GSAP Draggable

Draggable enables drag, throw, rotation, and inertia-based interactions on any DOM element. Perfect for sliders, puzzles, games, and interactive UI components.

Installation

npm install gsap

import { Draggable } from 'gsap/Draggable'
import { InertiaPlugin } from 'gsap/InertiaPlugin'

gsap.registerPlugin(Draggable, InertiaPlugin)

Basic Drag

X/Y Drag

gsap.registerPlugin(Draggable)

// Enable drag on both axes
Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  bounds: '.container'
})

X Only

// Horizontal drag only
Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x',
  bounds: '.container'
})

Y Only

// Vertical drag only
Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'y',
  bounds: '.container'
})

Left/Top Drag

// Use left/top instead of transform
Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'left,top',
  bounds: '.container'
})

Bounds

Container Bounds

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  bounds: '.container'  // Constrain to container
})

Rectangle Bounds

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  bounds: {
    minX: 0,
    maxX: 500,
    minY: 0,
    maxY: 300
  }
})

Partial Bounds

// Only constrain X
Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  bounds: {
    minX: 100,
    maxX: 400
  }
})

Relative Bounds

// Relative to element's current position
Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  bounds: {
    minX: '-=100',  // 100px left of start
    maxX: '+=100',  // 100px right of start
    minY: '-=50',
    maxY: '+=50'
  }
})

Rotation Bounds

Draggable.create('.knob', {
  type: 'rotation',
  bounds: {
    minRotation: -135,
    maxRotation: 135
  }
})

Inertia (Throw)

Basic Inertia

gsap.registerPlugin(Draggable, InertiaPlugin)

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  inertia: true  // Enable throw
})

Inertia Resistance

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  inertia: {
    resistance: 2000  // Higher = stops faster
  }
})

Inertia Duration

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  inertia: {
    minDuration: 0.5,
    maxDuration: 2
  }
})

Inertia Edge Resistance

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x',
  inertia: {
    edgeResistance: 0.65  // Resistance at bounds (0-1)
  }
})

Auto-scroll on Throw

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  inertia: true,
  edgeResistance: 0.8,
  bounds: '#container',
  autoScroll: 1  // Scroll container when hitting edge
})

Rotation

Basic Rotation

Draggable.create('.dial', {
  type: 'rotation',
  bounds: {
    minRotation: 0,
    maxRotation: 360
  }
})

Circular Rotation

// Set transform origin for circular rotation
gsap.set('.dial', { transformOrigin: 'center center' })

Draggable.create('.dial', {
  type: 'rotation'
})

Rotation with Snap

Draggable.create('.dial', {
  type: 'rotation',
  liveSnap: {
    rotation: [0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, 315, 360]
  },
  inertia: true
})

Rotation Stages

Draggable.create('.knob', {
  type: 'rotation',
  onDrag: function() {
    // Snap to stages
    const rotation = this.rotation
    const stage = Math.round(rotation / 45) * 45
    this.rotation = stage
  }
})

Live Snap

Snap to Grid

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  liveSnap: {
    x: 20,  // Snap every 20px
    y: 20
  }
})

Snap to Values

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x',
  liveSnap: {
    x: [0, 100, 200, 300, 400]
  }
})

Snap to Function

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x',
  liveSnap: {
    x: value => {
      // Snap to nearest multiple of 50
      return Math.round(value / 50) * 50
    }
  }
})

Snap with Radius

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  liveSnap: {
    x: {
      points: [0, 100, 200],
      radius: 10  // Within 10px of point
    }
  }
})

Callbacks

Basic Callbacks

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',

  // Lifecycle callbacks
  onDragStart: function() {
    console.log('Drag started')
  },

  onDrag: function() {
    console.log('Dragging...', this.x, this.y)
  },

  onDragEnd: function() {
    console.log('Drag ended')
  },

  onPress: function() {
    console.log('Pressed')
  },

  onRelease: function() {
    console.log('Released')
  },

  onClick: function() {
    console.log('Clicked')
  }
})

Access Data

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',

  onDrag: function() {
    // Access drag data
    console.log(this.x)          // Current X position
    console.log(this.y)          // Current Y position
    console.log(this.deltaX)      // Change since start
    console.log(this.deltaY)      // Change since start
    console.log(this.startX)      // Starting X position
    console.log(this.startY)      // Starting Y position
    console.log(this.pointerX)    // Pointer X position
    console.log(this.pointerY)    // Pointer Y position
  }
})

Get Velocity

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  inertia: true,

  onDragEnd: function() {
    const velocity = InertiaPlugin.getVelocity(this.target, 'x')
    console.log('Throw velocity:', velocity)
  }
})

Throw Callbacks

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  inertia: true,

  onThrowUpdate: function() {
    console.log('Throwing...')
  },

  onThrowComplete: function() {
    console.log('Throw complete')
  }
})

Multiple Draggables

Array of Targets

// Create multiple draggable elements
Draggable.create(['.box1', '.box2', '.box3'], {
  type: 'x,y',
  bounds: '.container'
})

