Buttons - Dear ImGui

Buttons are fundamental interactive widgets that respond to user clicks. Dear ImGui provides several button types for different use cases.

Standard Button

Button()

Create a clickable button that returns true when pressed:

IMGUI_API bool Button(const char* label, const ImVec2& size = ImVec2(0, 0));

label

const char*

required

The text displayed on the button

size

ImVec2

default:"ImVec2(0, 0)"

Button size in pixels. Use (0,0) for auto-sizing to fit the label.

static int clicked = 0;
if (ImGui::Button("Click Me")) {
    clicked++;
}
if (clicked & 1) {
    ImGui::SameLine();
    ImGui::Text("Thanks for clicking me!");
}

Button Variants

SmallButton()

A button with reduced padding, useful for embedding in text:

IMGUI_API bool SmallButton(const char* label);

ImGui::Text("Inline button:"); 
ImGui::SameLine();
if (ImGui::SmallButton("small")) {
    // Button clicked
}

InvisibleButton()

A button without visual decoration, useful for custom rendering:

IMGUI_API bool InvisibleButton(const char* str_id, const ImVec2& size, ImGuiButtonFlags flags = 0);

str_id

const char*

required

String identifier (not displayed)

size

ImVec2

required

Button size in pixels

flags

ImGuiButtonFlags

Optional button flags:

ImGuiButtonFlags_MouseButtonLeft (default)
ImGuiButtonFlags_MouseButtonRight
ImGuiButtonFlags_MouseButtonMiddle

if (ImGui::InvisibleButton("##invisible", ImVec2(100, 100))) {
    // Clicked
}

// Right-click button
if (ImGui::InvisibleButton("##context", ImVec2(50, 50), ImGuiButtonFlags_MouseButtonRight)) {
    ImGui::OpenPopup("context_menu");
}

ArrowButton()

A button displaying a directional arrow:

IMGUI_API bool ArrowButton(const char* str_id, ImGuiDir dir);

dir

ImGuiDir

required

Arrow direction:

ImGuiDir_Left
ImGuiDir_Right
ImGuiDir_Up
ImGuiDir_Down

static int counter = 0;
float spacing = ImGui::GetStyle().ItemInnerSpacing.x;

if (ImGui::ArrowButton("##left", ImGuiDir_Left)) { counter--; }
ImGui::SameLine(0.0f, spacing);
if (ImGui::ArrowButton("##right", ImGuiDir_Right)) { counter++; }
ImGui::SameLine();
ImGui::Text("%d", counter);

Button Modifiers

Repeating Buttons

Make buttons fire continuously while held down:

static int counter = 0;
float spacing = ImGui::GetStyle().ItemInnerSpacing.x;

ImGui::PushItemFlag(ImGuiItemFlags_ButtonRepeat, true);
if (ImGui::ArrowButton("##left", ImGuiDir_Left)) { counter--; }
ImGui::SameLine(0.0f, spacing);
if (ImGui::ArrowButton("##right", ImGuiDir_Right)) { counter++; }
ImGui::PopItemFlag();

ImGui::SameLine();
ImGui::Text("%d", counter);

With ImGuiItemFlags_ButtonRepeat enabled, the button returns true multiple times while held, not just on initial press.

Colored Buttons

Customize button colors using style modifiers:

// Single colored button
ImGui::PushStyleColor(ImGuiCol_Button, ImVec4(1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f));
ImGui::PushStyleColor(ImGuiCol_ButtonHovered, ImVec4(1.0f, 0.2f, 0.2f, 1.0f));
ImGui::PushStyleColor(ImGuiCol_ButtonActive, ImVec4(0.8f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f));
if (ImGui::Button("Red Button")) {
    // Clicked
}
ImGui::PopStyleColor(3);

// Multiple colored buttons with HSV
for (int i = 0; i < 7; i++) {
    if (i > 0) ImGui::SameLine();
    ImGui::PushID(i);
    ImGui::PushStyleColor(ImGuiCol_Button, (ImVec4)ImColor::HSV(i / 7.0f, 0.6f, 0.6f));
    ImGui::PushStyleColor(ImGuiCol_ButtonHovered, (ImVec4)ImColor::HSV(i / 7.0f, 0.7f, 0.7f));
    ImGui::PushStyleColor(ImGuiCol_ButtonActive, (ImVec4)ImColor::HSV(i / 7.0f, 0.8f, 0.8f));
    ImGui::Button("Click");
    ImGui::PopStyleColor(3);
    ImGui::PopID();
}

Checkbox and Radio Buttons

Checkbox()

Toggle boolean values:

IMGUI_API bool Checkbox(const char* label, bool* v);
IMGUI_API bool CheckboxFlags(const char* label, int* flags, int flags_value);
IMGUI_API bool CheckboxFlags(const char* label, unsigned int* flags, unsigned int flags_value);

static bool check = true;
ImGui::Checkbox("Enable Feature", &check);

if (check) {
    ImGui::Text("Feature is enabled");
}

RadioButton()

Select one option from a group:

IMGUI_API bool RadioButton(const char* label, bool active);
IMGUI_API bool RadioButton(const char* label, int* v, int v_button);

