angular-forms

Angular Forms

Two paradigms: Reactive Forms (preferred for non-trivial) and Template-driven ([(ngModel)]-based, simpler for tiny forms). Pick what the project uses; default to Reactive for new code.

Detection

Marker (in template imports / *.module.ts imports)	Approach
ReactiveFormsModule	Reactive Forms (preferred)
FormsModule (without ReactiveFormsModule)	Template-driven only
Both	Mixed; mirror existing style per area

Reactive Forms (preferred)

Basic typed form (Angular 14+)

import { Component, inject } from '@angular/core';
import { FormGroup, FormControl, Validators, ReactiveFormsModule } from '@angular/forms';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-login',
  standalone: true,
  imports: [ReactiveFormsModule],
  template: `
    <form [formGroup]="loginForm" (ngSubmit)="onSubmit()">
      <label>
        Email
        <input type="email" formControlName="email" [attr.aria-invalid]="emailControl.invalid && emailControl.touched" />
        @if (emailControl.invalid && emailControl.touched) {
          @if (emailControl.errors?.['required']) {
            <p role="alert">Email is required</p>
          } @else if (emailControl.errors?.['email']) {
            <p role="alert">Invalid email format</p>
          }
        }
      </label>

      <label>
        Password
        <input type="password" formControlName="password" />
        @if (passwordControl.invalid && passwordControl.touched) {
          <p role="alert">Password must be at least 8 characters</p>
        }
      </label>

      <button type="submit" [disabled]="loginForm.invalid || submitting()">
        {{ submitting() ? 'Logging in...' : 'Log in' }}
      </button>
    </form>
  `,
})
export class LoginComponent {
  loginForm = new FormGroup({
    email: new FormControl('', {
      validators: [Validators.required, Validators.email],
      nonNullable: true,
    }),
    password: new FormControl('', {
      validators: [Validators.required, Validators.minLength(8)],
      nonNullable: true,
    }),
  });

  submitting = signal(false);

  get emailControl() { return this.loginForm.controls.email; }
  get passwordControl() { return this.loginForm.controls.password; }

  async onSubmit() {
    if (this.loginForm.invalid) return;
    this.submitting.set(true);
    try {
      const { email, password } = this.loginForm.getRawValue();   // typed: { email: string; password: string }
      await this.authService.login({ email, password });
      this.router.navigate(['/dashboard']);
    } catch (err) {
      this.loginForm.setErrors({ serverError: 'Login failed' });
    } finally {
      this.submitting.set(false);
    }
  }
}

Why typed forms (Angular 14+)

const form = new FormGroup({
  email: new FormControl('', { nonNullable: true }),    // FormControl<string>
  age: new FormControl<number | null>(null),             // FormControl<number | null>
});

form.value;                          // { email?: string; age?: number | null }
form.getRawValue();                  // { email: string; age: number | null }
form.controls.email.value;            // string (because nonNullable: true)
form.controls.age.value;              // number | null

nonNullable: true makes the control non-nullable — .value is T, not T | null. Use whenever the field has a default value.

form.value is partial because disabled controls are excluded; form.getRawValue() includes everything.

FormBuilder (less verbose)

import { FormBuilder, Validators } from '@angular/forms';

private fb = inject(FormBuilder);

loginForm = this.fb.nonNullable.group({
  email: ['', [Validators.required, Validators.email]],
  password: ['', [Validators.required, Validators.minLength(8)]],
});

fb.nonNullable.group() makes all fields non-nullable by default. Same typed result as manual FormGroup + nonNullable: true.

For nullable fields use fb.group({ ... }) (without nonNullable).

Built-in validators

Validators.required
Validators.requiredTrue                      // for checkboxes (must be checked)
Validators.email
Validators.min(0)
Validators.max(100)
Validators.minLength(8)
Validators.maxLength(64)
Validators.pattern(/^[A-Za-z]+$/)
Validators.compose([Validators.required, Validators.email])

Custom validators

import { AbstractControl, ValidationErrors, ValidatorFn } from '@angular/forms';

// Simple sync validator
function noWhitespace(control: AbstractControl): ValidationErrors | null {
  const value = control.value;
  return value && value.trim().length === 0 ? { whitespace: true } : null;
}

// Validator factory (parameterized)
function maxWords(max: number): ValidatorFn {
  return (control: AbstractControl): ValidationErrors | null => {
    const wordCount = (control.value || '').trim().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length;
    return wordCount > max ? { maxWords: { max, actual: wordCount } } : null;
  };
}

// Cross-field validator (on FormGroup)
function passwordsMatch(group: AbstractControl): ValidationErrors | null {
  const a = group.get('password')?.value;
  const b = group.get('confirm')?.value;
  return a === b ? null : { mismatch: true };
}

// Apply
const form = new FormGroup({
  password: new FormControl('', { nonNullable: true }),
  confirm: new FormControl('', { nonNullable: true }),
}, { validators: passwordsMatch });

// Read group-level error in template
@if (form.errors?.['mismatch']) {
  <p role="alert">Passwords do not match</p>
}

Async validators

import { AsyncValidatorFn, AbstractControl } from '@angular/forms';
import { HttpClient } from '@angular/common/http';
import { map, catchError, of } from 'rxjs';

function uniqueEmail(http: HttpClient): AsyncValidatorFn {
  return (control: AbstractControl) =>
    http.get<{ available: boolean }>(`/api/check?email=${control.value}`).pipe(
      map((r) => (r.available ? null : { taken: true })),
      catchError(() => of(null))   // network error — don't block
    );
}

// Apply
new FormControl('', {
  validators: [Validators.required, Validators.email],
  asyncValidators: [uniqueEmail(this.http)],
  updateOn: 'blur',                // validate on blur — appropriate for expensive checks
});

updateOn: 'blur' debounces the validation — only fires when user leaves the field. Critical for async validators to avoid hammering the server.

