react-draggable vs react-resizable vs react-grid-layout
React Layout Management Libraries Comparison
1 Year
react-draggablereact-resizablereact-grid-layoutSimilar Packages:
What's React Layout Management Libraries?

These libraries are designed to enhance the user experience by providing functionalities for draggable, resizable, and grid-based layouts in React applications. They allow developers to create dynamic interfaces where users can interact with components by moving or resizing them, leading to a more flexible and engaging UI. Each library serves a distinct purpose, catering to different layout needs while maintaining a focus on ease of use and integration within React's component-based architecture.

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react-draggable2,372,3269,107244 kB245a year agoMIT
react-resizable1,074,7382,469116 kB782 years agoMIT
react-grid-layout728,47720,892526 kB2295 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-draggable vs react-resizable vs react-grid-layout

Drag-and-Drop Functionality

  • react-draggable:

    react-draggable provides a simple API for making elements draggable. It allows for easy customization of drag behavior, including constraints on movement, and supports both mouse and touch events, making it versatile for different devices.

  • react-resizable:

    react-resizable focuses on enabling resizing of components rather than dragging. It provides a straightforward way to add resize handles to any component, allowing users to adjust sizes dynamically.

  • react-grid-layout:

    react-grid-layout incorporates drag-and-drop functionality as part of its grid system, allowing users to rearrange grid items seamlessly. It also manages layout persistence, ensuring that the layout remains consistent across sessions.

Layout Management

  • react-draggable:

    While react-draggable does not manage layout, it can be integrated into other layout systems to enhance interactivity by allowing users to drag elements freely within a defined space.

  • react-resizable:

    react-resizable does not manage layout but allows for the resizing of components, which can be combined with other layout libraries to create a more flexible UI.

  • react-grid-layout:

    react-grid-layout excels in layout management, offering a grid system that automatically handles the positioning and resizing of items. It provides features like responsive breakpoints, which allow layouts to adapt to different screen sizes.

Customization and Extensibility

  • react-draggable:

    react-draggable is highly customizable, allowing developers to define drag constraints, handle drag events, and style draggable components as needed, making it easy to fit into various design systems.

  • react-resizable:

    react-resizable allows for customization of resize handles and behaviors, enabling developers to define how components can be resized, including minimum and maximum size constraints.

  • react-grid-layout:

    react-grid-layout offers extensive customization options for grid items, including layout configurations, breakpoints, and drag-and-drop behavior, enabling developers to create tailored user experiences.

Performance Considerations

  • react-draggable:

    react-draggable is lightweight and optimized for performance, but developers should be mindful of the number of draggable elements on the page, as excessive elements can lead to performance degradation.

  • react-resizable:

    react-resizable is efficient for enabling resizing but may require optimization if used extensively across many components, as frequent resizing can lead to performance issues.

  • react-grid-layout:

    react-grid-layout is designed for performance with features like virtualization for large grids. However, developers should monitor performance when dealing with many items to ensure smooth interactions.

Learning Curve

  • react-draggable:

    react-draggable has a low learning curve, making it accessible for developers who need basic drag-and-drop functionality without extensive configuration.

  • react-resizable:

    react-resizable is easy to learn and implement, especially for developers familiar with React, as it focuses on a single feature—resizing components.

  • react-grid-layout:

    react-grid-layout has a moderate learning curve due to its comprehensive features and grid system, but it provides a lot of functionality for those who need complex layouts.

How to Choose: react-draggable vs react-resizable vs react-grid-layout
  • react-draggable:

    Choose react-draggable if you need simple drag-and-drop functionality for individual components without the need for complex grid layouts. It is lightweight and easy to implement, making it ideal for applications where only basic dragging is required.

  • react-resizable:

    Select react-resizable if your primary need is to enable resizing of components without the need for a full grid layout. It provides a straightforward way to make any component resizable, making it suitable for applications that require flexible sizing of individual elements.

  • react-grid-layout:

    Opt for react-grid-layout if you require a comprehensive grid system that supports draggable and resizable items within a grid layout. This library is perfect for dashboard-like interfaces where items need to be rearranged and resized dynamically, offering a robust solution for complex layouts.

README for react-draggable

React-Draggable

TravisCI Build Status Appveyor Build Status npm downloads gzip size version

A simple component for making elements draggable.

<Draggable>
  <div>I can now be moved around!</div>
</Draggable>

|Version | Compatibility| |------------|--------------| |4.x | React 16.3+ | |3.x | React 15-16 | |2.x | React 0.14 - 15 | |1.x | React 0.13 - 0.14 | |0.x | React 0.10 - 0.13 |


Technical Documentation

Installing

$ npm install react-draggable

If you aren't using browserify/webpack, a UMD version of react-draggable is available. It is updated per-release only. This bundle is also what is loaded when installing from npm. It expects external React and ReactDOM.