Manual Mode
Automatic Mode

static int selected = 0;
if (ImGui::RadioButton("Option A", selected == 0)) selected = 0;
if (ImGui::RadioButton("Option B", selected == 1)) selected = 1;
if (ImGui::RadioButton("Option C", selected == 2)) selected = 2;

static int e = 0;
ImGui::RadioButton("radio a", &e, 0); ImGui::SameLine();
ImGui::RadioButton("radio b", &e, 1); ImGui::SameLine();
ImGui::RadioButton("radio c", &e, 2);

Image Buttons

ImageButton()

Create a button with an image:

IMGUI_API bool ImageButton(const char* str_id, ImTextureRef tex_ref, const ImVec2& image_size,
                           const ImVec2& uv0 = ImVec2(0, 0), const ImVec2& uv1 = ImVec2(1, 1),
                           const ImVec4& bg_col = ImVec4(0, 0, 0, 0), 
                           const ImVec4& tint_col = ImVec4(1, 1, 1, 1));

str_id

const char*

required

String identifier for the button

tex_ref

ImTextureRef

required

Texture reference (your texture ID cast to ImTextureRef)

image_size

ImVec2

required

Size of the image to display

uv0, uv1

ImVec2

default:"(0,0), (1,1)"

UV coordinates for the image texture

ImTextureRef my_texture = /* your texture */;
ImVec2 button_size = ImVec2(32.0f, 32.0f);

for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
    ImGui::PushID(i);
    if (i > 0) ImGui::SameLine();
    
    ImVec4 bg_col = ImVec4(0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f);
    ImVec4 tint_col = ImVec4(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f);
    
    if (ImGui::ImageButton("", my_texture, button_size, 
                           ImVec2(0, 0), ImVec2(1, 1), bg_col, tint_col)) {
        // Button clicked
    }
    ImGui::PopID();
}

Add tooltips to buttons for additional information:

ImGui::Button("Hover Me");
ImGui::SetItemTooltip("This is a tooltip");

// Or using BeginItemTooltip for complex tooltips
ImGui::Button("Advanced");
if (ImGui::BeginItemTooltip()) {
    ImGui::Text("This is a more complex tooltip");
    ImGui::BulletText("Feature 1");
    ImGui::BulletText("Feature 2");
    ImGui::EndTooltip();
}

Complete Example

void ShowButtonDemo() {
    ImGui::Begin("Button Demo");
    
    // Standard button
    static int click_count = 0;
    if (ImGui::Button("Standard Button")) {
        click_count++;
    }
    ImGui::Text("Clicked %d times", click_count);
    
    ImGui::Spacing();
    
    // Small button
    ImGui::Text("Inline:"); ImGui::SameLine();
    if (ImGui::SmallButton("small")) {
        // Clicked
    }
    
    ImGui::Spacing();
    
    // Arrow buttons with repeat
    static int counter = 0;
    ImGui::PushItemFlag(ImGuiItemFlags_ButtonRepeat, true);
    if (ImGui::ArrowButton("##left", ImGuiDir_Left)) counter--;
    ImGui::SameLine();
    if (ImGui::ArrowButton("##right", ImGuiDir_Right)) counter++;
    ImGui::PopItemFlag();
    ImGui::SameLine();
    ImGui::Text("%d", counter);
    
    ImGui::Spacing();
    
    // Checkbox
    static bool enabled = true;
    ImGui::Checkbox("Enable Feature", &enabled);
    
    ImGui::Spacing();
    
    // Radio buttons
    static int selection = 0;
    ImGui::RadioButton("Option A", &selection, 0); ImGui::SameLine();
    ImGui::RadioButton("Option B", &selection, 1); ImGui::SameLine();
    ImGui::RadioButton("Option C", &selection, 2);
    
    ImGui::Spacing();
    
    // Colored button
    ImGui::PushStyleColor(ImGuiCol_Button, ImVec4(0.8f, 0.2f, 0.2f, 1.0f));
    ImGui::PushStyleColor(ImGuiCol_ButtonHovered, ImVec4(0.9f, 0.3f, 0.3f, 1.0f));
    ImGui::PushStyleColor(ImGuiCol_ButtonActive, ImVec4(0.7f, 0.1f, 0.1f, 1.0f));
    if (ImGui::Button("Danger Button")) {
        // Perform dangerous action
    }
    ImGui::PopStyleColor(3);
    
    ImGui::End();
}

Best Practices

Use PushID() / PopID() or the ## label syntax when you need multiple buttons with the same label.

Button size (0,0) means auto-size. Use (-FLT_MIN, 0) for full-width buttons.

Documentation Index

​Standard Button

​Button()

​Button Variants

​SmallButton()

​InvisibleButton()

​ArrowButton()

​Button Modifiers

​Repeating Buttons

​Colored Buttons

​Checkbox and Radio Buttons

​Checkbox()

​RadioButton()

​Image Buttons

​ImageButton()

​Button with Tooltip

​Complete Example

​Best Practices

Standard Button

Button()

Button Variants

SmallButton()

InvisibleButton()

ArrowButton()

Button Modifiers

Repeating Buttons

Colored Buttons

Checkbox and Radio Buttons

Checkbox()

RadioButton()

Image Buttons

ImageButton()

Button with Tooltip

Complete Example

Best Practices