GOV.UK Frontend 6.0.0-beta

[owenatgov]

v6.0.0-beta.1 (Beta breaking release)

Breaking changes

Use the govuk-functional-colour function to access functional (formerly applied) colours in Sass

We've renamed and restructured our applied colours in Sass, and we've changed how you access them in your own code. They are now called functional colours.

If you were using the value of one of the variables in settings/_colours-applied.scss, use the new govuk-functional-colour function to output a var() call referencing the colour.

.a-component {
  // color: $govuk-text-colour
  color: govuk-functional-colour(text);
}

Removed Sass variable	govuk-functional-colour call
$govuk-brand-colour	govuk-functional-colour(brand)
$govuk-text-colour	govuk-functional-colour(text)
$govuk-template-background-colour	govuk-functional-colour(template-background)
$govuk-body-background-colour	govuk-functional-colour(body-background)
$govuk-print-text-colour	govuk-functional-colour(print-text)
$govuk-secondary-text-colour	govuk-functional-colour(secondary-text)
$govuk-focus-colour	govuk-functional-colour(focus)
$govuk-focus-text-colour	govuk-functional-colour(focus-text)
$govuk-error-colour	govuk-functional-colour(error)
$govuk-success-colour	govuk-functional-colour(success)
$govuk-border-colour	govuk-functional-colour(border)
$govuk-input-border-colour	govuk-functional-colour(input-border)
$govuk-hover-colour	govuk-functional-colour(hover)
$govuk-link-colour	govuk-functional-colour(link)
$govuk-link-visited-colour	govuk-functional-colour(link-visited)
$govuk-link-hover-colour	govuk-functional-colour(link-hover)
$govuk-link-active-colour	govuk-functional-colour(link-active)

Although we've now deprecated the Sass variables, they're still available to make your migration easier.
However, if your code was using the Sass variables to do computations using the Sass colour API, a compilation error will occur. This is because the variables now store a Sass string with a var() call, rather than a Sass colour.

Use $govuk-functional-colours to redefine functional (formerly applied) colours

We've restructured our applied colours in Sass. They are now called functional colours, and we've changed the way you redefine them.

If you were redefining a custom value for the functional colour before importing GOV.UK Frontend, you can still do this by assigning a map of the colours you want to change to the $govuk-functional-colours variable.

// This will be merged with the default functional colours of GOV.UK Frontend
// redefining the 'brand' colour to `rebeccapurple`
$govuk-functional-colour: (
  brand: rebeccapurple
);
@import 'pkg:govuk-frontend';

Note that you can only redefine existing functional colours, not add new functional colours. This is to make sure there's a clear separation between colours from GOV.UK Frontend and colours from your own project.

We've ended support for Ruby Sass and LibSass

GOV.UK Frontend no longer supports Ruby Sass or LibSass. You must update your project to Dart Sass to continue using GOV.UK Frontend.

Support for Ruby Sass ended in 2019, and LibSass was deprecated in 2020. A number of Sass implementations, including Node Sass, SassC and sass-rs, are dependent upon LibSass. GOV.UK Frontend no longer supports these implementations.

The Sass developers have provided guides for:

• migrating from Ruby Sass to Dart Sass
• migrating from LibSass to Dart Sass

We made this change in pull request #6311: Remove support for Ruby Sass and LibSass.

We've set our minimum Dart Sass version to 1.79

GOV.UK Frontend will no longer support services using Dart Sass versions earlier than 1.79. If you're using an earlier version of Dart Sass, your service's Sass may break, as GOV.UK Frontend may use features in Dart Sass that are not available in earlier versions.

If you're using an earlier version of Dart Sass than 1.79, see the Dart Sass releases and follow their release notes to upgrade to version 1.79 or later to continue using GOV.UK Frontend.

We made this change in pull request #6366: Update Dart Sass tests minimum version to 1.79.0.

Update references to govuk-pagination__item--ellipses class from the HTML for the Pagination component

We deprecated the govuk-pagination__item--ellipses class in GOV.UK Frontend 5.13.0, and we've now removed it.

