Quick start

Learn how to take off with Formsnap by building a settings form.

Installation

Since Formsnap is built on top of Superforms, you'll need to install it as well as a schema validation library of your choice. We'll use Zod.

		npm install formsnap sveltekit-superforms zod

Tutorial: Build a settings form

Before diving into this tutorial, it's important to be confident with Superforms, as Formsnap is built on top of it and uses the same APIs.

Define a Zod schema

This schema will represent the shape of our form data. It's used to validate the form data on the client (optional) and server, along with some other useful things.

src/routes/settings/schema.ts

		import { z } from "zod";
 
export const themes = ["light", "dark"] as const;
export const languages = ["en", "es", "fr"] as const;
export const allergies = ["peanuts", "dairy", "gluten", "soy", "shellfish"] as const;
 
export const schema = z.object({
	email: z.string().email("Please enter a valid email."),
	bio: z.string().optional(),
	theme: z.enum(themes).default("light"),
	language: z.enum(languages).default("en"),
	marketingEmails: z.boolean().default(true),
	allergies: z.array(z.enum(allergies)),
});

Looking at the schema above, we know we'll need a few different input types to represent the different data types. Here's how we'll map the schema to input types:

email -> <input type="email">
bio -> <textarea>
theme -> <input type="radio">
language -> <select>
marketingEmails -> <input type="checkbox>
allergies -> <input type="checkbox"> (group/multiple)

Of course, there are other ways to represent the data, but this is the approach we'll take for this tutorial.

Return the form from a load function

In Superforms fashion, we'll return the form from a load function to seamlessly merge our PageData and ActionData.

src/routes/settings/+page.server.ts

		import type { PageServerLoad } from "./$types";
import { schema } from "./schema";
import { superValidate } from "sveltekit-superforms";
import { zod } from "sveltekit-superforms/adapters";
 
export const load: PageServerLoad = async () => {
	return {
		form: await superValidate(zod(schema)),
	};
};

Setup the form in the page component

Now that we have our form in the PageData object, we can use it, along with the schema we defined earlier, to setup the form in our page component.

src/routes/settings/+page.svelte

		<script lang="ts">
	import { superForm } from "sveltekit-superforms";
	import { Field } from "formsnap";
	import { zodClient } from "sveltekit-superforms/adapters";
	import { allergies, schema, themes } from "./schema.js";
	import SuperDebug from "sveltekit-superforms";
 
	let { data } = $props();
 
	const form = superForm(data.form, {
		validators: zodClient(schema),
	});
	const { form: formData, enhance } = form;
</script>
 
<form method="POST" use:enhance>
	<!-- ... -->
</form>
<SuperDebug data={$formData} />

We'll initialize the super form using superForm and pass in the form from the PageData. We'll also enable client-side validation by passing the validators option. Then, we'll setup the form using the enhance function, which will progressively enhance the form with client-side validation and other features.

Constructing a form field

You can think of form fields as the building blocks of your form. Each property of the schema will have a corresponding form field, which will be responsible for displaying the error messages and description.

We'll start with the email field and work our way down.

src/routes/settings/+page.svelte

		<script lang="ts">
	import { superForm } from "sveltekit-superforms";
	import { Field } from "formsnap";
	import { zodClient } from "sveltekit-superforms/adapters";
	import { allergies, schema, themes } from "./schema.js";
	import SuperDebug from "sveltekit-superforms";
 
	let { data } = $props();
 
	const form = superForm(data.form, {
		validators: zodClient(schema),
	});
	const { form: formData, enhance } = form;
</script>
 
<form method="POST" use:enhance>
	<Field {form} name="email">
		<!-- ... -->
	</Field>
</form>
<SuperDebug data={$formData} />

We pass the form and name to the Field component, which will be used to setup the context for the field. The name is typed to the keys of the schema, so it's type-safe.

Now let's add the remaining parts of the field:

src/routes/settings/+page.svelte

		<script lang="ts">
	import { superForm } from "sveltekit-superforms";
	import { Field, Control, Label, Description, FieldErrors } from "formsnap";
	import { zodClient } from "sveltekit-superforms/adapters";
	import { allergies, schema, themes } from "./schema.js";
	import SuperDebug from "sveltekit-superforms";
 
	let { data } = $props();
 
	const form = superForm(data.form, {
		validators: zodClient(schema),
	});
	const { form: formData, enhance } = form;
</script>
 
<form method="POST" use:enhance>
	<Field {form} name="email">
		<Control>
			{#snippet children({ props })}
				<Label>Email</Label>
				<input {...props} type="email" bind:value={$formData.email} />
			{/snippet}
		</Control>
		<Description>Use your company email if you have one.</Description>
		<FieldErrors />
	</Field>
</form>
<SuperDebug data={$formData} />

We've first added the Control component. Controls are used to represent a form control and its label. They keep the control and label in sync via the props snippet prop, which is spread onto the control. Inside the Control, we've added the Label component, which will automatically associate itself with the control the props are spread onto. We've also added the control itself, which is an input that we're binding to the email property of the form data.

