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How to use onChange in Solid.js

Nick Scialli
February 22, 2022

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If you’re used to React, you might be wondering why the Solid onChange handler doesn’t work how you’d expect.

The problem

You may be writing a Solid component with the following code:

function App() {
  const [text, setText] = createSignal('');

  return (
    <>
      <input
        onChange={(e) => {
          setText(e.target.value);
        }}
      />
      <div>
        <strong>Your text is:</strong> {text}
      </div>
    </>
  );
}

But you’ll quickly notice things aren’t working as you might expect:

onchange

The text isn’t reflected in the div like we would hope until after we tab out of the input. This is actually intended behavior and more in line with native behavior.

From the Solid.js docs:

Note that onChange and onInput work according to their native behavior. onInput will fire immediately after the value has changed; for input fields, onChange will only fire after the field loses focus.

The solution

As described above, you’re looking for the onInput handler, which more closely mirrors native oninput behavior:

function App() {
  const [text, setText] = createSignal('');

  return (
    <>
      <input
        onInput={(e) => {
          setText(e.target.value);
        }}
      />
      <div>
        <strong>Your text is:</strong> {text}
      </div>
    </>
  );
}

Now if we run our app, we see the text updating immediately:

oninput

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Nick Scialli

Nick Scialli is a senior UI engineer at Microsoft.

© 2024 Nick Scialli