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Draggable represents an entity that can be dragged in a drag and drop operation. It extends the base Entity class with draggable-specific functionality including sensor-based interaction handling, modifier-based behavior transformation, and status tracking.

​
Constructor

Creates a new draggable entity. 
const draggable = new Draggable<T, U>(input, manager);
​
input
DraggableInput<T>
required
Configuration object for the draggable.
​
manager
U | undefined
required
The drag and drop manager instance, or undefined for unmanaged entities.
​
T
extends Data
default:"Data"
Type parameter for the data associated with this draggable.
​
U
extends DragDropManager<any, any>
default:"DragDropManager<any, any>"
Type parameter for the manager type.

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Properties

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Inherited from Entity

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id
UniqueIdentifier
The unique identifier of the entity. Can be updated dynamically.
draggable.id = 'new-id';
​
data
T
The data associated with the entity.
draggable.data = {label: 'Updated label'};
​
manager
U | undefined
The drag and drop manager instance.
draggable.manager = newManager;
​
disabled
boolean
Whether the entity is disabled.
draggable.disabled = true;

​
Draggable-Specific

​
type
Type | undefined
The type/category of the draggable entity.
draggable.type = 'card';
​
sensors
Sensors | undefined
The sensors associated with this draggable entity.
​
modifiers
Modifiers | undefined
The modifiers associated with this draggable entity.
draggable.modifiers = [SnapModifier];
​
alignment
Alignment | undefined
The alignment configuration for this draggable entity.
​
plugins
Plugins | undefined
Per-entity plugin configuration descriptors.
​
status
DraggableStatus
The current status of the draggable entity.
type DraggableStatus = 'idle' | 'dragging' | 'dropping';
  • idle - Not being dragged
  • dragging - Currently being dragged
  • dropping - Currently being dropped

​
Computed Properties

​
isDragSource

​
isDragSource
boolean
Checks if this draggable is the source of the current drag operation.
if (draggable.isDragSource) {
  console.log('This item is being dragged');
}
Returns true if this entity’s ID matches the current drag operation’s source ID.

​
isDragging

​
isDragging
boolean
Checks if this draggable is currently being dragged.
if (draggable.isDragging) {
  console.log('Actively dragging');
}
Returns true if the status is 'dragging' and this is the drag source.

​
isDropping

​
isDropping
boolean
Checks if this draggable is currently being dropped.
if (draggable.isDropping) {
  console.log('Drop animation in progress');
}
Returns true if the status is 'dropping' and this is the drag source.

​
Methods

​
pluginConfig()

Looks up per-entity options for a given plugin constructor. 
const options = draggable.pluginConfig(MyPlugin);
​
plugin
PluginConstructor
required
The plugin constructor to look up configuration for.
​
return
PluginOptions | undefined
The plugin options if configured for this entity, undefined otherwise.

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Inherited from Entity

​
register()

Registers the entity with its manager. 
const cleanup = draggable.register();
​
return
CleanupFunction | void
A cleanup function to unregister the entity, or void if no manager is set.

​
unregister()

Unregisters the entity from its manager. 
draggable.unregister();

​
destroy()

Cleans up the entity when it’s no longer needed. 
draggable.destroy();
This method unregisters the entity from the manager and cleans up any resources.

​
Usage Examples

​
Basic Draggable

import {Draggable, DragDropManager} from '@dnd-kit/abstract';

const manager = new DragDropManager();

const draggable = new Draggable(
  {
    id: 'item-1',
    data: {label: 'Drag me', index: 0}
  },
  manager
);

​
With Type

const draggable = new Draggable(
  {
    id: 'card-1',
    type: 'card', // Only droppable zones accepting 'card' type will accept this
    data: {title: 'Task 1', status: 'todo'}
  },
  manager
);

​
With Custom Sensors

import {PointerSensor, KeyboardSensor} from '@dnd-kit/dom/sensors';

const draggable = new Draggable(
  {
    id: 'item-1',
    sensors: [PointerSensor, KeyboardSensor],
    data: {label: 'Accessible drag item'}
  },
  manager
);

​
With Modifiers

import {SnapModifier} from '@dnd-kit/abstract/modifiers';

const draggable = new Draggable(
  {
    id: 'item-1',
    modifiers: [SnapModifier.configure({gridSize: 20})],
    data: {label: 'Snaps to grid'}
  },
  manager
);

​
With Alignment

const draggable = new Draggable(
  {
    id: 'item-1',
    alignment: {x: 0.5, y: 0.5}, // Center alignment
    data: {label: 'Centered'}
  },
  manager
);

​
Checking Status

const draggable = new Draggable({id: 'item-1'}, manager);

// Check if being dragged
if (draggable.isDragging) {
  console.log('This item is being dragged');
}

// Check status value
switch (draggable.status) {
  case 'idle':
    console.log('Ready to drag');
    break;
  case 'dragging':
    console.log('Dragging in progress');
    break;
  case 'dropping':
    console.log('Drop animation');
    break;
}

​
Dynamic Updates

const draggable = new Draggable({id: 'item-1'}, manager);

// Update data
draggable.data = {label: 'Updated label'};

// Disable dragging
draggable.disabled = true;

// Change type
draggable.type = 'special-card';

// Update modifiers
draggable.modifiers = [NewModifier];

​
TypeScript Types

interface CardData {
  title: string;
  description: string;
  priority: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high';
}

const draggable = new Draggable<CardData>(
  {
    id: 'card-1',
    data: {
      title: 'My Task',
      description: 'Complete this task',
      priority: 'high'
    }
  },
  manager
);

// TypeScript knows the shape of data
const title = draggable.data.title; // string

​
Manual Registration

// Create without auto-registration
const draggable = new Draggable(
  {
    id: 'item-1',
    register: false
  },
  manager
);

// Register later
const cleanup = draggable.register();

// Unregister
cleanup();
// or
draggable.unregister();

​
With Effects

const draggable = new Draggable(
  {
    id: 'item-1',
    effects: () => [
      // Effect runs when entity is registered
      () => {
        console.log('Draggable registered');
        
        // Cleanup runs when unregistered
        return () => {
          console.log('Draggable unregistered');
        };
      }
    ]
  },
  manager
);

​
Plugin Configuration

import {MyPlugin} from './my-plugin';

const draggable = new Draggable(
  {
    id: 'item-1',
    plugins: [
      MyPlugin.configure({
        option1: 'value1',
        option2: true
      })
    ]
  },
  manager
);

// Retrieve plugin config
const config = draggable.pluginConfig(MyPlugin);
console.log(config); // {option1: 'value1', option2: true}

​
See Also

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