The Description component is optional, but it's useful for providing additional context to the user about the field. It'll be synced with the aria-describedby attribute on the input, so it's accessible to screen readers.

The FieldErrors component is used to display validation errors to the user. It also is synced with the aria-describedby attribute on the input, which can receive multiple IDs, so that screen readers are able to read the error messages in addition to the description.

And that's really all it takes to setup a form field. Let's continue on with the rest of the fields.

Add remaining form fields

src/routes/settings/+page.svelte

		<script lang="ts">
	import { superForm } from "sveltekit-superforms";
	import { Field, Control, Label, Description, FieldErrors, Fieldset, Legend } from "formsnap";
	import { zodClient } from "sveltekit-superforms/adapters";
	import { allergies, schema, themes } from "./schema.js";
	import SuperDebug from "sveltekit-superforms";
 
	let { data } = $props();
 
	const form = superForm(data.form, {
		validators: zodClient(schema),
	});
	const { form: formData, enhance } = form;
</script>
 
<form use:enhance class="mx-auto flex max-w-md flex-col" method="POST">
	<Field {form} name="email">
		<Control>
			{#snippet children({ props })}
				<Label>Email</Label>
				<input {...props} type="email" bind:value={$formData.email} />
			{/snippet}
		</Control>
		<Description>Company email is preferred</Description>
		<FieldErrors />
	</Field>
	<Field {form} name="bio">
		<Control>
			{#snippet children({ props })}
				<Label>Bio</Label>
				<textarea {...props} bind:value={$formData.bio} />
			{/snippet}
		</Control>
		<Description>Tell us a bit about yourself.</Description>
		<FieldErrors />
	</Field>
	<Field {form} name="language">
		<Control>
			{#snippet children({ props })}
				<Label>Language</Label>
				<select {...props} bind:value={$formData.language}>
					<option value="fr">French</option>
					<option value="es">Spanish</option>
					<option value="en">English</option>
				</select>
			{/snippet}
		</Control>
		<Description>Help us address you properly.</Description>
		<FieldErrors />
	</Field>
	<Fieldset {form} name="theme">
		<Legend>Select your theme</Legend>
		{#each themes as theme}
			<Control>
				{#snippet children({ props })}
					<Label>{theme}</Label>
					<input {...props} type="radio" value={theme} bind:group={$formData.theme} />
				{/snippet}
			</Control>
		{/each}
		<Description>We prefer dark mode, but the choice is yours.</Description>
		<FieldErrors />
	</Fieldset>
	<Field {form} name="marketingEmails">
		<Control>
			{#snippet children({ props })}
				<input {...props} type="checkbox" bind:checked={$formData.marketingEmails} />
				<Label>I want to receive marketing emails</Label>
			{/snippet}
		</Control>
		<Description>Stay up to date with our latest news and offers.</Description>
		<FieldErrors />
	</Field>
	<Fieldset {form} name="allergies">
		<Legend>Food allergies</Legend>
		{#each allergies as allergy}
			<Control>
				{#snippet children({ props })}
					<input
						{...props}
						type="checkbox"
						bind:group={$formData.allergies}
						value={allergy}
					/>
					<Label>{allergy}</Label>
				{/snippet}
			</Control>
		{/each}
		<Description>When we provide lunch, we'll accommodate your needs.</Description>
		<FieldErrors />
	</Fieldset>
	<button>Submit</button>
</form>
<SuperDebug data={$formData} />

You may have noticed for the allergies and theme fields, we used the Fieldset and Legend components. These are used to group related fields together and provide a title for the group, which is great for accessibility and organization. Additionally, we only use a single FieldError and Description component for the entire group, and use an Control for each field in the group to associate the label with the control.

And that's it! You've now successfully built a settings form with Formsnap!

Next Steps

Now that you've built your first form, you're ready to start building more complex forms with Formsnap & Superforms. Be sure to check out the rest of the documentation to learn more about the different components and APIs available to you.