What it is
Angular Material is the official UI component library for Angular, built with Google's Material Design system. It provides a wide range of reusable, accessible, and customizable UI components.
Angular Material provides Angular components for navigation, forms, buttons, dialogs, data tables, and more. Components follow Angular’s modular structure and are imported as individual modules.
Installation
npm install @angular/material @angular/cdk @angular/animationsGetting started
The smallest useful thing you can do with it, and what each part means.
import { MatButtonModule } from '@angular/material/button';
@NgModule({
imports: [MatButtonModule]
})
export class AppModule {}
<button mat-raised-button color="primary">Click Me</button>import { MatInputModule } from '@angular/material/input';
<mat-form-field appearance="fill">
<mat-label>Email</mat-label>
<input matInput placeholder="Enter your email">
</mat-form-field>Advanced usage
Where the library earns its place over a simpler alternative.
import { MatDialog } from '@angular/material/dialog';
constructor(public dialog: MatDialog) {}
openDialog() {
this.dialog.open(DialogContentExampleDialog);
}
@Component({
selector: 'dialog-content-example-dialog',
template: `<h1 mat-dialog-title>Dialog</h1>
<div mat-dialog-content>This is a Material dialog</div>
<div mat-dialog-actions>
<button mat-button mat-dialog-close>Close</button>
</div>`
})
export class DialogContentExampleDialog {}import { MatTableModule } from '@angular/material/table';
<mat-table [dataSource]="data">
<ng-container matColumnDef="name">
<mat-header-cell *matHeaderCellDef>Name</mat-header-cell>
<mat-cell *matCellDef="let element">{{element.name}}</mat-cell>
</ng-container>
<mat-header-row *matHeaderRowDef="['name']"></mat-header-row>
<mat-row *matRowDef="let row; columns: ['name'];"></mat-row>
</mat-table>Errors and fixes
The failures you are most likely to hit, and what actually resolves them.
- Material components not styled
- Ensure you imported a prebuilt theme CSS (e.g., `@angular/material/prebuilt-themes/indigo-pink.css`).
- Animations not working
- Import `BrowserAnimationsModule` in your `AppModule`.
- Build errors when importing modules
- Make sure you’re importing Angular Material modules in the correct `NgModule`.
Best practices
- Import only the Angular Material modules you need to reduce bundle size.
- Use Angular Material’s theming system to maintain consistent branding.
- Combine Material components with Angular Reactive Forms for powerful form handling.
- Enable animations (`BrowserAnimationsModule`) for full Material Design experience.
- Follow Angular Material accessibility guidelines to ensure inclusive apps.
Background
Why it exists, and what it was reacting to.
Angular Material was created by the Angular team at Google to bring the Material Design language to Angular applications. It ensures consistency, accessibility, and integration with Angular’s ecosystem, making it a standard choice for enterprise-grade Angular projects.