If you're not using Nunjucks macros, you should update instances of this class to use the govuk-pagination__item--ellipsis class instead.

If you're using Nunjucks macros, you don't need to change anything.

We made this change in pull request #6382: Remove deprecated govuk-pagination__item--ellipses class.

Update the class on the GOV.UK logo link in the Header component

We've updated the value of the class attribute on the link to the GOV.UK homepage to govuk-header__homepage-link.

If you're not using Nunjucks macros, you'll need to update this class manually.

<!-- Before -->
<a href="//gov.uk" class="govuk-header__link govuk-header__link--homepage">
  [...]
</a>

<!-- After -->
<a href="//gov.uk" class="govuk-header__homepage-link">
  [...]
</a>

We made this change in pull request #6423: Remove service name and navigation from Header component.

Stop including the service name and navigation items in the Header component

We deprecated including the service name and navigation in the Header in GOV.UK Frontend 5.9.0.

We've now removed this functionality.

Service names and service-level navigation should now use the Service navigation component.

We made this change in pull request #6423: Remove service name and navigation from Header component.

Stop importing GOV.UK Frontend's Sass using all

We deprecated GOV.UK Frontend's all.scss file and partials in GOV.UK Frontend 5.8.0 and replaced them with equivalent Sass index files. We've now removed the all.scss files entirely.

With the move to Dart Sass, you can now simplify how you import Sass from GOV.UK Frontend.

// Before
@import "govuk/all";
@import "govuk/components/all"

// After
@import "govuk";
@import "govuk/components"

We made this change in pull request #6412: Remove all.scss file and partials.

Update to the new organisation colour palette

We updated the organisation colour palette in GOV.UK Frontend 5.9.0.

The new palette was initially opt-in using the $govuk-new-organisation-colours feature flag. The updated palette is now the only palette available, so you can remove the feature flag from your code.

As part of this work, we removed the deprecated $websafe parameter of the govuk-organisation-colour function. Use the $contrast-safe parameter when calling the function instead.

We made this change in pull request #6390: Remove legacy organisation colour palette.

Update references to deprecated organisations in the organisation colour palette

We've removed deprecated organisations from the organisation colour palette. These organisations had ceased to exist or had been renamed prior to the start of 2025.

We made this change in pull request #6426: Remove deprecated organisation colours.

Stop using the govuk-responsive-typography Sass mixin

We renamed the govuk-responsive-typography Sass mixin to govuk-font-size in GOV.UK Frontend 5.1.0. We've now removed the previous name entirely.

We made this change in pull request #6387: Remove govuk-responsive-typography mixin.

Stop using the --govuk-frontend-breakpoint CSS custom properties

We renamed CSS custom properties starting --govuk-frontend-breakpoint to begin with --govuk-breakpoint in GOV.UK Frontend 5.11.0. We've now removed the previous names for these properties.

We made this change in pull request #6385: Remove --govuk-frontend-breakpoint CSS properties.

Remove references to the $govuk-show-breakpoints feature flag

The $govuk-show-breakpoints feature flag was deprecated and rendered non-operational by the media query changes introduced in GOV.UK Frontend 5.13.0.

This flag was only intended for use as a local development aid and not for production services, and we've now removed it.

We made this change in pull request #6384: Remove $govuk-show-breakpoints feature flag.

Stop using the element parameter of the Button component

We deprecated the element parameter of the Button component Nunjucks macro in GOV.UK Frontend 5.1.0, and we've now removed it.

The component is now output as a link if the href parameter is set. Otherwise, it's a button element.

This means it's no longer possible to use input elements for buttons. Buttons using input are less flexible than button elements in terms of styling and content allowed within them, so we want to avoid using them.

We made this change in pull request #6383: Remove element parameter from Button component.

Stop using $govuk-canvas-background-colour

We renamed $govuk-canvas-background-colour to $govuk-template-background-colour in GOV.UK Frontend 5.10.0. We've now removed the previous variable entirely.

We made this change in pull request #6413: Remove $govuk-canvas-background-colour.

