Undo
Also called undo toast or undo button
A way to reverse an action right after doing it, often a toast with an Undo button that appears after deleting or archiving something.
import { useState } from 'react';
import { Toast } from '@base-ui/react/toast';
type Task = { id: string; title: string };
const toastManager = Toast.createToastManager();
const TOAST =
'flex items-center justify-between rounded-xl bg-foreground px-4 py-3 text-sm text-background shadow-lg transition-[opacity,translate] duration-200 data-ending-style:opacity-0 data-starting-style:translate-y-4 data-starting-style:opacity-0';
export function TaskList({ initialTasks }: { initialTasks: Task[] }) {
const [tasks, setTasks] = useState(initialTasks);
function remove(task: Task, index: number) {
setTasks((current) => current.filter((t) => t.id !== task.id));
void fetch(`/api/tasks/${task.id}`, { method: 'DELETE' }); // soft delete
const toastId = toastManager.add({
title: 'Task deleted', // 5s by default, paused on hover or focus
actionProps: {
children: 'Undo',
onClick() {
toastManager.close(toastId);
setTasks((current) => current.toSpliced(index, 0, task));
void fetch(`/api/tasks/${task.id}/restore`, { method: 'POST' });
}
}
});
}
return (
<Toast.Provider toastManager={toastManager}>
<ul className='w-80 divide-y rounded-xl border'>
{tasks.map((task, index) => (
<li key={task.id} className='flex justify-between px-4 py-3 text-sm'>
{task.title}
<button onClick={() => remove(task, index)} className='opacity-60'>
Delete
</button>
</li>
))}
</ul>
<UndoToasts />
</Toast.Provider>
);
}
function UndoToasts() {
const { toasts } = Toast.useToastManager();
return (
<Toast.Portal>
<Toast.Viewport className='fixed bottom-6 left-1/2 flex w-80 -translate-x-1/2 flex-col gap-2'>
{toasts.map((toast) => (
<Toast.Root key={toast.id} toast={toast} className={TOAST}>
<Toast.Title />
<Toast.Action className='font-semibold text-blue-400' />
</Toast.Root>
))}
</Toast.Viewport>
</Toast.Portal>
);
}When a task is deleted, remove it from the list immediately with a 250ms collapse and show a toast at the bottom that says "Task deleted" with an Undo button and a 5-second countdown bar. Undo restores the task at its original position with a brief highlight. Soft-delete on the server so Undo can restore it, and pause the countdown while the toast is hovered or focused.
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What is Undo?
Instead of asking "Are you sure?" before every delete, the app does what was asked right away and shows a short message with an Undo button, usually for 5–10 seconds. Pressing Undo puts the item back exactly where it was. Gmail’s "Conversation archived" message with its Undo link is the classic example.
Undo works better than a confirmation dialog for frequent, reversible actions such as deleting a task, archiving an email, or removing a file from a list. People click through confirmation dialogs out of habit, while undo lets them fix a mistake once they notice it. Keep confirmations for actions that truly can’t be reversed.
Behind the scenes, either wait until the toast closes before deleting for real, or soft-delete right away (mark the item as deleted) so Undo can restore it. Keep the toast open while the pointer is over it or it has keyboard focus, and support ⌘Z (Ctrl+Z on Windows) where people expect it.
Related terms
All termsToast notification
A brief message that slides into a corner of the screen to confirm an action, then disappears on its own after a few seconds.
Optimistic UI
A pattern where the interface shows the result of an action right away, before the server confirms it, and rolls it back if the request fails.
Modal
A window that opens over the page, dims everything behind it, and blocks the rest of the interface until you finish or dismiss it.
Swipe to dismiss
A gesture where you drag an item sideways past a threshold to remove it, while a shorter swipe lets it spring back into place.
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