@shopify/draggable — Drag & Drop Interaction Skill

Built on Shopify's @shopify/draggable (MIT license, v1.2.1). Pure JS library, zero runtime dependencies, supports ES modules and UMD.

Use cases

sortable lists, droppable panels, custom drag interactions, kanban/grid drag-and-drop reorganization. No longer maintained, now community-maintained.

Install

npm install @shopify/draggable

Or via CDN (recommended for prototyping):

\x3Cscript type="module">
import { Draggable, Sortable, Droppable, Swappable } from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@shopify/draggable/build/esm/index.mjs';
\x3C/script>

Module Overview

Quick Start

Basic Drag

import Draggable from '@shopify/draggable';

const draggable = new Draggable(document.querySelectorAll('.container'), {
  draggable: '.draggable-source',
});

draggable.on('drag:start', (event) => {
  console.log('Started dragging:', event.source);
});

draggable.on('drag:stop', () => {
  console.log('Drag ended');
});

Sortable List

import Sortable from '@shopify/draggable';

const sortable = new Sortable(document.querySelectorAll('.list'), {
  draggable: '.list-item',
  delay: { mouse: 200, touch: 300 },
});

sortable.on('sortable:stop', (event) => {
  console.log(`Moved from index ${event.oldIndex} to ${event.newIndex}`);
});

Drag into Drop Zone

import Droppable from '@shopify/draggable';

const droppable = new Droppable(document.querySelectorAll('.source-container'), {
  draggable: '.card',
  dropzone: '.dropzone',
});

droppable.on('droppable:dropped', (event) => {
  console.log('Dropped into dropzone:', event.dropzone);
});

droppable.on('droppable:returned', (event) => {
  console.log('Returned to original position');
});

Element Swap

import Swappable from '@shopify/draggable';

const swappable = new Swappable(document.querySelectorAll('.grid'), {
  draggable: '.grid-item',
});

swappable.on('swappable:swapped', (event) => {
  console.log('Swapped element:', event.swappedElement);
});

Configuration Options

CSS Class Map

const defaultClasses = {
  'container:dragging': 'draggable-container--is-dragging',
  'source:dragging':    'draggable-source--is-dragging',
  'source:placed':      'draggable-source--placed',
  'container:placed':   'draggable-container--placed',
  'body:dragging':      'draggable--is-dragging',
  'draggable:over':     'draggable--over',
  'container:over':     'draggable-container--over',
  'source:original':    'draggable--original',
  mirror:               'draggable-mirror',
};

Droppable additional classes:

Excluding Default Plugins/Sensors

new Draggable(containers, {
  exclude: {
    plugins: [],     // List of plugin constructors
    sensors: [],     // List of sensor constructors
  },
});

Events API

Base Events (All Modules)

Common Event Properties

draggable.on('drag:start', (event) => {
  event.source;           // Cloned source element
  event.originalSource;   // Original element (display:none)
  event.sourceContainer;  // Source container
  event.sensorEvent;      // Original sensor event
  event.cancel();         // Cancel the drag
});

Sortable Events

Droppable Events

Swappable Events

Plugins

Collidable

import { Plugins } from '@shopify/draggable';
import Collidable from '@shopify/draggable/build/esm/Plugins/Collidable';

new Draggable(containers, {
  plugins: [Collidable],
});

Collidable events: collidable:in (entered collision), collidable:out (left collision).

Snappable

import Snappable from '@shopify/draggable/build/esm/Plugins/Snappable';
new Draggable(containers, {
  plugins: [Snappable],
});

Sensors

import { Draggable } from '@shopify/draggable';
import ForceTouchSensor from '@shopify/draggable/build/esm/Draggable/Sensors/ForceTouchSensor';

new Draggable(containers, {
  sensors: [ForceTouchSensor],
});

Instance Methods

Common Patterns

Drag with Handle

new Sortable(document.querySelectorAll('.list'), {
  draggable: '.list-item',
  handle: '.drag-handle',   // Only .drag-handle can trigger drag
});

Delay & Minimum Distance (Prevent Accidental Drag)

new Draggable(containers, {
  delay: { mouse: 100, touch: 200 },
  distance: 5,            // Must move 5px before dragging
});

Cross-Container Sorting

const sortable = new Sortable(document.querySelectorAll('.column'), {
  draggable: '.card',
  delay: { touch: 200 },
});
// Cross-container drag is supported automatically

Prevent Specific Drags

draggable.on('drag:start', (event) => {
  if (event.source.dataset.draggable === 'false') {
    event.cancel();
  }
});

Custom Mirror Style

import Draggable from '@shopify/draggable';

const draggable = new Draggable(containers, {
  classes: {
    mirror: 'my-custom-mirror',
  },
});

// Or customize via CSS
// .draggable-mirror { opacity: 0.7; transform: scale(1.05); }

Lifecycle

constructor()
  ↓
draggable:initialized
  ↓
drag:start ──→ drag:move ──→ drag:stop ──→ drag:stopped
  ↓              ↓              ↓
Plugin events  sortable:sorted  sortable:stop
  ↓           droppable:       droppable:stop
cancel()      dropped          swappable:stop
              swappable:
              swapped
  ↓
destroy()

Notes

• Draggable does not perform sorting by itself — Sortable, Droppable, and Swappable are its subclasses
• The source element is set to display: none during drag; the mirror takes its visual place
• No longer maintained by the original Shopify authors; now community-maintained. Evaluate risk for production use
• TypeScript type definitions are bundled — no need to install @types separately
• Does not support IE11; targets ES6 modern browsers
• Use jsdelivr for CDN; avoid unpkg (incompatible paths)