Nodes

Nodes are the building blocks of your graph. They represent any sort of data you want to present in your graph.

They can exist on their own but can be connected to each other with edges to create a map.

Each node requires a unique id and a xy-position. Anything else is optional.

You can check the full options for a node element here.

Usage

Generally you create nodes by adding them to the model-value or the nodes prop of the Vue Flow component.

<script>
import { VueFlow } from '@vue-flow/core'

export default defineComponent({
  components: { VueFlow },
  data() {
    return {
      elements: [
        {
          id: '1',
          position: { x: 50, y: 50 },
          label: 'Node 1',
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  mounted() {
    // Add an element after mount
    this.elements.push(
      {
        id: '2',
        position: { x: 150, y: 50 },
        label: 'Node 2',
      }
    )
  }
})
</script>
<template>
  <div style="height: 300px">
    <VueFlow v-model="elements" />
  </div>
</template>

For more advanced graphs that require more state access you will want to use the useVueFlow composable. useVueFlow will provide you with an addNodes utility function, which you can use to add nodes directly to the state.

<script setup>
import { VueFlow, useVueFlow } from '@vue-flow/core'

const initialNodes = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    position: { x: 50, y: 50 },
    label: 'Node 1',
  }
])
const { addNodes } = useVueFlow({
  nodes: initialNodes,
})

onMounted(() => {
  // Add an element after mount
  addNodes([
    {
      id: '2',
      position: { x: 150, y: 50 },
      label: 'Node 2',
    }
  ])
})
</script>
<template>
  <div style="height: 300px">
    <VueFlow />
  </div>
</template>

You can also apply changes using the applyNodeChanges utility function, which expects an array of changes to be applied to the currently stored nodes.

<script setup>
import { VueFlow, useVueFlow } from '@vue-flow/core'

const initialNodes = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    position: { x: 50, y: 50 },
    label: 'Node 1',
  }
])
const { applyNodeChanges } = useVueFlow({
  nodes: initialNodes,
})

onMounted(() => {
  // Remove an element after mount
  applyNodeChanges([
    {
      id: '1',
      type: 'remove',
    }
  ])
})
</script>
<template>
  <div style="height: 300px">
    <VueFlow />
  </div>
</template>

Default Node-Types

Vue Flow comes with built-in nodes that you can use right out of the box. These node types include default, input and output.

Default Node

vue flow default node

A default node comes with two handles. It represents a branching point in your map.

You can specify the position of handles in the node definition.

const nodes = [
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    targetHandle: Position.Top, // or Bottom, Left, Right,
    sourceHandle: Position.Right,
  }
]

Input Node

vue flow input node

An input node has a single handle, located at the bottom by default. It represents a starting point of your map.

Output Node

vue flow output node

An output node has a single handle, located at the top by default. It represents an ending point of your map.

Custom Nodes

In addition to the default node types from the previous chapter, you can define any amount of custom node-types. Node-types are inferred from your node's definition.

const nodes = [
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    type: 'custom',
    position: { x: 50, y: 50 },
  },
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    type: 'special',
    position: { x: 150, y: 50 },
  }
]

Vue Flow will now try to resolve this node-type to a component. First and foremost we will look for a definition in the nodeTypes object of the state. After that we will try to resolve the component to a globally registered one that matches the exact name. Finally, we will check if a template slot has been provided to fill the node-type.

If none of these methods succeed in resolving the component the default node-type will be used as a fallback.

Template slots

The easiest way to define custom nodes is, by passing them as template slots. Your custom node-types are dynamically resolved to slot-names, meaning a node with the type custom will expect a slot to have the name node-custom.

<script setup>
import { VueFlow } from '@vue-flow/core'
import CustomNode from './CustomNode.vue'

const elements = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    type: 'custom',
    position: { x: 50, y: 50 },
  }
])
</script>
<template>
  <VueFlow v-model="elements">
    <template #node-custom="props">
      <CustomNode v-bind="props" />
    </template>
  </VueFlow>
</template>

Node-types object

You can also define node-types by passing an object as a prop to the VueFlow component (or as an option to the composable).

WARNING

When doing this, mark your components as raw (using the designated function from the vue library) to avoid them being turned into reactive objects. Otherwise, vue will throw a warning in the console.

<script setup>
import { markRaw } from 'vue'
import CustomNode from './CustomNode.vue'
import SpecialNode from './SpecialNode.vue'

const nodeTypes = {
  custom: markRaw(CustomNode),
  special: markRaw(SpecialNode),
}

const elements = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    type: 'custom',
  },
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    type: 'special',
  }
])
</script>
<template>
  <div style="height: 300px">
    <VueFlow v-model="elements" :node-types="nodeTypes" />
  </div>
</template>

TIP

You can find a more advanced example here.

Node Template

You can also set a template per node, which will overwrite the node-type component but will retain the type otherwise.