FormArray (dynamic field lists)

import { FormArray, FormBuilder, Validators } from '@angular/forms';

private fb = inject(FormBuilder);

contactsForm = this.fb.nonNullable.group({
  contacts: this.fb.array<FormGroup<{ email: FormControl<string> }>>([
    this.createContact(),
  ]),
});

get contacts() {
  return this.contactsForm.controls.contacts;
}

createContact() {
  return this.fb.nonNullable.group({
    email: ['', [Validators.required, Validators.email]],
  });
}

addContact() {
  this.contacts.push(this.createContact());
}

removeContact(index: number) {
  this.contacts.removeAt(index);
}

Template:

<div formArrayName="contacts">
  @for (contact of contacts.controls; track $index; let i = $index) {
    <div [formGroupName]="i">
      <input formControlName="email" />
      <button type="button" (click)="removeContact(i)">Remove</button>
    </div>
  }
</div>
<button type="button" (click)="addContact()">Add contact</button>

Server error mapping

When server returns 422 / 409 with field-specific errors:

async onSubmit() {
  if (this.loginForm.invalid) return;
  try {
    await this.authService.login(this.loginForm.getRawValue());
  } catch (err) {
    if (err instanceof FieldValidationError) {
      // Map each server error to its form control
      for (const [field, message] of Object.entries(err.fields)) {
        const control = this.loginForm.get(field);
        if (control) control.setErrors({ server: message });
      }
    } else {
      this.loginForm.setErrors({ serverError: 'Generic error' });
    }
  }
}

In template:

@if (emailControl.errors?.['server']; as msg) {
  <p role="alert">{{ msg }}</p>
}
@if (loginForm.errors?.['serverError']; as msg) {
  <p role="alert">{{ msg }}</p>
}

Multi-step forms

Two patterns:

A. Single FormGroup, conditional UI:

@Component({...})
export class WizardComponent {
  step = signal(0);
  form = this.fb.nonNullable.group({
    profile: this.fb.nonNullable.group({
      name: ['', Validators.required],
      email: ['', [Validators.required, Validators.email]],
    }),
    address: this.fb.nonNullable.group({
      street: ['', Validators.required],
      city: ['', Validators.required],
    }),
  });

  next() {
    const currentStep = this.step() === 0 ? this.form.controls.profile : this.form.controls.address;
    currentStep.markAllAsTouched();
    if (currentStep.valid) this.step.update((s) => s + 1);
  }
}

B. Separate forms per step + parent state holder (signals or service): each step has its own form, parent merges.

Pick A for short wizards (≤3 steps), B for longer or when steps reorder dynamically.

Template-driven Forms (legacy / simple cases)

import { FormsModule } from '@angular/forms';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-login',
  standalone: true,
  imports: [FormsModule],
  template: `
    <form #f="ngForm" (ngSubmit)="onSubmit(f)">
      <input name="email" [(ngModel)]="email" required type="email" #emailField="ngModel" />
      @if (emailField.invalid && emailField.touched) {
        <p role="alert">Invalid email</p>
      }

      <input name="password" [(ngModel)]="password" required minlength="8" />

      <button type="submit" [disabled]="f.invalid">Submit</button>
    </form>
  `,
})
export class LoginComponent {
  email = '';
  password = '';

  onSubmit(form: NgForm) {
    if (form.invalid) return;
    this.authService.login({ email: this.email, password: this.password });
  }
}

Easier for tiny forms (1-3 fields). Harder to test, harder to type, harder to handle async validation. Don't use for non-trivial forms.

Mixing Reactive + Template-driven in the SAME form is unsupported — pick one per form.

Validation timing (updateOn)

new FormControl('', {
  validators: [Validators.required],
  updateOn: 'change' | 'blur' | 'submit',
});

// Or per-FormGroup:
new FormGroup({...}, { updateOn: 'blur' });

Mode	When
'change' (default)	Every keystroke
'blur'	When field loses focus
'submit'	Only on form submission

Use 'blur' for async validators (avoid hammering server). Use 'submit' rarely (delays user feedback).

Accessibility checklist

• Every input has <label> (visible or via aria-label).
• aria-invalid on invalid + touched fields.
• role="alert" or aria-live="polite" on error messages.
• Submit button shows loading state (disabled + visual indicator).
• Focus moves to first error after failed submit (use markAllAsTouched() + scroll to first invalid control).

Anti-patterns

• ❌ Untyped FormControl / FormGroup (use generics or nonNullable: true).
• ❌ Mixing Reactive + Template-driven in same form.
• ❌ Validating on every keystroke for expensive async checks (use updateOn: 'blur').
• ❌ Skipping client validation thinking server suffices (UX suffers).
• ❌ Skipping server validation thinking client suffices (security suffers).
• ❌ Forgetting to disable submit button while submitting — double-submits.
• ❌ Not handling the submitting state (no spinner / disabled feedback).
• ❌ (ngSubmit)="onSubmit()" without checking form.invalid first.
• ❌ Using (submit) on a <form> instead of (ngSubmit) — bypasses Angular's form lifecycle.
• ❌ Mutating form.value directly — value is a getter, not the source of truth; use form.setValue() / patchValue().
• ❌ Resetting form after server error — user re-types everything.