React Intersection provides a simple component-based interface to the Intersection Observer API.

It provides two core components: IntersectionElement and IntersectionRoot.

• IntersectionElement adds its direct DOM child as an observer of the nearest parent IntersectionRoot, or the browser viewport if none found.
• IntersectionRoot optionally creates a new IntersectionObserver with either the browser viewport or its direct DOM child as the observed root.

React Intersection is:

• Tiny: Less than 1kb.
• Unopinionated: Provides the full IntersectionObserverEntry object to each onChange handler. A great low-level starting point for more specific functionality.
• Component-based: No need to provide selectors or Nodes to set IntersectionObserver.root.

Contents

• Install
• Usage
• API
• Browser support
• Plugins
• Social

Install

npm install react-intersection --save

Usage

By default, wrapping a component with IntersectionElement will subscribe its first child DOM element to a default viewport IntersectionObserver, with threshold set to [0, 1].

This means onChange will fire when the element is first fully and partially off/on screen.

import { IntersectionElement } from 'react-intersection';

class Item extends React.Component {
  state = {
    isIntersecting: false
  };

  setVisibility = ({ isIntersecting }) => this.setState({ isIntersecting });

  render() {
    return (
      <IntersectionElement onChange={this.setVisibility}>
        <li />
      </IntersectionElement>
    );
  }
}

Define a new root

We can use a parent element as the IntersectionObserver.root instead of the viewport:

import { IntersectionRoot } from 'react-intersection';

const ScrollableList = () => (
  <IntersectionRoot>
    <ul>
      {renderItems()}
    </ul>
  </IntersectionRoot>
);

In the above example, ul will be the root of the new IntersectionObserver that any children IntersectionElements will subscribe to.

Define a new browser viewport root

To create a new browser viewport root with non-default settings, we can pass a viewport prop to IntersectionRoot:

const IntersectViewportWithMargins = ({ children }) => (
  <IntersectionRoot viewport margin="20px 20px 20px 20px">
    {children}
  </IntersectionRoot>
);

API

IntersectionElement

Observe when an element intersects with its closest IntersectionRoot

Props

onChange: (e: IntersectionObserverEntry) => any

Fires after every breached threshold on the IntersectionRoot (or browser viewport if none set).

Is provided an IntersectionObserverEntry object.

once?: boolean = false

Stops firing events after the first true intersection.

IntersectionRoot

Define a new IntersectionObserver.

If no root property is defined, it only accepts a single child.

Props

viewport?: boolean = false

If true, sets the browser viewport as the IntersectionObserver.root property. If false, uses the first DOM child.

margin?: string = '0px 0px 0px 0px'

A space-delimited list of margins that effectively change the observed bounding box.

Follows the CSS pattern of top/right/bottom/left where '10px 20px 30px 40px' would give a right margin of 20px.

If IntersectionRoot is not a viewport observer, these values can be defined as percentages.

threshold?: number[] = [0, 1]

An array of values between 0 and 1 that dictates at which ratios the IntersectionObserver should fire callbacks. Thresholds are fully explained in the MDN Intersection Observer API article.

Browser support

React Intersection is dependent on the IntersectionObserver API and WeakMap:

Intersection Observer API

Browser support | Polyfill

WeakMap

Browser support | Polyfill

Plugins

• React Intersection Image

Social

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