<script setup>
import { markRaw } from 'vue'
import CustomNode from './CustomNode.vue'
import CustomNode from './OverwriteCustomNode.vue'
import SpecialNode from './SpecialNode.vue'

const nodeTypes = {
  custom: markRaw(CustomNode),
  special: markRaw(SpecialNode),
}

const elements = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    type: 'custom',
    template: markRaw(OverwriteCustomNode),
  },
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    type: 'special',
  }
])
</script>
<template>
  <div style="height: 300px">
    <VueFlow v-model="elements" :node-types="nodeTypes" />
  </div>
</template>

(Custom) Node Props

Your custom nodes are wrapped so that the basic functions like dragging or selecting work. But you might want to extend on that functionality or implement your own business logic inside of nodes, therefore your nodes receive the following props:

Name	Definition	Type	Optional
id	Node id	string	false
type	Node type	string	false
selected	Is node selected	boolean	false
dragging	Is node dragging	boolean	false
connectable	Is node connectable	boolean	false
position	Relative position of a node	XYPosition	false
zIndex	Node z-index	number	false
dimensions	Node size	Dimensions	false
data	Custom data object	Any object	true
events	Node events and custom events	NodeEventsOn	true
label	Node label	string, Component	true
isValidTargetPos	Called when target handle is used for connection	ValidConnectionFunc	true
isValidSourcePos	Called when source handle is used for connection	ValidConnectionFunc	true
parentNode	Parent node id	string	true
targetPosition	Target handle position	Position	true
sourcePosition	Source handle position	Position	true
dragHandle	Node drag handle class	string	true

(Custom) Node Events

In addition to the event handlers that you can access through useVueFlow or the Vue Flow component, you can also pass in event handlers in your initial node definition, or you can access the node events through the events prop passed to your node components.

<script setup>
import { VueFlow } from '@vue-flow/core'

const elements = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    type: 'custom',
    position: { x: 50, y: 50 },
    events: {
      click: () => {
        console.log('Node 1 clicked')
      },
      customEvent: () => {
        console.log('Node 1 custom event')
      },
    }
  }
])
</script>

As you can see above, you can also pass in custom event handlers. These will not be called by Vue Flow but can be used to forward callback functions to your custom components. The click handler is part of the NodeEventsHandler interface, meaning it will be triggered when the node is clicked.

<script lang="ts" setup>
import type { NodeProps, NodeEventsOn } from '@vue-flow/core'

// define your events
interface CustomNodeEvents {
  click: NodeEventsOn['click']
  customEvent: (input: string) => void
}

interface CustomNodeProps extends NodeProps<any, CustomNodeEvents> {
  id: string
  events: CustomNodeEvents
}

const props = defineProps<CustomNodeProps>()

props.events.click(() => {
  console.log(`Node ${props.id} clicked`)
})

// custom events are just functions, they are not hooks which you can listen to like `click`
props.events.customEvent('custom event triggered')
</script>

<template>
  <!-- Omitted for simplicty -->
</template>

Styling

TIP

To overwrite default theme styles check the Theming section.

Custom Nodes

When you create a new node type you also need to implement some styling. Your custom node has no default styles.

.vue-flow__node-custom {
  background: #9CA8B3;
  color: #fff;
  padding: 10px;
}

Allow scrolling inside a node

You can use the noWheelClassName prop to define a class which will prevent zoom-on-scroll or pan-on-scroll behavior on that element. By default, the noWheelClassName is .nowheel. By adding this class you can also enable scrolling inside a node.

Dynamic handle positions / Adding handles dynamically

When working with dynamic handle positions or adding handles dynamically, you need to use the updateNodeInternals method.

You need to call this method otherwise your node will not respond to the new handles and edges will be misaligned.

You can either use the store action to update multiple nodes at once by passing their ids into the method, or you can emit the updateNodeInternals event from your custom node component without passing any parameters.

Examples

Using store action

<script setup>
import { useVueFlow } from '@vue-flow/core'

const { updateNodeInternals } = useVueFlow()

const onSomeEvent = () => {
  updateNodeInternals(['1'])
}
</script>

Emitting event from custom component

<script setup>
const emits = defineEmits(['updateNodeInternals'])

const onSomeEvent = () => {
  emits('updateNodeInternals')
}
</script>

Nodes #

Usage #

Default Node-Types #

Default Node #

Input Node #

Output Node #

Custom Nodes #

Template slots #

Node-types object #

Node Template #

(Custom) Node Props #

(Custom) Node Events #

Styling #

Custom Nodes #

Allow scrolling inside a node #

Dynamic handle positions / Adding handles dynamically #

Examples #

Nodes

Usage

Default Node-Types

Default Node

Input Node

Output Node

Custom Nodes

Template slots

Node-types object

Node Template

(Custom) Node Props

(Custom) Node Events

Styling

Custom Nodes

Allow scrolling inside a node

Dynamic handle positions / Adding handles dynamically

Examples