Create a responsive navbar sidebar "drawer" in Bootstrap?

Trying to achieve something like this : https://www.muicss.com/examples/v1/example-layouts/responsive-side-menu/index.html

I've seen some examples online using other versions of bootstrap, but they all change the css too much, which makes it harder to learn bootstrap.

I was wondering if in Bootstrap 4 this can be done using tools like collapse, stacked pills, flexbox?

This is what I could achieve : https://jsfiddle.net/kL9u6esw/20/

What is missing from my Jsfiddle :

  1. Not correctly responsive
  2. The navbar isn't scrolling properly with the sticky class
  3. The menu button isn't sticky even though I set the class.
  4. A background dimmer, although not necessary for the answer, would be great

In my example I couldn't figure out how to insert a navbar, not sure if its necessary for it to be properly responsive.

Also not sure if having it as a columns is the correct way to do it, shouldn't it be off-canvas?

Html code :

<div class="container-fluid h-100">
  <div class="row h-100">
    <div class="col-5 col-md-3 collapse m-0 p-0 h-100 bg-dark" id="collapseExample">
      <ul class="nav flex-column navbar-dark sticky-top">
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </div>
    <div class="col">
      <div class="row">
        <div class="col-12">
          <button class="btn sticky-top" data-toggle="collapse" href="#collapseExample" role="button">
            Menu
          </button>   
        </div>
        <div class="col-12">
          Lorem...
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Solution 1:

Bootstrap 5 Beta 3 (update 2021)

There is now an offical Bootstrap 5 Offcanvas Component that makes creating sidebars much easier. Of course it can still be done without using the Offcanvas component like this sidebar example for Bootstrap 5

Bootstrap 4 (original answer)

Sidebar navs can be very complex. This may be why Bootstrap doesn't have an "out-of- the-box" component. There are many considerations for Sidebars:

  • Responsive - different width, visibility or orientation based on screen width?
  • Multi-level - do the nav items have sub levels? How will this impact height?
  • Toggleable - can the sidebar be toggled by a button or "hamburger"?
  • Push vs. Overlay - is page content hidden behind or next to the sidebar?
  • Left or right - is the sidebar to the left or right of page content?
  • Fixed or sticky - how is the sidebar positioned on page scroll?
  • Animation style - slide left/right/up/down?, collapse?

In this "sidebar" case... instead of using col-auto on the right column, use col. That way it will fill the width when the menu is collapsed: https://jsfiddle.net/0rhyzu7o/

<div class="container-fluid h-100">
  <div class="row h-100">
    <div class="col-5 col-md-3 collapse width m-0 p-0 h-100 bg-dark" id="collapseExample">
       ..
    </div>
    <div class="col">
      <div class="row">
        <div class="col-12">
          <button class="btn sticky-top" data-toggle="collapse" href="#collapseExample" role="button">
            Menu
          </button>   
        </div>
        <div class="col-12">
           ..
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

To make the animation a little smoother, you must override Bootstrap's collapsing transition which normally works on height

EDIT:

Based on the bounty request, I updated the sidebar with 2 more examples. These are closer to the example, and mostly use Bootstrap classes.

Minimal version

This version is closer to the example, and has the same slide left/right "drawer" animation.

body {
    height: 100vh;
    overflow-x: hidden;
    padding-top: 56px;
}

.vh-100 {
    min-height: 100vh;
}

.sidebar.collapse.show,
.sidebar.collapse.show + .col {
    transition: .18s ease;
    transform: translate(0,0,0);
    left: 0;
}

.sidebar.collapse,
.sidebar.collapsing,
.sidebar.collapsing + .col {
    transition: .18s ease;
    transform: translate(-25%,0,0);
    z-index: 1050;
    left: -25%;
}

Demo minimal version: https://codeply.com/go/w1AMD1EY3c


Full version (very close to the example):

This sidebar features:

  • fixed-width
  • automatically closes on smaller screens, opens on wider screens
  • can be toggled open/closed at any width
  • responsive - becomes a fixed overlay on smaller widths

This full version does require a little more CSS, but some of it is optional...

