A simple React component library for variable setting and preview, inspired by iOS settings

react-var-ui

react-var-ui is a simple React component library for variable setting and preview, inspired by iOS settings, react-dat-gui and dat.gui.

While some code from react-dat-gui was used, this library functions in a completely different way. The codebase uses modern React code practices such as hooks and functional components. Instead of iterating over the children array, react-var-ui uses a Context. Creation of custom components is also easier.

What makes react-var-ui different when compared to similar libraries such as Leva or react-dat-gui, react-var-ui doesn't force itself to float over all your content, instead react-var-ui lives peacefully inside of the React node it is placed in. Unlike Leva and much more like react-dat-gui, react-var-ui relies on a local state variable, providing the developer with more flexibility. While this might seem less convenient, it allows for more customization and usage of multiple instances of react-dat-gui within one project.

Installation

Install react-var-ui with either npm or yarn:

yarn add react-var-ui
# or
npm install react-var-ui

Then include the CSS with:

/* In your CSS/SCSS file: */
@import 'react-var-ui/dist/index.css';

or:

// In your JS/TS file (assuming your bundler supports loading CSS files):
import 'react-var-ui/dist/index.css';

Example usage

const [values, setValues] = React.useState({
  toggle: true,
  color: '#FF0000',
  select: 1,
  slider: 0.4,
  xy: [0, 0.2],
  string: 'Hello world!',
});

return (
  <VarUI updateValues={setValues} values={values}>
    <VarCategory label="Example">
      <VarColor path="color" label="Color" />
      <VarToggle path="toggle" label="Toggle" />
      <VarSelect
        path="select"
        label="Select"
        options={[
          { key: 0, label: 'Zero' },
          { key: 1, label: 'One' },
        ]}
      />
      <VarSlider
        label="VarSlider"
        path="slider"
        min={0.2}
        max={0.8}
        step={0.1}
      />
      <VarString label="VarString" path="string" />
      <VarXY label="VarXY" path="xy" />
      <VarButton buttonLabel="VarButton" onClick={() => alert('clicked!')} />
    </VarCategory>
  </VarUI>
);

Testing

react-var-ui uses jest for automated unit tests and storybook for manually testing the UI.

You can run unit tests after installing by running:

yarn test

Storybook can be ran with:

yarn storybook

To run the example app, you first need to start the project with:

yarn start

And then enter the example directory and start the app:

cd ./example
yarn start

(make sure to run yarn install before.)

Utility components

<VarUI />

This is the main component which provides a Context for other components. It is not required to use this component - other components accept onChange and value properties which provide a similar functionality.

required

Property Description Type
values A JavaScript object or array to be mutated by the input components. object
updateValues The function to be called whenever an update is available. (values: object) => void

optional

Property Description Type
className Additional class names for the wrapper object. string

<VarCategory />

Category component for grouping inputs.

required

Property Description Type
label Category label. ReactNode

optional

Property Description Type
className Additional class names on the wrapping div element. string

Input components

Base properties

Most input components accept the following base properties.

Does not apply to <VarButton />.

optional

T is component's value type.

Property Description Type
label Label to be shown left to the input. ReactNode
className Additional class names on the wrapping div element. string
path Variable path in the data object. string
value Current value (only used if context and path aren't available).
In most cases you aren't going to need this.
T
defaultValue Default value for components that support resetting (on double click for example). T
disabled Should the component be disabled. boolean
onChange On change event, called with the new value if provided.
In most cases you aren't going to need this.
(value: T) => void
children Children. Only rendered when provided directly to the VarBase component. ReactNode

<VarAngle />

Angle picker component. Accepts and provides numbers (radians).

T = number (rad)

<VarBase />

Base VarUI input component. Doesn't do anything besides displaying the label.

Used to construct other components from.

<VarButton />

Button component.

Does not accept any of the base component properties.

required

Property Description Type
buttonLabel Category label. ReactNode

optional

Property Description Type
onClick Called when the button is clicked. () => void
disabled Should the component be disabled. boolean

<VarColor />

Color picker component. Returns and accepts values in form of hex color strings.

