react-image-gallery vs react-images vs react-photo-gallery
React Image Gallery Libraries Comparison
1 Year
react-image-galleryreact-imagesreact-photo-gallery
What's React Image Gallery Libraries?

React image gallery libraries provide developers with tools to create visually appealing and interactive galleries for displaying images in React applications. These libraries often come with features such as responsive design, customizable layouts, and various display modes, allowing for a rich user experience. They help streamline the process of integrating image galleries into applications, saving time and effort while enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the interface.

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react-image-gallery191,4153,881204 kB113 months agoMIT
react-images33,6282,341-504 years agoMIT
react-photo-gallery11,3841,994-806 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-image-gallery vs react-images vs react-photo-gallery

Gallery Features

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery offers a comprehensive set of features including thumbnail support, autoplay, fullscreen mode, and custom rendering options for slides. It allows for a highly interactive experience with swipe gestures and keyboard navigation, making it suitable for complex gallery needs.

  • react-images:

    react-images provides a straightforward lightbox experience, focusing on displaying images in a modal with basic navigation controls. It is designed for simplicity, making it easy to implement without overwhelming users with options.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery focuses on providing a responsive grid layout for images, supporting various sizes and aspect ratios. It allows for a customizable layout, enabling developers to create unique gallery presentations without predefined constraints.

Customization

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery is highly customizable, allowing developers to modify styles, transitions, and components to fit the application's design. It supports custom rendering for thumbnails and slides, providing flexibility in presentation.

  • react-images:

    react-images offers limited customization options, primarily focused on the modal display. While it allows for some styling adjustments, it is not as flexible as other libraries in terms of layout and presentation.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery excels in customization, allowing developers to define their own grid layouts and styles. It supports a variety of image sizes and can adapt to different screen sizes, making it versatile for different design needs.

Performance

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery is optimized for performance with lazy loading capabilities, ensuring that images are only loaded when they are in view. This helps in reducing initial load times and improving user experience, especially for galleries with many images.

  • react-images:

    react-images is lightweight and performs well for simple use cases, but may not be as efficient for larger galleries due to its focus on modal display rather than a full gallery experience.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery is designed for performance with a focus on responsive design. It efficiently handles large sets of images by using CSS grid layouts, which helps maintain performance across various devices.

Ease of Use

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery is user-friendly and provides a straightforward API, making it easy for developers to implement and customize. It is well-documented, which aids in quick integration into projects.

  • react-images:

    react-images is extremely easy to use, with minimal setup required. Its simplicity makes it a great choice for developers who need a quick solution for displaying images without extensive configuration.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery offers a moderate learning curve, as it requires some understanding of grid layouts and responsive design principles. However, it is still relatively easy to implement for developers familiar with React.

Community and Support

  • react-image-gallery:

    react-image-gallery has a strong community and is actively maintained, providing good support and regular updates. This ensures that developers can rely on the library for ongoing improvements and bug fixes.

  • react-images:

    react-images has a smaller community compared to others, which may result in less frequent updates and support. However, it is still a viable option for simple use cases.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    react-photo-gallery benefits from a growing community and active maintenance, ensuring that developers have access to support and resources for troubleshooting and enhancements.

How to Choose: react-image-gallery vs react-images vs react-photo-gallery
  • react-image-gallery:

    Choose react-image-gallery if you need a fully-featured gallery with support for thumbnails, fullscreen mode, and a responsive layout. It is suitable for applications that require a customizable gallery with a focus on user interaction and visual storytelling.

  • react-images:

    Select react-images if you are looking for a simple and lightweight solution for displaying images in a modal or lightbox format. It is ideal for projects that prioritize minimalism and ease of use, without the need for extensive gallery features.

  • react-photo-gallery:

    Opt for react-photo-gallery if you want a flexible grid layout for displaying images. This library is perfect for applications that require a responsive and customizable grid system, allowing for various image sizes and aspect ratios.

