# Text

> Body and inline typography with size and line-height tokens.

- Status: stable
- Group: display
- Page: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components/text
- Contract: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/contracts/v1/Text.contract.json

## When to use

Text owns body and inline typography: paragraphs by default, with a polymorphic as prop for span, strong, em, cite, div and the heading tags when you need a heading shape at body weight. It shares the size and lineHeight ladder with Title, so editorial rhythm stays consistent across the site.

## When not to use

- Do not nest a `<Text as="p">` inside another `<p>`. HTML rejects nested paragraphs; use `as="span"` for inline positions.
- Do not override font-size via inline `style`. The ladder is the contract; drift in consumer code is invisible until someone audits typography.
- Do not use Text for section headings; headings carry outline semantics Text does not, use Title.

## Look-alikes

- Display: Do not stack Display lines to fake a type ladder; hierarchy below the hero belongs to Title and Text.
- HelperText: Do not label form fields with Text; use Label (htmlFor) and HelperText (aria-describedby).
- Label: Do not label form fields with Text; use Label (htmlFor) and HelperText (aria-describedby).
- Title: Do not use Text for section headings; headings carry outline semantics Text does not, use Title.

## Props

| Prop | Type | Default | Description | Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `children` | `React.ReactNode \| ReactI18NextChildren \| Iterable<ReactI18NextChildren>` | none | No description in the contract. | Yes |
| `as` | `"div" \| "cite" \| "em" \| "h1" \| "h2" \| "h3" \| "h4" \| "h5" \| "h6" \| "p" \| "span" \| "strong"` | `p` | No description in the contract. | No |
| `size` | `"xl" \| "xs" \| "s" \| "xxs" \| "m" \| "l" \| "xxl"` | `m` | No description in the contract. | No |
| `lineHeight` | `"normal" \| "tight" \| "snug" \| "relaxed" \| "loose"` | none | No description in the contract. | No |
| `flush` | `boolean` | `false` | Drop the block margins. Use when the parent owns spacing: a row, a cell, a card or a flex/grid gap. | No |

## Variants

- Available sizes: `xxs`, `xs`, `s`, `m`, `l`, `xl`, `xxl` (default `m`).
- Allowed `as` values: `div`, `cite`, `em`, `h1`, `h2`, `h3`, `h4`, `h5`, `h6`, `p`, `span`, `strong` (default `p`).
- Allowed `lineHeight` values: `normal`, `tight`, `snug`, `relaxed`, `loose`.

## 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: Semantic element via as prop. | Not yet verified: no evidence record. WCAG 4.1.2. |
| 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. | Manual review, last on 2026-11-04. |
| MUST | A human completed an end-to-end accessibility review of this component. | Manual review, last on 2026-11-04. |
| SHOULD | Default to the p element for body copy; switch to as=span for inline positions so paragraphs never nest. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD | Set a lede with size=l and lineHeight=snug directly under a hero Title. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD | Use as=strong or as=em for inline emphasis so screen readers announce the semantics. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD | Use size=xs for captions and metadata. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD NOT | Do not label form fields with Text; use Label (htmlFor) and HelperText (aria-describedby). | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD NOT | Do not render code with Text; CodeSnippet and CodeBlockWindow own the monospace ramp. | Not stated in the contract. |

## Install and import

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

## Links

- Machine-readable contract (Design System Contract 1.0): https://www.digitaltableteur.com/contracts/v1/Text.contract.json
- Markdown version of this page: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components/text.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.