# StatusDot

> Tiny semantic status indicator: colored dot with visible or sr-only label.

- Status: stable
- Group: feedback
- Page: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components/status-dot
- Contract: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/contracts/v1/StatusDot.contract.json

## When to use

StatusDot is the lightest way to show state: a tone-colored dot with a label, sized to sit inline in list rows, nav items, and dashboard lines. The dot is decorative; the label (visible children, or sr-only via label) carries the meaning. Use Badge instead when the status needs a chip surface, a count, or removability.

## When not to use

- Do not use StatusDot for counts, filters, or removable chips; Badge owns those surfaces.

## Look-alikes

- Badge: Do not use StatusDot for counts, filters, or removable chips; Badge owns those surfaces.

## Props

| Prop | Type | Default | Description | Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `tone` | `"info" \| "success" \| "warning" \| "error" \| "neutral"` | `neutral` | Semantic tone of the status. | No |
| `size` | `"sm" \| "md" \| "lg"` | `md` | Size token. | No |
| `pulse` | `boolean` | `false` | Animates a soft pulse for live/ongoing states (respects reduced motion). | No |
| `label` | `string` | none | Accessible label when no visible children are given (e.g. "Online"). Without children or label the dot carries state by colour alone, so a development warning is logged unless the dot is marked aria-hidden. | No |
| `children` | `React.ReactNode` | none | Visible label text rendered next to the dot. | No |

## Variants

- Available tones: `neutral`, `success`, `warning`, `error`, `info` (default `neutral`).
- Available sizes: `sm`, `md`, `lg` (default `md`).

## Invalid combinations

The contract records no invalid combinations.

## Keyboard

The contract records no keyboard interaction.

## Rules

Every item under When not to use is a MUST NOT. MUST and SHOULD follow RFC 2119.

| Level | Rule | How it is checked |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MUST | ARIA: Dot is aria-hidden; meaning carried by visible children or sr-only label. | Not yet verified: no evidence record. WCAG 4.1.2. |
| MUST | ARIA: Color is never the sole carrier of state when children or label is passed; with neither, StatusDot renders a bare dot and logs a development warning (once per session) unless the dot itself is marked aria-hidden="true" because a surrounding element already names the state. | Not yet verified: no evidence record. WCAG 4.1.2. |
| MUST | ARIA: Under forced-colors every tone renders as CanvasText, so the label is the only thing that tells tones apart. | Not yet verified: no evidence record. WCAG 4.1.2. |
| MUST | Required stories produce no axe violations at the configured severity. | Automated by `npm run test:stories:matrix:ci`. WCAG 2.5.8. |
| MUST | The accessibility tree (role, name, state) matches the committed snapshot for every required story. | Automated by `npm run test:stories:matrix:ci`. WCAG 1.3.1, 4.1.2. |
| MUST | The component remains legible and operable under a real browser forced-colors: active pass. | Automated by `npm run test:stories:hc`. |
| MUST | A human completed an end-to-end accessibility review of this component. | Manual review, last on 2026-11-04. |
| SHOULD | Always pass children or label; a bare dot is invisible to assistive tech and ambiguous to everyone. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD | Reserve pulse for genuinely live states (recording, deploy in progress); a static dot reads calmer for steady states. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD | Use tone semantically: success=healthy, warning=degraded, error=down, info=transitional, neutral=idle/unknown. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD | Keep labels to one or two words; StatusDot is a glance signal, not a sentence. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD NOT | Do not encode more states than the five tones; if you need custom colors, the state model is too wide for a dot. | Not stated in the contract. |

## Install and import

- Install: `npm install @digitaltableteur/react` (version 0.9.1, restricted access on npm).
- Import: `import { StatusDot } from "@digitaltableteur/react";`
- Entry point: `@digitaltableteur/react/identity` exports it too.
- Styles: import `@digitaltableteur/react/style.css` once at the app boundary.
- Also available as the custom element `<dt-status-dot>`; see the custom elements manifest.

## Links

- Machine-readable contract (Design System Contract 1.0): https://www.digitaltableteur.com/contracts/v1/StatusDot.contract.json
- Markdown version of this page: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components/status-dot.md
- Component index as JSON: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components.json
- All components: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components
- Source: The implementation lives in a private repository. This page, its Markdown twin and the contract are generated from it at build time and are the public source of truth.