A Beginner’s Guide to Drag-and-Drop with DnD Kit in React

Drag-and-drop functionality can enhance user interactions by allowing elements to be moved dynamically within a UI. In this guide, we'll explore how to implement drag-and-drop using DnD Kit, a lightweight and flexible React library.

🏗 Why Use DnD Kit?

DnD Kit offers:

✅ A modern, unopinionated API for drag-and-drop.

✅ Lightweight (smaller than alternatives like react-beautiful-dnd).

✅ Keyboard support for accessibility.

✅ Customizable sensors (mouse, touch, and keyboard).

Let's dive into the setup and implementation!

---

🚀 Setting Up DnD Kit

First, install DnD Kit:

npm install @dnd-kit/core

or with Yarn:

yarn add @dnd-kit/core


🛠 Basic Drag-and-Drop Example

We’ll create a simple example where users can drag and drop items between two lists.

1️⃣ Setting Up the Context

In DnD Kit, we wrap our app with a DndContext, which manages drag-and-drop events.

import React, { useState } from "react";
import { DndContext } from "@dnd-kit/core";

function App() {
  const [items, setItems] = useState(["Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3"]);

  return (
    <DndContext>
      <div>
        {items.map((item, index) => (
          <div key={index}>{item}</div>
        ))}
      </div>
    </DndContext>
  );
}

export default App;

At this stage, nothing is draggable yet. Next, we’ll make the items draggable.

2️⃣ Making Items Draggable

To make items draggable, we use useDraggable from @dnd-kit/core.

import { useDraggable } from "@dnd-kit/core";

function DraggableItem({ id, children }) {
  const { attributes, listeners, setNodeRef, transform } = useDraggable({
    id,
  });

  const style = {
    transform: transform ? `translate(${transform.x}px, ${transform.y}px)` : undefined,
  };

  return (
    <div ref={setNodeRef} {...listeners} {...attributes} style={style}>
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

Then, update App.js to use DraggableItem:

<DndContext>
  {items.map((item, index) => (
    <DraggableItem key={index} id={index}>
      {item}
    </DraggableItem>
  ))}
</DndContext>

Now, items can be dragged but not yet dropped!

3️⃣ Enabling Droppable Areas

To allow items to be dropped, use the useDroppable hook:

import { useDroppable } from "@dnd-kit/core";

function DroppableArea({ id, children }) {
  const { setNodeRef } = useDroppable({ id });

  return (
    <div ref={setNodeRef} style={{ padding: 20, border: "2px dashed #ccc" }}>
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

Wrap DraggableItem inside DroppableArea:

<DndContext>
  <DroppableArea id="drop-zone">
    {items.map((item, index) => (
      <DraggableItem key={index} id={index}>
        {item}
      </DraggableItem>
    ))}
  </DroppableArea>
</DndContext>

4️⃣ Handling Drag Events

To update state when an item is dropped, use onDragEnd inside DndContext:

function App() {
  const [items, setItems] = useState(["Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3"]);

  function handleDragEnd(event) {
    const { active, over } = event;
    if (over && active.id !== over.id) {
      setItems((prev) => {
        const updatedItems = [...prev];
        const [movedItem] = updatedItems.splice(active.id, 1);
        updatedItems.splice(over.id, 0, movedItem);
        return updatedItems;
      });
    }
  }

  return (
    <DndContext onDragEnd={handleDragEnd}>
      <DroppableArea id="drop-zone">
        {items.map((item, index) => (
          <DraggableItem key={index} id={index}>
            {item}
          </DraggableItem>
        ))}
      </DroppableArea>
    </DndContext>
  );
}

Now, when an item is dropped, the list updates dynamically! 🎉

🎨 Styling the Drag Effect

To enhance the UI, apply styles:

.draggable {
  padding: 10px;
  margin: 5px;
  background: #f4f4f4;
  border-radius: 5px;
  cursor: grab;
}

🔥 Advanced Features to Explore

• Sorting Lists → @dnd-kit/sortable

• Drag Constraints → Limit draggable areas

• Custom Animations → Smooth transitions

• Keyboard Accessibility → Improve usability

🏁 Wrapping Up

DnD Kit is a lightweight, flexible solution for adding drag-and-drop to React apps. By using DndContext, useDraggable, and useDroppable, you can create interactive and accessible interfaces with minimal effort.

🚀 Try it out in your next project!

💬 Have questions? Drop a comment below!

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