If you want a UMD version of the latest master revision, you can generate it yourself from master by cloning this repository and running $ make. This will create umd dist files in the dist/ folder.

Exports

The default export is <Draggable>. At the .DraggableCore property is <DraggableCore>. Here's how to use it:

// ES6
import Draggable from 'react-draggable'; // The default
import {DraggableCore} from 'react-draggable'; // <DraggableCore>
import Draggable, {DraggableCore} from 'react-draggable'; // Both at the same time

// CommonJS
let Draggable = require('react-draggable');
let DraggableCore = Draggable.DraggableCore;

<Draggable>

A <Draggable> element wraps an existing element and extends it with new event handlers and styles. It does not create a wrapper element in the DOM.

Draggable items are moved using CSS Transforms. This allows items to be dragged regardless of their current positioning (relative, absolute, or static). Elements can also be moved between drags without incident.

If the item you are dragging already has a CSS Transform applied, it will be overwritten by <Draggable>. Use an intermediate wrapper (<Draggable><span>...</span></Draggable>) in this case.

Draggable Usage

View the Demo and its source for more.

import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
import Draggable from 'react-draggable';

class App extends React.Component {

  eventLogger = (e: MouseEvent, data: Object) => {
    console.log('Event: ', e);
    console.log('Data: ', data);
  };

  render() {
    return (
      <Draggable
        axis="x"
        handle=".handle"
        defaultPosition={{x: 0, y: 0}}
        position={null}
        grid={[25, 25]}
        scale={1}
        onStart={this.handleStart}
        onDrag={this.handleDrag}
        onStop={this.handleStop}>
        <div>
          <div className="handle">Drag from here</div>
          <div>This readme is really dragging on...</div>
        </div>
      </Draggable>
    );
  }
}

ReactDOM.render(<App/>, document.body);

Draggable API

The <Draggable/> component transparently adds draggability to its children.

Note: Only a single child is allowed or an Error will be thrown.

For the <Draggable/> component to correctly attach itself to its child, the child element must provide support for the following props:

  • style is used to give the transform css to the child.
  • className is used to apply the proper classes to the object being dragged.
  • onMouseDown, onMouseUp, onTouchStart, and onTouchEnd are used to keep track of dragging state.

React.DOM elements support the above properties by default, so you may use those elements as children without any changes. If you wish to use a React component you created, you'll need to be sure to transfer prop.

<Draggable> Props:

//
// Types:
//
type DraggableEventHandler = (e: Event, data: DraggableData) => void | false;
type DraggableData = {
  node: HTMLElement,
  // lastX + deltaX === x
  x: number, y: number,
  deltaX: number, deltaY: number,
  lastX: number, lastY: number
};

//
// Props:
//
{
// If set to `true`, will allow dragging on non left-button clicks.
allowAnyClick: boolean,

// Determines which axis the draggable can move. This only affects
// flushing to the DOM. Callbacks will still include all values.
// Accepted values:
// - `both` allows movement horizontally and vertically (default).
// - `x` limits movement to horizontal axis.
// - `y` limits movement to vertical axis.
// - 'none' stops all movement.
axis: string,

// Specifies movement boundaries. Accepted values:
// - `parent` restricts movement within the node's offsetParent
//    (nearest node with position relative or absolute), or
// - a selector, restricts movement within the targeted node
// - An object with `left, top, right, and bottom` properties.
//   These indicate how far in each direction the draggable
//   can be moved.
bounds: {left?: number, top?: number, right?: number, bottom?: number} | string,

// Specifies a selector to be used to prevent drag initialization. The string is passed to
// Element.matches, so it's possible to use multiple selectors like `.first, .second`.
// Example: '.body'
cancel: string,

// Class names for draggable UI.
// Default to 'react-draggable', 'react-draggable-dragging', and 'react-draggable-dragged'
defaultClassName: string,
defaultClassNameDragging: string,
defaultClassNameDragged: string,

// Specifies the `x` and `y` that the dragged item should start at.
// This is generally not necessary to use (you can use absolute or relative
// positioning of the child directly), but can be helpful for uniformity in
// your callbacks and with css transforms.
defaultPosition: {x: number, y: number},

// If true, will not call any drag handlers.
disabled: boolean,

// Specifies the x and y that dragging should snap to.
grid: [number, number],

// Specifies a selector to be used as the handle that initiates drag.
// Example: '.handle'
handle: string,

// If desired, you can provide your own offsetParent for drag calculations.
// By default, we use the Draggable's offsetParent. This can be useful for elements
// with odd display types or floats.
offsetParent: HTMLElement,

// Called whenever the user mouses down. Called regardless of handle or
// disabled status.
onMouseDown: (e: MouseEvent) => void,

