StartSelect

StartSelect is a cross-platform user interface library designed to provide a consistent, accessible approach to item selection in lists, grids, and trees. It offers a set of components and a minimal API to integrate selection behavior into applications rather than relying on bespoke, component-specific logic.

Key features include support for single and multi-select modes, keyboard and mouse interactions, shift-click range selection, and ctrl/cmd-click toggling. Type-to-select enables quick item finding, and rich accessibility support ensures correct ARIA roles, focus management, and keyboard navigation for assistive technologies. The library supports virtualization-friendly selection, dynamic data, and theming and localization for internationalized apps. It exposes events such as selectionchange and selectioncommit to coordinate with surrounding application logic.

Architecturally, StartSelect separates selection state management from rendering. It provides adapters for popular frameworks (React, Vue, Svelte) and a vanilla JavaScript API for non-framework usage. It can be embedded in list, grid, and tree components, with support for custom item renderers, selection indicators, and focus rings. It emphasizes deterministic behavior, predictable focus management, and extensibility through plugins or adapters.

Historically, StartSelect arose from a community effort to standardize selection semantics across UI toolkits. Since its introduction, it has influenced several open-source component libraries and enterprise applications seeking consistent selection behavior and improved accessibility. Typical use cases include mail clients, file explorers, data grids, and other interfaces requiring rapid, reliable item selection.