NodeList

// Create from NodeList
const boxes = document.querySelectorAll('.box')
Draggable.create(boxes, {
  type: 'x,y',
  bounds: '.container'
})

Individual Control

const draggables = Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  bounds: '.container'
})

// Access individual instance
dragga
bles[0].disable()
dragga
bles[1].enable()

Click Handling

Minimum Movement

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',
  minimumMovement: 5,  // Minimum pixels to register drag
  onClick: function() {
    console.log('Clicked without drag')
  }
})

Clickable Elements

Draggable.create('.container', {
  type: 'x,y',
  dragClickables: false,  // Don't drag clickable elements
  bounds: '.container'
})

Drag vs Click

let isDragging = false

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',

  onDragStart: function() {
    isDragging = true
  },

  onDragEnd: function() {
    isDragging = false
  },

  onClick: function() {
    if (!isDragging) {
      console.log('Pure click, no drag')
    }
  }
})

Advanced Patterns

Slider

Draggable.create('.handle', {
  type: 'x',
  bounds: {
    minX: 0,
    maxX: trackWidth - handleWidth
  },
  onDrag: function() {
    const progress = this.x / (trackWidth - handleWidth)
    gsap.to('.content', { x: -progress * contentWidth })
  }
})

Sortable List

const items = document.querySelectorAll('.list-item')

Draggable.create(items, {
  type: 'y',
  bounds: '.list',

  onDragEnd: function() {
    // Get all items sorted by Y position
    const sortedItems = Array.from(items)
      .sort((a, b) => gsap.getProperty(a, 'y') - gsap.getProperty(b, 'y'))

    // Reorder DOM
    const list = document.querySelector('.list')
    sortedItems.forEach(item => list.appendChild(item))
  }
})

Puzzle Piece

Draggable.create('.puzzle-piece', {
  type: 'x,y',
  bounds: '.board',
  inertia: true,

  onPress: function() {
    gsap.to(this.target, { scale: 1.1, duration: 0.2 })
  },

  onRelease: function() {
    gsap.to(this.target, { scale: 1, duration: 0.2 })

    // Check if near correct position
    const correctX = 100
    const correctY = 50
    const dist = Math.sqrt(Math.pow(this.x - correctX, 2) + Math.pow(this.y - correctY, 2))

    if (dist < 30) {
      // Snap to correct position
      gsap.to(this.target, {
        x: correctX,
        y: correctY,
        duration: 0.3,
        ease: 'elastic.out(1, 0.5)'
      })
    }
  }
})

Swiper

const swiper = Draggable.create('.swiper', {
  type: 'x',
  bounds: {
    minX: -(slideWidth * (totalSlides - 1)),
    maxX: 0
  },
  inertia: true,
  edgeResistance: 0.8,

  onDragEnd: function() {
    const snapIndex = Math.round(this.x / -slideWidth)
    const snapX = snapIndex * -slideWidth

    gsap.to(this.target, {
      x: snapX,
      duration: 0.5,
      ease: 'power2.out'
    })
  }
})

Performance Tips

Use Transform Instead of Left/Top

// ❌ Slower, causes layout thrashing
Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'left,top'
})

// ✅ Faster, GPU-accelerated
Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y'
})

Throttle Events

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',

  onDrag: gsap.utils.throttle(function() {
    console.log('Dragging...')
  }, 100)
})

Batch Updates

let pendingUpdate = false

Draggable.create('.box', {
  type: 'x,y',

  onDrag: function() {
    if (!pendingUpdate) {
      pendingUpdate = true
      requestAnimationFrame(() => {
        // Batch update
        console.log('Batched update')
        pendingUpdate = false
      })
    }
  }
})

Common Mistakes

1. Forgetting to Register InertiaPlugin

// ❌ Inertia won't work
gsap.registerPlugin(Draggable)
Draggable.create('.box', { inertia: true })

// ✅ Register both plugins
gsap.registerPlugin(Draggable, InertiaPlugin)
Draggable.create('.box', { inertia: true })

2. Wrong Transform Origin for Rotation

// ❌ Rotates from wrong point
Draggable.create('.dial', { type: 'rotation' })

// ✅ Set transform origin
gsap.set('.dial', { transformOrigin: 'center center' })
Draggable.create('.dial', { type: 'rotation' })

3. Bounds Not Working

// ❌ Container doesn't have position set
<div class="container">
  <div class="box"></div>
</div>
Draggable.create('.box', { bounds: '.container' })

// ✅ Set position on container
.container { position: relative; }
.box { position: absolute; }

Best Practices

1. Use x,y over left,top - Better performance
2. Set position on bounds container - Required for bounds to work
3. Use inertia wisely - Great for natural feel, but adds complexity
4. Implement liveSnap - Better UX for constrained movements
5. Handle click vs drag - Distinguish between user actions
6. Use transformOrigin - Critical for rotation
7. Test on mobile - Touch events can behave differently
8. Clean up instances - Disable/kill when no longer needed

Quick Reference