// Called when dragging starts. If `false` is returned any handler,
// the action will cancel.
onStart: DraggableEventHandler,

// Called while dragging.
onDrag: DraggableEventHandler,

// Called when dragging stops.
onStop: DraggableEventHandler,

// If running in React Strict mode, ReactDOM.findDOMNode() is deprecated.
// Unfortunately, in order for <Draggable> to work properly, we need raw access
// to the underlying DOM node. If you want to avoid the warning, pass a `nodeRef`
// as in this example:
//
// function MyComponent() {
//   const nodeRef = React.useRef(null);
//   return (
//     <Draggable nodeRef={nodeRef}>
//       <div ref={nodeRef}>Example Target</div>
//     </Draggable>
//   );
// }
//
// This can be used for arbitrarily nested components, so long as the ref ends up
// pointing to the actual child DOM node and not a custom component.
//
// For rich components, you need to both forward the ref *and props* to the underlying DOM
// element. Props must be forwarded so that DOM event handlers can be attached. 
// For example:
//
//   const Component1 = React.forwardRef(function (props, ref) {
//     return <div {...props} ref={ref}>Nested component</div>;
//   });
//
//   const nodeRef = React.useRef(null);
//   <DraggableCore onDrag={onDrag} nodeRef={nodeRef}>
//     <Component1 ref={nodeRef} />
//   </DraggableCore>
//
// Thanks to react-transition-group for the inspiration.
//
// `nodeRef` is also available on <DraggableCore>.
nodeRef: React.Ref<typeof React.Component>,

// Much like React form elements, if this property is present, the item
// becomes 'controlled' and is not responsive to user input. Use `position`
// if you need to have direct control of the element.
position: {x: number, y: number}

// A position offset to start with. Useful for giving an initial position
// to the element. Differs from `defaultPosition` in that it does not
// affect the position returned in draggable callbacks, and in that it
// accepts strings, like `{x: '10%', y: '10%'}`.
positionOffset: {x: number | string, y: number | string},

// Specifies the scale of the canvas your are dragging this element on. This allows
// you to, for example, get the correct drag deltas while you are zoomed in or out via
// a transform or matrix in the parent of this element.
scale: number
}

Note that sending className, style, or transform as properties will error - set them on the child element directly.

Controlled vs. Uncontrolled

<Draggable> is a 'batteries-included' component that manages its own state. If you want to completely control the lifecycle of the component, use <DraggableCore>.

For some users, they may want the nice state management that <Draggable> provides, but occasionally want to programmatically reposition their components. <Draggable> allows this customization via a system that is similar to how React handles form components.

If the prop position: {x: number, y: number} is defined, the <Draggable> will ignore its internal state and use the provided position instead. Alternatively, you can seed the position using defaultPosition. Technically, since <Draggable> works only on position deltas, you could also seed the initial position using CSS top/left.

We make one modification to the React philosophy here - we still allow dragging while a component is controlled. We then expect you to use at least an onDrag or onStop handler to synchronize state.

To disable dragging while controlled, send the prop disabled={true} - at this point the <Draggable> will operate like a completely static component.

<DraggableCore>

For users that require absolute control, a <DraggableCore> element is available. This is useful as an abstraction over touch and mouse events, but with full control. <DraggableCore> has no internal state.

See React-Resizable and React-Grid-Layout for some usage examples.

<DraggableCore> is a useful building block for other libraries that simply want to abstract browser-specific quirks and receive callbacks when a user attempts to move an element. It does not set styles or transforms on itself and thus must have callbacks attached to be useful.

DraggableCore API

<DraggableCore> takes a limited subset of options:

{
  allowAnyClick: boolean,
  cancel: string,
  disabled: boolean,
  enableUserSelectHack: boolean,
  offsetParent: HTMLElement,
  grid: [number, number],
  handle: string,
  onStart: DraggableEventHandler,
  onDrag: DraggableEventHandler,
  onStop: DraggableEventHandler,
  onMouseDown: (e: MouseEvent) => void,
  scale: number
}

Note that there is no start position. <DraggableCore> simply calls drag handlers with the below parameters, indicating its position (as inferred from the underlying MouseEvent) and deltas. It is up to the parent to set actual positions on <DraggableCore>.

Drag callbacks (onStart, onDrag, onStop) are called with the same arguments as <Draggable>.


Contributing

  • Fork the project
  • Run the project in development mode: $ npm run dev
  • Make changes.
  • Add appropriate tests
  • $ npm test
  • If tests don't pass, make them pass.
  • Update README with appropriate docs.
  • Commit and PR

Release checklist

  • Update CHANGELOG
  • make release-patch, make release-minor, or make-release-major
  • make publish

License

MIT