Handle element resizes like it's 2025!
Live demo
Modern browsers now have native support for detecting element size changes through ResizeObservers. This library utilizes ResizeObservers to facilitate managing element size changes in React applications.
🐥 Tiny ~2kb
🐼 Written in TypeScript
🐠 Used by 170k repositories
🦄 Produces 100 million downloads annually
No window.resize
listeners! No timeouts!
Should you use this library?
Consider CSS Container Queries first! They now work in all major browsers and might solve your use case with pure CSS.
html
<div class="post">
<div class="card">
<h2>Card title</h2>
<p>Card content</p>
</div>
</div>
css
.post {
container-type: inline-size;
}
/* Default heading styles for the card title */
.card h2 {
font-size: 1em;
}
/* If the container is larger than 700px */
@container (min-width: 700px) {
.card h2 {
font-size: 2em;
}
}
Use this library when you need:
- JavaScript-based resize logic with full TypeScript support
- Complex calculations based on dimensions
- Integration with React state/effects
- Programmatic control over resize behavior
Installation
npm install react-resize-detector
# OR
yarn add react-resize-detector
# OR
pnpm add react-resize-detector
Quick Start
Basic Usage
import { useResizeDetector } from 'react-resize-detector';
const CustomComponent = () => {
const { width, height, ref } = useResizeDetector<HTMLDivElement>();
return <div ref={ref}>{`${width}x${height}`}</div>;
};
With Resize Callback
import { useCallback } from 'react';
import { useResizeDetector, OnResizeCallback } from 'react-resize-detector';
const CustomComponent = () => {
const onResize: OnResizeCallback = useCallback((payload) => {
if (payload.width !== null && payload.height !== null) {
console.log('Dimensions:', payload.width, payload.height);
} else {
console.log('Element unmounted');
}
}, []);
const { width, height, ref } = useResizeDetector<HTMLDivElement>({
onResize,
});
return <div ref={ref}>{`${width}x${height}`}</div>;
};
With External Ref (Advanced)
It's not advised to use this approach, as dynamically mounting and unmounting the observed element could lead to unexpected behavior.
import { useRef } from 'react';
import { useResizeDetector } from 'react-resize-detector';
const CustomComponent = () => {
const targetRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
const { width, height } = useResizeDetector({ targetRef });
return <div ref={targetRef}>{`${width}x${height}`}</div>;
};
API Reference
Hook Signature
useResizeDetector<T extends HTMLElement = HTMLElement>(
props?: useResizeDetectorProps<T>
): UseResizeDetectorReturn<T>
Props
Prop | Type | Description | Default | |
---|---|---|---|---|
onResize |
(payload: ResizePayload) => void |
Callback invoked with resize information | undefined |
|
handleWidth |
boolean |
Trigger updates on width changes | true |
|
handleHeight |
boolean |
Trigger updates on height changes | true |
|
skipOnMount |
boolean |
Skip the first resize event when component mounts | false |
|
refreshMode |
`'throttle' \ | 'debounce'` | Rate limiting strategy. See lodash docs | undefined |
refreshRate |
number |
Delay in milliseconds for rate limiting | 1000 |
|
refreshOptions |
{ leading?: boolean; trailing?: boolean } |
Additional options for throttle/debounce | undefined |
|
observerOptions |
ResizeObserverOptions |
Options passed to resizeObserver.observe |
undefined |
|
targetRef |
`MutableRefObject<T \ | null>` | External ref to observe (use with caution) | undefined |
Advanced Examples
Responsive Component
import { useResizeDetector } from 'react-resize-detector';
const ResponsiveCard = () => {
const { width, ref } = useResizeDetector();
const cardStyle = {
padding: width > 600 ? '2rem' : '1rem',
fontSize: width > 400 ? '1.2em' : '1em',
flexDirection: width > 500 ? 'row' : 'column',
};
return (
<div ref={ref} style={cardStyle}>
<h2>Responsive Card</h2>
<p>Width: {width}px</p>
</div>
);
};
Chart Resizing
import { useResizeDetector } from 'react-resize-detector';
import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
const Chart = () => {
const chartRef = useRef(null);
const { width, height, ref } = useResizeDetector({
refreshMode: 'debounce',
refreshRate: 100,
});
useEffect(() => {
if (width && height && chartRef.current) {
// Redraw chart with new dimensions
redrawChart(chartRef.current, width, height);
}
}, [width, height]);
return <canvas ref={ref} />;
};
Performance Optimization
import { useResizeDetector } from 'react-resize-detector';
const OptimizedComponent = () => {
const { width, height, ref } = useResizeDetector({
// Only track width changes
handleHeight: false,
// Debounce rapid changes
refreshMode: 'debounce',
refreshRate: 150,
// Skip initial mount calculation
skipOnMount: true,
// Use border-box for more accurate measurements
observerOptions: { box: 'border-box' },
});
return <div ref={ref}>Optimized: {width}px wide</div>;
};
Browser Support
- ✅ Chrome 64+
- ✅ Firefox 69+
- ✅ Safari 13.1+
- ✅ Edge 79+
For older browsers, consider using a ResizeObserver polyfill.
Testing
const { ResizeObserver } = window;
beforeEach(() => {
delete window.ResizeObserver;
// Mock ResizeObserver for tests
window.ResizeObserver = jest.fn().mockImplementation(() => ({
observe: jest.fn(),
unobserve: jest.fn(),
disconnect: jest.fn(),
}));
});
afterEach(() => {
window.ResizeObserver = ResizeObserver;
jest.restoreAllMocks();
});
Performance Tips
- Use
handleWidth
/handleHeight: false
if you only need one dimension - Enable
skipOnMount: true
if you don't need initial measurements - Use
debounce
orthrottle
for expensive resize handlers - Specify
observerOptions.box
for consistent measurements
License
MIT
❤️ Support
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