A Bootstrap carousel is a Bootstrap component that creates a slideshow which cycles through elements within the carousel.

Here is a basic HTML usage example:

<div id="carousel-example-generic" class="carousel slide" data-ride="carousel">
  <!-- Indicators -->
  <ol class="carousel-indicators">
    <li data-target="#carousel-example-generic" data-slide-to="0" class="active"></li>
    <li data-target="#carousel-example-generic" data-slide-to="1"></li>
    <li data-target="#carousel-example-generic" data-slide-to="2"></li>
  </ol>

  <!-- Wrapper for slides -->
  <div class="carousel-inner" role="listbox">
    <div class="item active">
      <img src="..." alt="...">
      <div class="carousel-caption">
        ...
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="item">
      <img src="..." alt="...">
      <div class="carousel-caption">
        ...
      </div>
    </div>
    ...
  </div>

  <!-- Controls -->
  <a class="left carousel-control" href="#carousel-example-generic" role="button" data-slide="prev">
    <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-chevron-left" aria-hidden="true"></span>
    <span class="sr-only">Previous</span>
  </a>
  <a class="right carousel-control" href="#carousel-example-generic" role="button" data-slide="next">
    <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-chevron-right" aria-hidden="true"></span>
    <span class="sr-only">Next</span>
  </a>
</div>

Carousel components can be instantiated via jQuery with the function $('.carousel').carousel(options), where $('.carousel') is a top-level reference to the specific carousel and options is a Javascript object specifying the carousel's default attributes.

The options object allows for multiple properties to be defined which will affect how the carousel behaves. These properties are defined as such:

• The interval property accepts a Javascript number type which allows a user to define the amount of time the carousel displays a given carousel slide for. If the boolean value false is specified, the carousel will not cycle automatically.
• The pause property accepts a Javascript string type which toggles behavior where the carousel's automatic cycling is paused when the user's mouse enters the carousel. The default (and only) value accepted is "hover".
• The wrap property accepts a Javascript boolean type which allows a user to define whether or not they want the carousel to continuously cycle without stopping on a given slide.
• The keyboard property accepts a Javascript boolean type which allows a user to define whether or not they want the carousel to respond to keyboard events.

Here is an example of the basic Javascript usage:

$('#carCarousel').carousel({ interval: 2500, pause: "hover", wrap: false, keyboard: true });

As with other Bootstrap components, the carousel's options can also be specified in HTML via data attributes.