Avatar

Image-with-fallback identity surface with size variants and source-keyed failure reset.

Distribution status

BeeUI 0.86.2-rc.3 is public on npm under the opt-in next dist-tag (observed 2026-09-25T06:25:18.371Z). latest currently resolves to 0.86.2-rc.3 and lags next until the owner moves it for all four packages. See Start for the full install commands. The import shape below works against the published package; the repository-local Registry command remains available as a no-registry-required alternative from a BeeUI checkout. Pin @0.86.2-rc.3 instead of @next for an immutable version in CI.

Identity

• Category: Data display
• Status: stable public Registry/export-map component family
• Targets: iOS · Android · Web, subject to the compatibility contract
• Prerequisites: @beemvp/beeui-ui installed (or this component’s source copied via the Registry CLI below) and, on Web, the BeeUI Tailwind/Uniwind theme CSS loaded — see Start for full platform setup.
• Source: packages/ui/src/components/avatar.tsx

Import

import { Avatar, avatarFallbackVariants, avatarVariants } from '@beemvp/beeui-ui';

There is no documented deep/private source import. For source ownership from a BeeUI checkout:

pnpm beeui add avatar

Registry (used throughout this page) is BeeUI’s source-ownership manifest — registry/registry.json — that the pnpm beeui/@beemvp/beeui-cli CLI reads to copy a component’s real source into your app and rewrite its internal imports; it is not an npm package index. This component’s own Registry entry: registry/registry.json.

Composition and public API

• Family exports: Avatar avatarFallbackVariants avatarVariants
  • Also routed here, outside the Registry family:
    • avatar
  • Package export subpath: @beemvp/beeui-ui/avatar

Exported types: AvatarProps

The generated API inventory is mechanically joined to packages/ui/src/index.ts, Registry metadata, and the component reference contract. Each type’s field table below is parsed directly from that source, not a second hand-maintained copy; for the fuller behavior narrative see the canonical component behavior catalog.

State and behavior contract

Stateless image-with-fallback: an image load failure resets to the fallback, and the reset is keyed to the semantic image source content (not object identity), so re-supplying an already-failed source shows the fallback again immediately.

Props

AvatarProps

Prop	Type	Default	Description
className	string	—	Extra utility classes, merged after the component’s own via cn(...), so they win on conflict. An escape hatch for source-owned and application work, not a cross-engine portability guarantee.
fallback	string	—	Text shown when source is omitted or the image fails to load (e.g. initials). Renders nothing if also omitted.
fallbackClassName	string	—	Applied to the fallback Text when it is shown; has no effect while the image is showing.
imageClassName	string	—	Applied to the underlying Image when it is shown; has no effect while the fallback is showing.
imageProps	AvatarImageProps	—	Forwarded to the underlying Image, minus source, which this component owns so a failed load can fall back to fallback. A className here is merged after imageClassName, and an onError here runs after the internal fallback switch.
size	'sm' | 'md' | 'lg' | 'xl'	'md'	Chooses this element’s size from avatarVariants’s presets, declared in packages/ui/src/components/avatar.tsx — the classes each value applies are there.
source	ImageSourcePropType	—	The image to display. If it fails to load, or is omitted, fallback is shown instead.

Also carries every prop of Omit<ViewProps, 'children'> — that upstream contract is not reproduced here.

The executable fixtures below are the source-grounded usage examples; consumers should not infer state ownership from DOM structure or another UI library.

Provider and dependencies

• No additional provider is required by this family. BeeUIProvider remains the recommended application root.
• Peer/native dependencies visible to this Registry item: react, react-native
• Registry dependency closure: core-cn, text, theme
• Safe-area ownership remains explicit: shell surfaces touching system edges opt into SafeArea; components do not silently invent app-shell insets.
• Web consumers load the BeeUI semantic theme CSS as documented in Web onboarding.

Platform behavior

This family ships no platform-specific file, and its own source takes no Platform branch.

The same public family is exposed across the supported target matrix; meaningful platform differences remain governed by the compatibility contract.

Evidence classes are not equal and this page does not blur them: Web behavior is exercised in a real browser, while iOS and Android carry package/export and native-compile evidence, which is not device-runtime proof. The compatibility contract records which class each claim rests on.

Accessibility

• Roles this family assigns: none set in avatar.tsx.
• Accessibility states and properties it sets: accessible — read from avatar.tsx.

Keyboard/focus behavior, announcements, Dynamic Type/Web zoom, RTL and reduced-motion expectations are not derived here — see Accessibility overview, Keyboard & focus, RTL/localization and Large text & zoom. BeeUI does not claim universal accessibility certification from automated tests.

Styling and theming

• Style axes: size (4 values) — the values are in the props tables above.
• Class-name surfaces: className, fallbackClassName, imageClassName.

Colors, spacing and typography come from semantic tokens rather than from values written here — see Theming and Density. A className is an escape hatch for source-owned and application work, not a cross-engine portability guarantee.

Executable examples

• Primary executable fixture: apps/showcase/__tests__/avatar-fallback-contrast.test.tsx
• Additional fixture: apps/showcase/__tests__/issue-7-hardening.test.tsx
• Additional fixture: apps/showcase/__tests__/typography-step-class-merge.test.tsx
• Additional fixture: apps/showcase/component-gallery/component-gallery.tsx

Addressable examples

Each link below opens the Showcase at that exact example, not at the top of the gallery:

• basic — smallest meaningful complete usage

The Showcase links demonstrate Web behavior; use the native-preview guide for real simulator/emulator/device paths.

Live Web preview

This frame loads the real BeeUI Web Showcase on demand; it is not a second docs-only implementation. It proves browser behavior only. Use native preview for iOS/Android simulator, emulator or device paths.

Composition anatomy

• Family root / primary export: Avatar
  • Public composition parts / helpers:
    • avatarFallbackVariants
    • avatarVariants
  • Exported type surface:
    • AvatarProps

The tree above is ordinary document structure so it remains readable with keyboard and assistive technology; it is derived from the real public export family rather than a canvas-only diagram.

Verified example source

These are the parts of the typechecked runtime Showcase fixture behind this live preview — apps/showcase/component-gallery/component-gallery.tsx, 1103 lines — where Avatar is actually used: 12 lines in 1 place. Each block is copied verbatim from the line range named above it, so it is the same executable source, not a retelling of it. The rest of that file exercises other families and is not reproduced here.

Imports the examples below need (a filtered subset of the fixture’s own top-level imports):

import { Avatar, Button, HStack } from '@beemvp/beeui-ui';

Placeholder for a prop this fixture receives (not fixture source — substitute your own handler):

const onBack: () => void = () => {};

lines 481–492:

            <HStack gap="sm">
              <Button
                accessibilityLabel="Back to Showcase home"
                testID="component-gallery-back"
                onPress={onBack}
                size="sm"
                variant="ghost"
              >
                Back
              </Button>
              <Avatar accessibilityLabel="BeeUI" fallback="BU" />
            </HStack>

Open the fixture itself for the full surrounding component. For a smaller app-specific example, start from the imports and fixture-state blocks above and keep only the state your screen owns.

Limitations

fallback takes a string only, so an icon or element fallback has no slot, and with neither source nor fallback the family renders an empty circle. The image is hidden from assistive technology and no accessible name is derived, so a meaningful avatar needs an explicit accessibilityLabel. imageProps cannot set the image’s source — that one is owned here so a failed load can fall back — while the class name and error handler it carries are honoured, merged after imageClassName and chained after the internal reset.

Related

• All components
• Production patterns
• Showcase
• CLI & source ownership
• Source