Dragging
Items drag by default. Configure how with dragConfig, and toggle it per item with isDraggable /
static on the layout item. dragConfig is an option on useGridContainer (and, identically, a
prop on the <GridLayout> shell):
const { containerProps, group } = useGridContainer({
layout,
width,
onLayoutChange: setLayout,
dragConfig: { threshold: 4 },
});dragConfig options
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
enabled | boolean | true | Grid-level on/off for dragging. |
handle | string | — | CSS selector for a drag handle inside each item — only pointer-downs within it start a drag. Mainly for <GridLayout>; headless tiles should prefer handleRef instead. |
cancel | string | — | CSS selector for regions that should never start a drag (e.g. buttons, inputs). |
threshold | number | 3 | Pixels the pointer must travel before a drag begins, so clicks aren’t drags. |
bounded | boolean | false | Keep the dragged item within the grid container bounds. |
snapToGrid | boolean | false | Snap the dragged tile itself to cells while dragging (see below). |
Drag handles
Restrict dragging to a grip so the rest of the tile (buttons, inputs, links) stays interactive — two ways, matching the two layers.
Headless — handleRef. useGridItem returns dnd-kit’s native handleRef. Attach it to the grip
element; only a pointer-down there starts a drag.
function Tile({ id, group }) {
const { ref, style, handleRef } = useGridItem({ id, group });
return (
<div ref={ref} style={style} className="tile">
<span ref={handleRef} className="grip">⠿</span> {/* drag starts here */}
<button onClick={…}>still clickable</button>
</div>
);
}Turnkey — dragConfig.handle. <GridLayout>’s children are plain markup with no ref to attach,
so it gates by CSS selector (the react-grid-layout idiom). The selector also works headless via
useGridContainer, and pairs with cancel for regions that should never start a drag.
const { containerProps, group } = useGridContainer({ dragConfig: { handle: ".grip" }, /* … */ });Use one or the other — handleRef or the selector. If you set both, a drag has to satisfy
both. Keyboard pickup is unaffected by either: a focused tile is always draggable (see below).
Resize handles are always excluded from drag activation automatically. You never need to add them
to cancel.
Snap to grid
By default the dragged tile follows the pointer smoothly and only the placeholder snaps to
cells (matching react-grid-layout). Set snapToGrid: true to snap the tile itself, axis-by-axis,
to the column and row pitch.
Keyboard accessibility
Tiles are keyboard-draggable out of the box. Each tile is focusable and announced as draggable
(tabindex="0", role="button", aria-roledescription="draggable"), and arrow keys move it a cell
at a time:
- Tab to focus a tile.
- Enter or Space to pick it up.
- Arrow keys to move it one cell at a time. The layout reflows live.
- Enter / Space to drop, or Escape to cancel and snap back.
Keyboard dragging is in-grid only (there’s no pointer to land a tile in another grid), and, like pointer dragging, a packed axis can pull the tile back (e.g. moving down under vertical compaction).
A handle restricts only pointer dragging. Keyboard users can always pick up a focused tile
with Enter/Space, so dragging stays accessible regardless of where the handle is.
Per-item control
isDraggable: falseon aLayoutItemdisables dragging for that item only.static: trueanchors an item — others flow around it, and by default it can’t be dragged or resized (opt back in per item withisDraggable/isResizable: truefor a “pinned” tile). See Static items.- The grid-level
isDraggableoption overrides everything when set tofalse.
Lifecycle
onDragStart, onDrag, and onDragStop fire with the react-grid-layout-compatible signature
(layout, oldItem, newItem, placeholder, event, node). See Events & lifecycle.