
```

Because the host is transparent, the component also works inline within a sentence.

```html
<div>
  <p>
    Have a
    <wa-random-content id="rc-inline">
      <span>wonderful</span>
      <span>fantastic</span>
      <span>marvelous</span>
      <span>splendid</span>
    </wa-random-content>
    day!
  </p>

  <wa-divider></wa-divider>

  <wa-button appearance="filled" onclick="document.getElementById('rc-inline').randomize()">Shuffle</wa-button>
</div>
```

Unselected children are hidden with the `hidden` attribute, so you can target whatever is currently shown with `:not([hidden])`:

```css
wa-random-content > :not([hidden]) {
  outline: var(--wa-border-width-s) solid var(--wa-color-brand-fill-loud);
}
```

### Reacting to Changes

The component emits a `wa-content-change` event whenever the displayed selection changes — on first render, on `randomize()`, and on each autoplay tick. `event.detail.items` is the array of elements now shown.

```javascript
const rc = document.querySelector('wa-random-content');

rc.addEventListener('wa-content-change', event => {
  console.log('Now showing:', event.detail.items);
});
```

### Server-Side Rendering

Until the component upgrades on the client, every child is visible, which can flash on first paint. Add the [`wa-cloak`](https://webawesome.com/docs/utilities/fouce) class to hide content until Web Awesome is ready. Because the first selection is random, server- and client-rendered output can also differ; for a stable first paint, use `mode="sequence"`, which always starts at the first child.

### Using a Framework

The component selects from its slotted children by toggling the `hidden` attribute on them directly. Treat that content as static — if a framework owns and re-renders the children, its reconciliation can overwrite the hidden state. Render a fixed set of children, then drive the component imperatively: call `randomize()` through a ref and listen for `wa-content-change`.