<link href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.0.0/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<link href="//maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/font-awesome/4.7.0/css/font-awesome.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<style>
body {
   height: 100vh;
   overflow-x: hidden;
   padding-top: 55px;
}

/* set the sidebar width */
.w-sidebar {
    width: 200px;
    max-width: 200px;
}

.row.collapse {
    margin-left: -200px;
    left: 0;
    transition: margin-left .15s linear;
}

.row.collapse.show {
    margin-left: 0 !important;
}

.row.collapsing {
    margin-left: -200px;
    left: -0.05%;
    transition: all .15s linear;
}

/* optional */
.vh-100 {
    min-height: 100vh;
}

/* optional for overlay sidebar on small screens */
@media (max-width:768px) {

    .row.collapse,
    .row.collapsing {
        margin-left: 0 !important;
        left: 0 !important;
        overflow: visible;
    }
    
    .row > .sidebar.collapse {
        display: flex !important;
        margin-left: -100% !important;
        transition: all .3s linear;
        position: fixed;
        z-index: 1050;
        max-width: 0;
        min-width: 0;
        flex-basis: auto;
    }
    
    .row > .sidebar.collapse.show {
        margin-left: 0 !important;
        width: 100%;
        max-width: 100%;
        min-width: initial;
    }
    
    .row > .sidebar.collapsing {
        display: flex !important;
        margin-left: -10% !important;
        transition: all .2s linear !important;
        position: fixed;
        z-index: 1050;
        min-width: initial;
    }
}
</style>
<div class="container-fluid fixed-top bg-dark py-3">
    <div class="row collapse show no-gutters d-flex h-100 position-relative">
        <div class="col-3 px-0 w-sidebar navbar-collapse collapse d-none d-md-flex">
            <!-- spacer col -->
        </div>
        <div class="col px-2 px-md-0">
            <!-- toggler -->
            <a data-toggle="collapse" href="#" data-target=".collapse" role="button" class="p-1">
                <i class="fa fa-bars fa-lg"></i>
            </a>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>
<div class="container-fluid px-0 h-100">
    <div class="row vh-100 collapse show no-gutters d-flex h-100 position-relative">
        <div class="col-3 p-0 vh-100 h-100 w-sidebar navbar-collapse collapse d-none d-md-flex sidebar">
            <!-- fixed sidebar -->
            <div class="position-fixed bg-dark text-white h-100 w-sidebar pl-2">
                <ul class="nav flex-column">
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Link</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
                    </li>
                </ul>
            </div>
        </div>
        <div class="col p-3">
            <h3>Content..</h3>
            <p class="lead">Try this is full-page view to see the animation on larger screens!</p>
            <p>Sriracha biodiesel taxidermy organic post-ironic, Intelligentsia salvia mustache 90's code editing brunch. Butcher polaroid VHS art party, hashtag Brooklyn deep v PBR narwhal sustainable mixtape swag wolf squid tote bag. Tote bag cronut semiotics, raw denim deep v taxidermy messenger bag. Tofu YOLO Etsy, direct trade ethical Odd Future jean shorts paleo. Forage Shoreditch tousled aesthetic irony, street art organic Bushwick artisan cliche semiotics ugh synth chillwave meditation. Shabby chic lomo plaid vinyl chambray Vice. Vice sustainable cardigan, Williamsburg master cleanse hella DIY 90's blog. Ethical Kickstarter PBR asymmetrical lo-fi. Dreamcatcher street art Carles, stumptown gluten-free Kickstarter artisan Wes Anderson wolf pug. Godard sustainable you probably haven't heard of them, vegan farm-to-table!</p>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>    

<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.0.0/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>

Demo full version: https://codeply.com/go/XJE8LOdX8k


Both the minimal and robust examples are much closer to the original example. It's easy to change color and tweak the styles. Here's another variation with the sidebar overlaying the toggle bar at the top.

Also see: Bootstrap Navbar Collapse to Overlay Sidebar

Solution 2:

So here's a possible solution to points 1-3.

The key to solving #1 was provided by @zimsystem: "Instead of using col-auto on the right column, use col. That way it will fill the width when the menu is collapsed."

To solve #2, you need to get rid of h-100 in the first row and column:

<div class="container-fluid h-100">
  <div class="row *h-100*">
     <div class="col-5 col-md-3 collapse m-0 p-0 *h-100* bg-dark" id="collapseExample">
     ...
     </div>
  </div>
</div>

(this is not correct code, I marked the classes you need to delete with asterisks)

Once you do this, the menu column will stretch to the full length of the content column.

To solve #3, you just need to move the button out of a sub column, into the main column. It was staying in place within the mini column you had assigned it to.

<div class="col">
      <button class="btn sticky-top" data-toggle="collapse" href="#collapseExample" id="" role="button">
           Menu
      </button>
      <div class="row">

     <div class="col-12">
       Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer in...
     </div>

Additionally, I added some CSS to the menu in case you end up having more links than in the example, so that they'll scroll properly if the list is too long for your screen.

