---
title: 'Stories for multiple components'
sidebar:
  order: 10
  title: Stories for multiple components
---

It's useful to write stories that [render two or more components](./index.mdx#stories-for-two-or-more-components) at once if those components are designed to work together. For example, `ButtonGroup`, `List`, and `Page` components.

## Subcomponents

When the components you're documenting have a parent-child relationship, you can use the `subcomponents` property to document them together. This is especially useful when the child component is not meant to be used on its own, but only as part of the parent component.

Here's an example with `List` and `ListItem` components:

{/* prettier-ignore-start */}

<CodeSnippets path="list-story-with-subcomponents.md" usesCsf3 csf2Path="writing-stories/stories-for-multiple-components#snippet-list-story-with-subcomponents" />

{/* prettier-ignore-end */}

Note that by adding a `subcomponents` property to the default export, we get an extra panel on the [ArgTypes](../writing-docs/doc-blocks.mdx#argtypes) and [Controls](../essentials/controls.mdx#) tables, listing the props of `ListItem`:

![Subcomponents in ArgTypes doc block](../_assets/writing-stories/doc-block-arg-types-subcomponents-for-list.png)

Subcomponents are only intended for documentation purposes and have some limitations:

1. The [argTypes](../api/arg-types.mdx) of subcomponents are [inferred (for the renderers that support that feature)](../api/arg-types.mdx#automatic-argtype-inference) and cannot be manually defined or overridden.
2. The table for each documented subcomponent does *not* include [controls](../essentials/controls.mdx) to change the value of the props, because controls always apply to the main component's args.

Let's talk about some techniques you can use to mitigate the above, which are especially useful in more complicated situations.

## Reusing story definitions

We can also reduce repetition in our stories by reusing story definitions. Here, we can reuse the `ListItem` stories' args in the story for `List`:

{/* prettier-ignore-start */}

<CodeSnippets path="list-story-reuse-data.md" usesCsf3 csf2Path="writing-stories/#snippet-list-story-reuse-data" />

{/* prettier-ignore-end */}

By rendering the `Unchecked` story with its args, we are able to reuse the input data from the `ListItem` stories in the `List`.

<If renderer="react">
  However, we still aren’t using args to control the `ListItem` stories, which means we cannot change them with controls and we cannot reuse them in other, more complex component stories.

  ## Using children as an arg

  One way we improve that situation is by pulling the rendered subcomponent out into a `children` arg:

  {/* prettier-ignore-start */}

  <CodeSnippets path="list-story-with-unchecked-children.md" usesCsf3 csf2Path="writing-stories/stories-for-multiple-components#snippet-list-story-with-unchecked-children" />

  {/* prettier-ignore-end */}

  Now that `children` is an arg, we can potentially reuse it in another story.

  However, there are some caveats when using this approach that you should be aware of.

  The `children` arg, just like all args, needs to be JSON serializable. To avoid errors with your Storybook, you should:

  * Avoid using empty values
  * Use [mapping](../essentials/controls.mdx#dealing-with-complex-values) if you want to adjust the value with [controls](../essentials/controls.mdx)
  * Use caution with components that include third party libraries

  <Callout variant="info">
    We're currently working on improving the overall experience for the children arg and allow you to edit children arg in a control and allow you to use other types of components in the near future. But for now you need to factor in this caveat when you're implementing your stories.
  </Callout>

  {/* End if react */}
</If>

## Creating a Template Component

Another option that is more “data”-based is to create a special “story-generating” template component:

{/* prettier-ignore-start */}

<CodeSnippets path="list-story-template.md" usesCsf3 csf2Path="writing-stories/stories-for-multiple-components#snippet-list-story-template" />

{/* prettier-ignore-end */}

This approach is a little more complex to setup, but it means you can more easily reuse the `args` to each story in a composite component. It also means that you can alter the args to the component with the Controls addon.