How can I generate input[type=date] with simple_form?

Question

When I do f.input :start_date, as: :date I get 3 select elements (day, month and year).

I can do f.input :start_date, as: :string to get input[type=text] element, but how can I generate input[type=date] element with simple_form?

Answer 1

You should specify html5 option:

f.input :start_date, as: :date, html5: true

Here is details.

Answer 2

HTML 5 date / time inputs are not generated by Simple Form by default, so using date, time or datetime will all generate select boxes using normal Rails helpers. We believe browsers are not totally ready for these yet, but you can easily opt-in on a per-input basis by passing the html5 option:

<%= f.input :expires_at, as: :date, html5: true %>

Hopefully this piece of information found in simple_form documentation will solve your problem.