---
title: 'Controls'
sidebar:
  order: 4
  title: Controls
---

<YouTubeCallout id="uAA1JvLcl-w" title="Avoid Documentation Nightmares with Storybook's Controls Doc Block" params="start=240" />

The `Controls` block can be used to show a dynamic table of args for a given story, as a way to document its interface, and to allow you to change the args for a (separately) rendered story (via the [`Story`](./doc-block-story.mdx) or [`Canvas`](./doc-block-canvas.mdx) blocks).

<Callout variant="info" icon="💡">
  If you’re looking for a static table that shows a component's arg types with no controls, see the [`ArgTypes`](./doc-block-argtypes.mdx) block instead.
</Callout>

![Screenshot of Controls block](../../_assets/api/doc-block-controls.png)

{/* prettier-ignore-start */}

```md title="ButtonDocs.mdx"
import { Meta, Canvas, Controls } from '@storybook/blocks';
import * as ButtonStories from './Button.stories'

<Meta of={ButtonStories} />

<Canvas of={ButtonStories.Primary} />

<Controls of={ButtonStories.Primary} />
```

{/* prettier-ignore-end */}

<Callout variant="warning">

  The Controls doc block will only have functioning UI controls if you have also installed and registered [`@storybook/addon-controls`](../../essentials/controls.mdx) (included in [`@storybook/addon-essentials`](../../essentials/index.mdx)) and haven't turned off inline stories with the [`inline`](./doc-block-story.mdx#inline) configuration option.

</Callout>

## Controls

```js
import { Controls } from '@storybook/blocks';
```

<details>
  <summary>Configuring with props <strong>and</strong> parameters</summary>

  ℹ️ Like most blocks, the `Controls` block is configured with props in MDX. Many of those props derive their default value from a corresponding [parameter](../../writing-stories/parameters.mdx) in the block's namespace, `parameters.docs.controls`.

  The following `exclude` configurations are equivalent:

  {/* prettier-ignore-start */}

  <CodeSnippets path="api-doc-block-controls-parameter.md" />

  {/* prettier-ignore-end */}

  {/* prettier-ignore-start */}

  ```md title="ButtonDocs.mdx"
  <Controls of={ButtonStories} exclude={['style']} />
  ```

  {/* prettier-ignore-end */}

  The example above applied the parameter at the [component](../../writing-stories/parameters.mdx#component-parameters) (or meta) level, but it could also be applied at the [project](../../writing-stories/parameters.mdx#global-parameters) or [story](../../writing-stories/parameters.mdx#story-parameters) level.
</details>

<Callout variant="info" icon="💡">

  This API configures Controls blocks used within docs pages. To configure the Controls addon panel, see the [Controls addon docs](../../essentials/controls.mdx). To configure individual controls, you can specify [argTypes](../arg-types.mdx#control) for each.
  
</Callout>

### `exclude`

Type: `string[] | RegExp`

Default: `parameters.docs.controls.exclude`

Specifies which controls to exclude from the args table. Any controls whose names match the regex or are part of the array will be left out.

### `include`

Type: `string[] | RegExp`

Default: `parameters.docs.controls.include`

Specifies which controls to include in the args table. Any controls whose names don't match the regex or are not part of the array will be left out.

### `of`

Type: Story export or CSF file exports

Specifies which story to get the controls from. If a CSF file exports is provided, it will use the primary (first) story in the file.

### `sort`

Type: `'none' | 'alpha' | 'requiredFirst'`

Default: `parameters.docs.controls.sort` or `'none'`

Specifies how the controls are sorted.

* **none**: Unsorted, displayed in the same order the controls are processed in
* **alpha**: Sorted alphabetically, by the arg type's name
* **requiredFirst**: Same as `alpha`, with any required controls displayed first