Stop using St. Edward's Crown and the useTudorCrown parameter

GOV.UK updated its logo to replace the St. Edward's Crown with the Tudor Crown in GOV.UK Frontend 5.1.0. The Tudor Crown became the default in 5.2.0, which is when we deprecated the option to switch between crowns.

We've now removed the Header component's useTudorCrown parameter and assets relating to the St. Edward's Crown.

We made this change in pull request #6414: Remove useTudorCrown parameter and St. Edwards crown assets.

Stop using govuk-body-xs, govuk-!-font-size-14 and '14' as a possible font size in govuk-font

We deprecated 14 as a point on our type scale in GOV.UK Frontend 5.1.0. We've now removed it as an option, along with the typography classes that used it:

• govuk-body-xs
• govuk-!-font-size-14

We made this change in pull request #6417: Remove 14 from the type scale.

We've updated our responsive type scale

We updated our responsive type scale behind the feature flag $govuk-new-typography-scale in GOV.UK Frontend 5.2.0.

These type scale changes are now on by default, and we've removed the $govuk-new-typography-scale feature flag.

We made this change in pull request #6421: Turn the new type scale on by default.

Recommended changes

Rename turquoise and pink coloured tags

We've renamed 2 of the Tag component's colour modifier classes to be in line with GOV.UK Frontend's new colour palette:

• govuk-tag--turquoise is now govuk-tag--teal
• govuk-tag--pink is now govuk-tag--magenta

Rename your tags to reflect these changes, as we'll be removing govuk-tag--turquoise and govuk-tag--pink in a future breaking release.

We made this change in pull request #6416: Deprecate turquoise and pink tag colour modifiers.

Check that the GOV.UK logo links to the GOV.UK homepage

We've updated the default value of homepageUrl to point to the GOV.UK homepage.

The previous default value pointed at the root of the current domain. On services, this caused the GOV.UK logo to link to the homepage of the service, rather than the GOV.UK homepage.

Unless you operate a GOV.UK branded product, the GOV.UK logo should always link to the homepage of GOV.UK. Use the Service navigation component to provide a link to a local homepage.

We made this change in pull request #6418: Update default homepageUrl to point to GOV.UK homepage.

New features

The GOV.UK footer component now allows the removal of OGL Content Licence information

If your service does not provide information under the Open Government Licence (OGL), you can now remove it from the GOV.UK footer.

If you're using Nunjucks, set the contentLicence parameter to false:

{{ govukFooter({
  contentLicence: false
}) }}

We made this change in #6191: Allow removal of Content Licence information in the GOV.UK footer component. Thanks to @NickColley for making this change.

Fixes

Tags now have borders for improved legibility

We've reviewed the design of the tag component in response to changes from the new GOV.UK brand colour palette.

Tags now have a 1px border, with the colour based on the background colour of the tag. This makes tags easier to distinguish against white backgrounds.

We made this change in pull request #6379: Add borders to tags.

Other fixes

We've made fixes to GOV.UK Frontend in the following pull requests:

• #5311: Remove non-operational value parameter from file upload component
• #6434: Fix rebranded header background being visible when printed - thanks to @lewis-softwire for reporting this issue
• #6447: Fix pagination outputting empty links when provided a null or empty value – thanks to @NikhilNanjappa for reporting this issue

v6.0.0-beta.0 (Beta breaking release)

To install this version with npm, run npm install [email protected]. You can also find more information about how to stay up to date in our documentation.

Breaking changes

Use GOV.UK brand colours

We’ve updated GOV.UK Frontend to use the web palette defined by the GOV.UK Brand guidelines, as well as the 25% and 50% shades when they exist for a given colour.

Check your service’s colours

Our components now use the colours of the GOV.UK web palette. If you’re using any custom colours, you’ll need to make sure they still work well with the new web palette in terms of accessibility and design. If possible, you should use the GOV.UK brand colours instead.

Use the govuk-colour function to access GOV.UK brand colours

You can use the govuk-colour function to fetch colours from the GOV.UK web palette. This function allows you to access both primary colours and their variants, such as tints and shades.