README for react-image-gallery

React Image Gallery

npm version Download Count Bundle size

Live Demo (try it on mobile for swipe support)

linxtion.com/demo/react-image-gallery

demo gif

React image gallery is a React component for building image galleries and carousels

Features

  • Mobile swipe gestures
  • Thumbnail navigation
  • Fullscreen support
  • Custom rendered slides
  • RTL support
  • Responsive design
  • Tons of customization options (see props below)

Getting started

React Image Gallery requires React 16.0.0 or later.

npm install react-image-gallery

Style import options

# scss file import
@import "~react-image-gallery/styles/scss/image-gallery.scss";

# css file import
@import "~react-image-gallery/styles/css/image-gallery.css";

# js file import (using webpack)
import "react-image-gallery/styles/css/image-gallery.css";

Example

Need more example? See example/App.jsx

import ImageGallery from "react-image-gallery";
// import stylesheet if you're not already using CSS @import
import "react-image-gallery/styles/css/image-gallery.css";

const images = [
  {
    original: "https://picsum.photos/id/1018/1000/600/",
    thumbnail: "https://picsum.photos/id/1018/250/150/",
  },
  {
    original: "https://picsum.photos/id/1015/1000/600/",
    thumbnail: "https://picsum.photos/id/1015/250/150/",
  },
  {
    original: "https://picsum.photos/id/1019/1000/600/",
    thumbnail: "https://picsum.photos/id/1019/250/150/",
  },
];

class MyGallery extends React.Component {
  render() {
    return <ImageGallery items={images} />;
  }
}

Props

  • items: (required) Array of objects, see example above,

    • Available Properties
      • original - image src url
      • thumbnail - image thumbnail src url
      • fullscreen - image for fullscreen (defaults to original)
      • originalHeight - image height (html5 attribute)
      • originalWidth - image width (html5 attribute)
      • loading - image loading. Either "lazy" or "eager" (html5 attribute)
      • thumbnailHeight - image height (html5 attribute)
      • thumbnailWidth - image width (html5 attribute)
      • thumbnailLoading - image loading. Either "lazy" or "eager" (html5 attribute)
      • originalClass - custom image class
      • thumbnailClass - custom thumbnail class
      • renderItem - Function for custom rendering a specific slide (see renderItem below)
      • renderThumbInner - Function for custom thumbnail renderer (see renderThumbInner below)
      • originalAlt - image alt
      • thumbnailAlt - thumbnail image alt
      • originalTitle - image title
      • thumbnailTitle - thumbnail image title
      • thumbnailLabel - label for thumbnail
      • description - description for image
      • srcSet - image srcset (html5 attribute)
      • sizes - image sizes (html5 attribute)
      • bulletClass - extra class for the bullet of the item
  • infinite: Boolean, default true

    • infinite sliding
  • lazyLoad: Boolean, default false

  • showNav: Boolean, default true

  • showThumbnails: Boolean, default true

  • thumbnailPosition: String, default bottom

    • available positions: top, right, bottom, left
  • showFullscreenButton: Boolean, default true

  • useBrowserFullscreen: Boolean, default true

    • if false, fullscreen will be done via css within the browser
  • useTranslate3D: Boolean, default true

    • if false, will use translate instead of translate3d css property to transition slides
  • showPlayButton: Boolean, default true

  • isRTL: Boolean, default false

    • if true, gallery's direction will be from right-to-left (to support right-to-left languages)
  • showBullets: Boolean, default false

  • showIndex: Boolean, default false

  • autoPlay: Boolean, default false

  • disableThumbnailScroll: Boolean, default false

    • disables the thumbnail container from adjusting
  • disableKeyDown: Boolean, default false

    • disables keydown listener for keyboard shortcuts (left arrow, right arrow, esc key)
  • disableSwipe: Boolean, default false

  • disableThumbnailSwipe: Boolean, default false

  • onErrorImageURL: String, default undefined

    • an image src pointing to your default image if an image fails to load
    • handles both slide image, and thumbnail image
  • indexSeparator: String, default ' / ', ignored if showIndex is false

  • slideDuration: Number, default 450

    • transition duration during image slide in milliseconds
  • swipingTransitionDuration: Number, default 0

    • transition duration while swiping in milliseconds
  • slideInterval: Number, default 3000

  • slideOnThumbnailOver: Boolean, default false

  • flickThreshold: Number (float), default 0.4

    • Determines the max velocity of a swipe before it's considered a flick (lower = more sensitive)
  • swipeThreshold: Number, default 30

    • A percentage of how far the offset of the current slide is swiped to trigger a slide event. e.g. If the current slide is swiped less than 30% to the left or right, it will not trigger a slide event.
  • stopPropagation: Boolean, default false

