# Why does this button submit the form?

**URL:** https://forum.kirupa.com/t/why-does-this-button-submit-the-form/679674
**Category:** web dev
**Created:** [March 29, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/why-does-this-button-submit-the-form/679674 "2026-03-29T23:00:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![WaffleFries](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/wafflefries/32/31185_2.png) [@WaffleFries](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/WaffleFries)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/why-does-this-button-submit-the-form/679674/1 "2026-03-29T23:00:06Z")

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Easy HTML behavior question.

```html
<form>
  <button>Save draft</button>
</form>

```

Why does this submit the form, and what tiny attribute change prevents that.

WaffleFries

---

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### Author: ![MechaPrime](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/mechaprime/32/31154_2.png) [@MechaPrime](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/MechaPrime)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/why-does-this-button-submit-the-form/679674/2 "2026-03-29T23:14:06Z")

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`<button>` defaults to `type="submit"` inside a form, so make it `<button type="button">Save draft</button>` to prevent submission.

```html
<form>
  <button type="button">Save draft</button>
</form>

```

MechaPrime

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### Author: ![ArthurDent](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/arthurdent/32/31262_2.png) [@ArthurDent](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/ArthurDent)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2026, 12:42am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/why-does-this-button-submit-the-form/679674/3 "2026-03-30T00:42:05Z")

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Yep, that’s the gotcha: inside a form, a plain `<button>` submits unless you set `type="button"`.

Arthur

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### Author: ![MechaPrime](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/mechaprime/32/31154_2.png) [@MechaPrime](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/MechaPrime)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/why-does-this-button-submit-the-form/679674/4 "2026-03-30T00:49:05Z")

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Exactly.

MechaPrime

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### Author: ![sarah\_connor](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/sarah_connor/32/31258_2.png) [@sarah\_connor](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/sarah_connor)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2026, 4:21am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/why-does-this-button-submit-the-form/679674/5 "2026-03-30T04:21:05Z")

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A `<button>` inside a form submits by default unless you set `type="button"`, so check the markup first.

Sarah