When the function receives only the colour name, it’ll return the primary variant of that colour. For example:

$app-colour: govuk-colour(‘blue’); // Returns the ‘Primary blue’ colour

Use the new $variant parameter of the govuk-colour function to access the tints and shades of a colour defined by the GOV.UK brand.

$component-colour: govuk-colour(‘red’, $variant: ‘tint-25’) // Returns the “Red tint 25%” colour
$other-component-colour: govuk-colour(‘green’, $variant: ‘shade-50’) // Returns the “Green shade 50%” colour

You can find the list of possible colour names in the GOV.UK brand guidelines.

If you’re already using the govuk-colour function

If you’re already using the govuk-colour function in your project, colours from the GOV.UK web palette will now be applied automatically when you call the function.

If the colour name exists in the GOV.UK web palette, the function returns the primary variant for that colour. The colour remains the same for‘blue, yellow and orange, but the following colours will see a slight change:

Colour	Old colour hex	New colour hex
green	#00703c	#11875a
red	#d4351c	#ca3535
purple	#4c2c92	#54319f
brown	#b58840	#99704a

Some of the GOV.UK brand colours are slightly different from the colours that were returned by govuk-colour before GOV.UK Frontend v6.0. That means you’ll need to check that the colours still work correctly where you applied them in your project, in terms of accessibility and design.

To make it easier to upgrade, in cases where a colour name does not exist in the GOV.UK brand palette (for example, bright-purple), the function will return the closest colour from the GOV.UK brand palette but produce a deprecation warning. We recommend that you update your calls to govuk-colour with deprecated colour names to use a colour from the GOV.UK brand, such as the one suggested in the deprecation warning message.

govuk-colour now maps colour names that no longer exist from the old palette to the new palette, as described in the following table. You can use this list to assess and update your use of govuk-colour.

Old colour name	Old colour hex	New colour name	New colour hex
light-pink	#f499be	Magenta tint 50%	#e59abe
pink	#d53880	Primary magenta	#ca357c
light-green	#85994b	Green tint 25%	#4da583
turquoise	#28a197	Primary teal	#158187
light-blue	#5694ca	Blue tint 25%	#5694ca
dark-blue	#003078	Blue shade 50%	#0f385c
light-purple	#6f72af	Purple tint 25%	#7f65b7
bright-purple	#912b88	Magenta shade 25%	#98285d
dark-grey	#505a5f	Black tint 25%	#484949
mid-grey	#b1b4b6	Black tint 80%	#cecece
light-grey	#f3f2f1	Black tint 95%	#f3f3f3

If you’re using the $govuk-colours variable

We’ve removed the $govuk-colours variable from GOV.UK Frontend, to only allow access to the colours through the govuk-colour function.

If you were accessing the GOV.UK Frontend colours with map-get($govuk-colours, <COLOUR_NAME>), you’ll now need to use govuk-colour(<COLOUR_NAME>).

We made these changes in the following pull requests:

• #6326: Use brand palette through govuk-colour
• #6335: Update button colours to use govuk_palette
• #6336: Update tag colours to use govuk_palette
• #6337: Update file upload colours to use govuk_palette

Stop using the $legacy parameter in the govuk-colour function

We’ve removed the $legacy parameter of the govuk-colour function, so you should remove any usage of it.

We made this change in pull request #6326: Use brand palette through govuk-colour.

Stop using govuk-tint and govuk-shade

The govuk-tint and govuk-shade functions for applying tints and shades to colours by percentage are now deprecated and no longer work. They now only return the colour you pass to them, as well as a Sass warning. We’ll remove the govuk-tint and govuk-shade functions in the final release of 6.0.0.

We recommend replacing them with tints and shades from the new GOV.UK colour palette that are as close as possible to your existing implementation.

We made this change in pull request #6341: Deactivate govuk-tint and govuk-shade functions.

Fixes

We've made fixes to GOV.UK Frontend in the following pull requests:

• #6338: Fix hover state on focused small radios