Agent skill
react-flow-advanced
Advanced React Flow patterns for complex use cases. Use when implementing sub-flows, custom connection lines, programmatic layouts, drag-and-drop, undo/redo, or complex state synchronization.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/existential-birds/beagle/tree/main/plugins/beagle-react/skills/react-flow-advanced
SKILL.md
Advanced React Flow Patterns
Sub-Flows (Nested Nodes)
const nodes = [
// Parent (group) node
{
id: 'group-1',
type: 'group',
position: { x: 0, y: 0 },
style: { width: 400, height: 300, padding: 10 },
data: { label: 'Group' },
},
// Child nodes
{
id: 'child-1',
parentId: 'group-1', // Reference parent
extent: 'parent', // Constrain to parent bounds
expandParent: true, // Auto-expand parent if dragged to edge
position: { x: 20, y: 50 }, // Relative to parent
data: { label: 'Child 1' },
},
{
id: 'child-2',
parentId: 'group-1',
extent: 'parent',
position: { x: 200, y: 50 },
data: { label: 'Child 2' },
},
];
Group Node Component
function GroupNode({ data, id }: NodeProps) {
return (
<div className="group-node">
<div className="group-header">{data.label}</div>
{/* Children are rendered automatically by React Flow */}
</div>
);
}
Custom Connection Line
import { ConnectionLineComponentProps, getSmoothStepPath } from '@xyflow/react';
function CustomConnectionLine({
fromX, fromY, fromPosition,
toX, toY, toPosition,
connectionStatus,
}: ConnectionLineComponentProps) {
const [path] = getSmoothStepPath({
sourceX: fromX,
sourceY: fromY,
sourcePosition: fromPosition,
targetX: toX,
targetY: toY,
targetPosition: toPosition,
});
return (
<g>
<path
d={path}
fill="none"
stroke={connectionStatus === 'valid' ? '#22c55e' : '#ef4444'}
strokeWidth={2}
strokeDasharray="5 5"
/>
</g>
);
}
<ReactFlow connectionLineComponent={CustomConnectionLine} />
Drag and Drop from External Source
import { useReactFlow, useCallback, useRef } from 'react';
function DnDFlow() {
const reactFlowWrapper = useRef(null);
const { screenToFlowPosition, addNodes } = useReactFlow();
const [reactFlowInstance, setReactFlowInstance] = useState(null);
const onDragOver = useCallback((event: DragEvent) => {
event.preventDefault();
event.dataTransfer.dropEffect = 'move';
}, []);
const onDrop = useCallback((event: DragEvent) => {
event.preventDefault();
const type = event.dataTransfer.getData('application/reactflow');
if (!type) return;
// Convert screen position to flow position
const position = screenToFlowPosition({
x: event.clientX,
y: event.clientY,
});
const newNode = {
id: `${Date.now()}`,
type,
position,
data: { label: `${type} node` },
};
addNodes(newNode);
}, [screenToFlowPosition, addNodes]);
return (
<div ref={reactFlowWrapper} style={{ height: '100%' }}>
<ReactFlow
onDragOver={onDragOver}
onDrop={onDrop}
onInit={setReactFlowInstance}
/>
</div>
);
}
// Sidebar component
function Sidebar() {
const onDragStart = (event: DragEvent, nodeType: string) => {
event.dataTransfer.setData('application/reactflow', nodeType);
event.dataTransfer.effectAllowed = 'move';
};
return (
<aside>
<div draggable onDragStart={(e) => onDragStart(e, 'input')}>
Input Node
</div>
<div draggable onDragStart={(e) => onDragStart(e, 'default')}>
Default Node
</div>
</aside>
);
}
Undo/Redo
import { useCallback, useState } from 'react';
function useUndoRedo<T>(initialState: T) {
const [history, setHistory] = useState<T[]>([initialState]);
const [index, setIndex] = useState(0);
const state = history[index];
const setState = useCallback((newState: T | ((prev: T) => T)) => {
setHistory((prev) => {
const resolved = typeof newState === 'function'
? (newState as (prev: T) => T)(prev[index])
: newState;
// Remove future states and add new state
const newHistory = prev.slice(0, index + 1);
return [...newHistory, resolved];
});
setIndex((i) => i + 1);
}, [index]);
const undo = useCallback(() => {
setIndex((i) => Math.max(0, i - 1));
}, []);
const redo = useCallback(() => {
setIndex((i) => Math.min(history.length - 1, i + 1));
}, [history.length]);
const canUndo = index > 0;
const canRedo = index < history.length - 1;
return { state, setState, undo, redo, canUndo, canRedo };
}
// Usage
function Flow() {
const {
state: { nodes, edges },
setState,
undo, redo, canUndo, canRedo
} = useUndoRedo({ nodes: initialNodes, edges: initialEdges });
// Capture state on significant changes
const onNodesChange = useCallback((changes) => {
const hasPositionChange = changes.some(c => c.type === 'position' && !c.dragging);
if (hasPositionChange) {
setState(prev => ({
nodes: applyNodeChanges(changes, prev.nodes),
edges: prev.edges,
}));
}
}, [setState]);
}
Programmatic Layout with dagre
import dagre from 'dagre';
interface LayoutOptions {
direction: 'TB' | 'BT' | 'LR' | 'RL';
nodeWidth: number;
nodeHeight: number;
}
function getLayoutedElements(
nodes: Node[],
edges: Edge[],