.collapse .flex-column {
  max-height: 100vh;
  overflow: auto;
  flex-wrap: nowrap; /* Optional, if you don't want the links to form columns if they overflow */
}
.collapse .flex-column li { 
  width: 100%; 
}

The full code for this answer is here:

body{
  height : 100vh;
  overflow : scroll;
}

.collapse.width.show {
    transition: max-width .3s ease, min-width .3s ease;
    width: 100%;
    max-width: 100%;
    min-width: initial;
}
.collapse.width,
.collapsing.width {
   max-width: 0;
   min-width: 0;
   width: 0;
   transition: all .2s ease;
}
.collapse .flex-column {
  max-height: 100vh;
  overflow: auto;
  flex-wrap: nowrap; /* Optional, if you don't want the links to form columns if they overflow */
}
.collapse .flex-column li { 
  width: 100%; 
}
<link href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.0.0/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div class="container-fluid h-100">
  <div class="row">
    <div class="col-5 col-md-3 collapse width m-0 p-0 bg-dark" id="collapseExample">
      <ul class="nav flex-column navbar-dark sticky-top"> 
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link active" href="#">Active</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#">Disabled</a>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </div>
    <div class="col">
      <button class="btn sticky-top" data-toggle="collapse" href="#collapseExample" id="" role="button">
           Menu
      </button>
      <div class="row">
       
        <div class="col-12">
      Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer in lectus in nibh facilisis luctus. Maecenas sagittis pellentesque sapien, vitae dignissim nisl luctus interdum. Aenean risus justo, vestibulum ultrices posuere ornare, consectetur ac enim. Pellentesque egestas eleifend diam in tincidunt. Cras eget dignissim lacus. Praesent condimentum arcu nisi, ut ultrices lorem imperdiet sed. Suspendisse a elit quis erat volutpat bibendum. Proin metus odio, hendrerit at fermentum quis, suscipit id felis. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Nulla nec mattis nibh, in dignissim turpis.

Integer sem nulla, malesuada non gravida sit amet, porttitor ac lorem. Nam gravida facilisis pulvinar. Maecenas lacinia tellus in diam pretium gravida. Pellentesque massa tellus, egestas sed odio vitae, convallis mollis massa. Duis at scelerisque nisi. Phasellus eu dapibus orci. Mauris tortor urna, vestibulum eget consectetur id, fringilla non sapien. Vivamus sagittis facilisis auctor. Pellentesque mollis posuere tincidunt. Fusce at mauris vel ante ullamcorper sollicitudin.

Phasellus nibh ex, fermentum id tristique vel, consequat a lectus. Donec consequat nec nulla et fringilla. Aenean in ligula in eros mollis auctor non facilisis leo. Fusce lectus lacus, convallis vel tempor et, mattis non urna. Suspendisse velit libero, dapibus ut augue et, semper tincidunt purus. Donec gravida felis non consequat sollicitudin. Ut imperdiet ante quis est rutrum bibendum at non eros. Pellentesque luctus, ipsum nec lacinia vestibulum, nulla lorem volutpat risus, sit amet dignissim nisl ipsum varius neque. In volutpat, quam quis aliquet luctus, nulla nibh hendrerit ex, et eleifend dolor odio et mi. Duis tempus sem vitae lacus imperdiet semper. Curabitur et consequat elit. Cras suscipit rhoncus elit, non volutpat ex vulputate pharetra. Donec nec elit sit amet tortor egestas maximus. Suspendisse risus neque, accumsan eu porttitor et, tincidunt quis nulla. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Etiam massa est, varius malesuada rhoncus sodales, bibendum at leo.

Nullam porta libero vel tortor maximus volutpat. Aenean maximus sollicitudin ipsum, vitae pulvinar sapien blandit sed. Vestibulum sed elit viverra, dignissim nisi at, tristique mi. Pellentesque in viverra nulla. Morbi porttitor, ligula id malesuada mattis, lorem libero tempor mauris, sed aliquet neque leo et nunc. Donec odio nibh, posuere at condimentum vel, laoreet in lacus. Nulla sollicitudin scelerisque urna, nec gravida arcu sagittis quis. Fusce auctor urna sed diam dignissim, at interdum lorem ornare. Fusce viverra, diam eu tempor volutpat, sapien turpis lacinia ligula, ac venenatis mi magna eget ante. Nullam dignissim blandit urna, vel consectetur dui venenatis ac. Cras volutpat, ligula in finibus mattis, sem quam ullamcorper ligula, eget ultricies ipsum mi vitae enim.

Proin porta lorem quis sem porttitor, nec lacinia enim viverra. Sed tortor dolor, congue vitae bibendum feugiat, efficitur non augue. Curabitur vitae nunc eget libero euismod fringilla. Nulla pretium dignissim lacus. Aliquam purus lorem, molestie vel turpis ac, euismod fermentum erat. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Donec ac varius massa, non tempus elit. Phasellus quis tortor iaculis est sollicitudin rutrum id non mi. In eget pharetra justo. Morbi vitae commodo eros. Quisque facilisis blandit laoreet. 
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div><script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.0.0/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>

Let me know how it goes!