    • Automatically calls stopPropagation on all 'swipe' events.
  • startIndex: Number, default 0

  • onImageError: Function, callback(event)

    • overrides onErrorImage
  • onThumbnailError: Function, callback(event)

    • overrides onErrorImage
  • onThumbnailClick: Function, callback(event, index)

  • onBulletClick: Function, callback(event, index)

  • onImageLoad: Function, callback(event)

  • onSlide: Function, callback(currentIndex)

  • onBeforeSlide: Function, callback(nextIndex)

  • onScreenChange: Function, callback(boolean)

    • When fullscreen is toggled a boolean is passed to the callback
  • onPause: Function, callback(currentIndex)

  • onPlay: Function, callback(currentIndex)

  • onClick: Function, callback(event)

  • onTouchMove: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • onTouchEnd: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • onTouchStart: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • onMouseOver: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • onMouseLeave: Function, callback(event) on gallery slide

  • additionalClass: String,

    • Additional class that will be added to the root node of the component.
  • renderCustomControls: Function, custom controls rendering

    • Use this to render custom controls or other elements on the currently displayed image (like the fullscreen button)
      _renderCustomControls() {
        return <a href='' className='image-gallery-custom-action' onClick={this._customAction.bind(this)}/>
      }
    
  • renderItem: Function, custom item rendering

    • NOTE: Highly suggest looking into a render cache such as React.memo if you plan to override renderItem
    • On a specific item [{thumbnail: '...', renderItem: this.myRenderItem}]
    • As a prop passed into ImageGallery to completely override renderItem, see source for renderItem implementation
  • renderThumbInner: Function, custom thumbnail rendering

    • On a specific item [{thumbnail: '...', renderThumbInner: this.myRenderThumbInner}]
    • As a prop passed into ImageGallery to completely override _renderThumbInner, see source for reference
  • renderLeftNav: Function, custom left nav component

    • See <LeftNav />
    • Use this to render a custom left nav control
    • Args:
      • onClick callback that will slide to the previous item
      • disabled boolean for when the nav is disabled
    renderLeftNav: (onClick, disabled) => (
      <LeftNav onClick={onClick} disabled={disabled} />
    );
    
  • renderRightNav: Function, custom right nav component

    • See <RightNav />
    • Use this to render a custom right nav control
    • Args:
      • onClick callback that will slide to the next item
      • disabled boolean for when the nav is disabled
    renderRightNav: (onClick, disabled) => (
      <RightNav onClick={onClick} disabled={disabled} />
    );
    
  • renderPlayPauseButton: Function, play pause button component

    • See <PlayPause />
    • Use this to render a custom play pause button
    • Args:
      • onClick callback that will toggle play/pause
      • isPlaying boolean for when gallery is playing
    renderPlayPauseButton: (onClick, isPlaying) => (
      <PlayPause onClick={onClick} isPlaying={isPlaying} />
    );
    
  • renderFullscreenButton: Function, custom fullscreen button component

    • See <Fullscreen />
    • Use this to render a custom fullscreen button
    • Args:
      • onClick callback that will toggle fullscreen
      • isFullscreen argument for when fullscreen is active
      renderFullscreenButton: (onClick, isFullscreen) => (
        <Fullscreen onClick={onClick} isFullscreen={isFullscreen} />
      ),
    
  • useWindowKeyDown: Boolean, default true

    • If true, listens to keydown events on window (window.addEventListener)
    • If false, listens to keydown events on image gallery element (imageGalleryElement.addEventListener)

Functions

The following functions can be accessed using refs

  • play(): plays the slides
  • pause(): pauses the slides
  • toggleFullScreen(): toggles full screen
  • slideToIndex(index): slides to a specific index
  • getCurrentIndex(): returns the current index

Contributing

Each pull request (PR) should be specific and isolated to the issue you're trying to fix. Please do not stack features, chores, refactors, or enhancements in one PR. Describe your feature/implementation in the PR. If you're unsure whether it's useful or if it involves a major change, please open an issue first and seek feedback.

  • Follow eslint provided
  • Comment your code
  • Write clean code

Build the example locally (requires node >= 12.13)

git clone https://github.com/xiaolin/react-image-gallery.git
cd react-image-gallery
npm install --global yarn
yarn install
yarn start

Then open localhost:8001 in a browser.

License

MIT