options: LayoutOptions = { direction: 'TB', nodeWidth: 172, nodeHeight: 36 }
) {
const g = new dagre.graphlib.Graph();
g.setGraph({ rankdir: options.direction });
g.setDefaultEdgeLabel(() => ({}));
nodes.forEach((node) => {
g.setNode(node.id, {
width: node.measured?.width ?? options.nodeWidth,
height: node.measured?.height ?? options.nodeHeight,
});
});
edges.forEach((edge) => {
g.setEdge(edge.source, edge.target);
});
dagre.layout(g);
const layoutedNodes = nodes.map((node) => {
const nodeWithPosition = g.node(node.id);
return {
...node,
position: {
x: nodeWithPosition.x - (node.measured?.width ?? options.nodeWidth) / 2,
y: nodeWithPosition.y - (node.measured?.height ?? options.nodeHeight) / 2,
},
};
});
return { nodes: layoutedNodes, edges };
}
// Usage after nodes are measured
function Flow() {
const { fitView } = useReactFlow();
const onLayout = useCallback((direction: 'TB' | 'LR') => {
const { nodes: layoutedNodes, edges: layoutedEdges } = getLayoutedElements(
nodes,
edges,
{ direction, nodeWidth: 150, nodeHeight: 50 }
);
setNodes([...layoutedNodes]);
setEdges([...layoutedEdges]);
window.requestAnimationFrame(() => {
fitView({ duration: 500 });
});
}, [nodes, edges, setNodes, setEdges, fitView]);
}
Connection with Edge on Drop
function Flow() {
const [nodes, setNodes, onNodesChange] = useNodesState(initialNodes);
const [edges, setEdges, onEdgesChange] = useEdgesState(initialEdges);
const { screenToFlowPosition } = useReactFlow();
const onConnectEnd = useCallback(
(event: MouseEvent | TouchEvent, connectionState: FinalConnectionState) => {
// Only proceed if dropped on pane (not on a node)
if (!connectionState.isValid && connectionState.fromHandle) {
const id = `${Date.now()}`;
const { clientX, clientY } = 'changedTouches' in event
? event.changedTouches[0]
: event;
const newNode = {
id,
position: screenToFlowPosition({ x: clientX, y: clientY }),
data: { label: 'New Node' },
};
setNodes((nds) => [...nds, newNode]);
setEdges((eds) => [
...eds,
{
id: `e-${connectionState.fromNode?.id}-${id}`,
source: connectionState.fromNode?.id ?? '',
target: id,
},
]);
}
},
[screenToFlowPosition, setNodes, setEdges]
);
return (
<ReactFlow
nodes={nodes}
edges={edges}
onNodesChange={onNodesChange}
onEdgesChange={onEdgesChange}
onConnectEnd={onConnectEnd}
/>
);
}
Accessing Node Data from Edges
import { useNodesData, type EdgeProps } from '@xyflow/react';
function DataEdge({ source, target, ...props }: EdgeProps) {
// Get data for source and target nodes
const nodesData = useNodesData([source, target]);
const sourceData = nodesData[0];
const targetData = nodesData[1];
const [path, labelX, labelY] = getSmoothStepPath(props);
return (
<>
<BaseEdge path={path} />
<EdgeLabelRenderer>
<div style={{ transform: `translate(-50%, -50%) translate(${labelX}px, ${labelY}px)` }}>
{sourceData?.data?.label} → {targetData?.data?.label}
</div>
</EdgeLabelRenderer>
</>
);
}
Middleware for Node Changes
// Filter or modify changes before they're applied
const onNodesChangeMiddleware = useCallback((changes: NodeChange[]) => {
// Example: Prevent deletion of certain nodes
const filteredChanges = changes.filter((change) => {
if (change.type === 'remove') {
const node = nodes.find((n) => n.id === change.id);
return node?.data?.deletable !== false;
}
return true;
});
setNodes((nds) => applyNodeChanges(filteredChanges, nds));
}, [nodes, setNodes]);
Keyboard Shortcuts
import { useKeyPress } from '@xyflow/react';
function Flow() {
const { deleteElements, getNodes, getEdges, fitView } = useReactFlow();
// Ctrl/Cmd + A: Select all
const selectAllPressed = useKeyPress(['Meta+a', 'Control+a']);
useEffect(() => {
if (selectAllPressed) {
setNodes((nds) => nds.map((n) => ({ ...n, selected: true })));
setEdges((eds) => eds.map((e) => ({ ...e, selected: true })));
}
}, [selectAllPressed]);
// Custom delete handler
const deletePressed = useKeyPress(['Backspace', 'Delete']);
useEffect(() => {
if (deletePressed) {
const selectedNodes = getNodes().filter((n) => n.selected);
const selectedEdges = getEdges().filter((e) => e.selected);
deleteElements({ nodes: selectedNodes, edges: selectedEdges });
}
}, [deletePressed]);
}
Performance: Memoizing Selectors
import { useCallback } from 'react';
import { useStore, type ReactFlowState } from '@xyflow/react';
import { shallow } from 'zustand/shallow';
// Create stable selector outside component
const nodesSelector = (state: ReactFlowState) => state.nodes;
// Or use multiple values with shallow compare
const flowStateSelector = (state: ReactFlowState) => ({
nodes: state.nodes,
edges: state.edges,
viewport: state.transform,
});
function FlowInfo() {
const { nodes, edges, viewport } = useStore(flowStateSelector, shallow);
return <div>Nodes: {nodes.length}, Edges: {edges.length}</div>;
}
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