facebook / react · Issue No. 37534

[DevTools Bug]: Inspect button does not work with top-layer elements like <dialog>

Openby alexandergottliebopened Sep 7, 2026updated Sep 7, 20261 comments

Type: BugStatus: UnconfirmedComponent: Developer Tools

Description

Website or app

https://codesandbox.io/p/sandbox/ws7dp6

Repro steps

The Inspect button lets you lookup a component in the tree by clicking on it.

This is not working with top-layer elements, like <dialog> opened via showModal.

Navigate to https://ws7dp6.csb.app/
Open React Dev Tools > Components
Click the Inspect button (there are two icons of a cursor inside a rectangle at the top left, the browser's built-in one works, the one in React Dev Tools does not)
Click inside the dialog
Notice that nothing is selected.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3ea438f3-3362-4e37-9c81-8f9ffd0540b7

How often does this bug happen?

Every time

DevTools package (automated)

No response

DevTools version (automated)

No response

Error message (automated)

No response

Error call stack (automated)

Error component stack (automated)

GitHub query string (automated)

Relay Analysis

View on GitHub

Relay reads this issue against the repository's contribution signals: the files it is likely to touch, how the maintainers triage work this size, and what the first contribution would exercise.

The full analysis for this issue is still being assembled. Until then, the description above and the thread on GitHub are the most reliable context.