2018177 - [a11y] Smart window - Unable to reach the Add tabs or Ask Submit buttons using keyboard navigation after text is added to the Smart bar

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Core :: Machine Learning: Frontend, defect)

Description

[Rares Doghi, Desktop QA]

Attachment: KeyboardNavSmartbar.mp4

Found in

• Nightly 149.0a1 (2026-02-20)

Affected versions

• Nightly 149.0a1 (2026-02-20)

Affected platforms

• all

Steps to reproduce

1. Reach the Smart Window.
2. Reach any website and open the Assistant Chat Sidebar
3. Type Please summarize this Tab without hitting any other button
4. Use the tab key or any other key in order to reach the Add Tab button or the Ask Submit button

Expected result

• The user should be able to reach the Add tab button or the Ask Submit button after adding text to the smart bar.

Actual result

• Typing any text and then hitting tab key in order to reach other buttons will keep the user in a suggestions loop.
  If a user Types: Please summarize the Following tab, and then Tries to reach the + Add tab button in order to add it inline, he will just be caught in a suggestions loop.
  Please also not that if he selects Shift + Tab to navigate backwards it will completely erase all of his added tabs. Those added tabs are not brought back when Tab is hit again.

Regression range
N/A

Comment 1

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco]]

The severity field is not set for this bug.
:Mardak, could you have a look please?

For more information, please visit BugBot documentation.

Comment 2

[Chloe Zhou [:chloezhou]]

Attachment: Bug 2018177 - Fix Smartbar keyboard a11y: Tab escapes suggestions, arrow selection auto-scrolls. r=jlewis

Tab/Shift+Tab cycled through urlbar results whenever the input had a typed value, trapping keyboard users in a suggestions loop and blocking focus from reaching the Add Tab / Submit buttons. In smartbar mode, close the view and yield to the default focus traversal.

Add delegatesFocus to context-icon-button and memories-icon-button so .focus() on the host actually focuses the inner moz-button.

UrlbarView.#selectElement also didn't scroll the selected row into view, so arrow keys could move selection outside the visible area in the scrollable smartbar list. Call scrollIntoView({ block: "nearest" }) — no-op when already visible or when no ancestor scrolls.

Comment 3

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/e45936794a05
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/5f5814f496fb
Fix Smartbar keyboard a11y: Tab escapes suggestions, arrow selection auto-scrolls. r=jlewis,urlbar-reviewers,accessibility-frontend-reviewers,Jamie,daisuke

Comment 4

[amarc]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/5f5814f496fb

Comment 5

[Chloe Zhou [:chloezhou]]

Attachment: Bug 2018177 - Fix Smartbar keyboard a11y: Tab escapes suggestions, arrow selection auto-scrolls.

Tab/Shift+Tab cycled through urlbar results whenever the input had a typed value, trapping keyboard users in a suggestions loop and blocking focus from reaching the Add Tab / Submit buttons. In smartbar mode, mirror the urlbar's circular Tab pattern: cycle through suggestions, then continue into the action buttons (+, memories, input-cta main +
split), then wrap back to the first result. Shift+Tab mirrors the cycle in reverse. The view stays open the whole time; Escape or clicking outside closes the suggestions.

Add delegatesFocus to context-icon-button and memories-icon-button so .focus() on the host actually focuses the inner moz-button. Also have memories-icon-button toggle hidden on its host when show changes, so it integrates with standard focus / a11y traversal.

UrlbarView.#selectElement also didn't scroll the selected row into view, so arrow keys could move selection outside the visible area in the scrollable smartbar list. Call scrollIntoView({ block: "nearest" }) — no-op when already visible or when no ancestor scrolls.

Original Revision: https://phabricator.services.mozilla.com/D298977

Comment 6

[Phabricator Automation]

firefox-release Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined/Reason for urgency: Keyboard users (including screen-reader users) can't reach the smartbar's action buttons (+ Add Tab, Memories, Submit) without exiting the suggestions; Tab cycles through results indefinitely.
• Code covered by automated testing?: yes
• Fix verified in Nightly?: yes
• Needs manual QE testing?: no
• Steps to reproduce for manual QE testing: Keyboard users (including screen-reader users) can't reach the smartbar's action buttons (+ Add Tab, Memories, Submit) without exiting the suggestions; Tab cycles through results indefinitely.
• Risk associated with taking this patch: low
• Explanation of risk level: Scoped to smartbar (Smart Window assistant). classic urlbar code paths are untouched.
• String changes made/needed?: None.
• Is Android affected?: no

Comment 7

[Rares Doghi, Desktop QA]

Verified as fixed in our latest Nightly 152.0a1 (2026-05-18)

Comment 8

[Pulsebot]

https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/4e47a1083abf
https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-release/rev/bc0c609f6cd0

Comment 9

[Rares Doghi, Desktop QA]

Verified as fixed in our latest Release 151.0.2