Uses react-color under the hood.

T = string (#XXXXXX)

optional

Property Description Type
alpha Should allow picking alpha values?
If true, the result hex code will contain extra two characters representing the alpha value, from 00 to FF.
boolean

<VarDisplay />

A simple component that displays a string or a numeric value.

Only accepts path and value. Does not change any values.

T = string | number

<VarNumber />

Integer/float number component. Accepts and provides numbers.

T = number

optional

Property Description Type
min Minimum value. number
max Maximum value. number
step Step. number
integer Should the end result be rounded to an integer value. boolean
showInput If true will display an editable input, otherwise shows a read only value. boolean
showButtons If true will display buttons that increase and decrease the value by step. boolean

<VarSelect />

Select component. Returns and accepts either value from option object or key when value is not provided.

T = any

required

Property Description Type
options Options to be displayed. IVarSelectOption[]

Interface: IVarSelectOption

Required:

Property Description Type
key Key for the option. Also used as value if value is not specified. ReactText
label Option label. string

Optional:

Property Description Type
value Option value. Key will be used if not specified.
Note: Will be serialized to JSON and deserialized when selected.
any

<VarSlider />

Integer/float slider component. Accepts and provides numbers.

T = number

required

Property Description Type
min Minimum value. number
max Maximum value. number
step Step. number

optional

Property Description Type
integer Should the end result be rounded to an integer value. boolean
showInput If true will display an editable input, otherwise shows a read only value. boolean
showButtons If true will display buttons that increase and decrease the value by step. boolean

<VarString />

String input component. Accepts and provides a string value.

T = string

optional

Property Description Type
maxLength Maximum length of the text. number
multiline Should the field be a textarea? boolean

<VarToggle />

Checkbox/toggle component. Accepts and returns a boolean (true/false).

T = boolean

<VarXY />

XY offset picker. Accepts and provides an array in form of [x, y].

T = [number (x), number (y)]

optional

Property Description Type
min Minimum value. [number (x), number (y)]
max Maximum value. [number (x), number (y)]
step Step. [number (x), number (y)]

Theme customization

The colors can be customized as such (provided are default values):

.react-var-ui {
  /* Foreground color, used for text. */
  --react-var-ui-foreground-color: #ddd;

  /* Background color, used for category header backgrounds. */
  --react-var-ui-background-color: #11111a;

  /* Accent color, used for active parts of sliders, toggles and XY. */
  --react-var-ui-accent-color: #77f;

  /* Input background color. */
  --react-var-ui-input-background-color: #353542;

  /* Input background color (when hovered). */
  --react-var-ui-input-background-hover-color: #424253;

  /* Input background color (when pressed). Only applies to buttons. */
  --react-var-ui-input-background-pressed-color: #2b2b37;

  /* Label background color. */
  --react-var-ui-label-background-normal-color: #22222a;

  /* Label background color (when hovered). */
  --react-var-ui-label-background-hover-color: #2a2a33;

  /* Label border color. */
  --react-var-ui-label-border-color: #33333a;
}

Custom input components

react-var-ui provides a <VarBase /> component and a useVarUIValue hook designed to facilitate creation of custom components.

Example usage

import React, { FC } from 'react';
import { useVarUIValue, IVarBaseInputProps, VarBase } from 'react-var-ui';

// Please specify the <T>.
export interface IVarCustomProps extends IVarBaseInputProps<string> {}

/**
 * Custom input component. In this example, it's a simple text input.
 */
export const VarCustom: FC<IVarCustomProps> = ({
  label,
  path,
  value,
  onChange,
  disabled,
  className,
}) => {
  /**
   * currentValue will contain the current value from the value object
   * (at a given path) or value from properties if that's not available.
   *
   * setCurrentValue will set the value onto a given path in the object
   * and call onChange if available.
   *
   * All arguments are optional, path/object-based value changes take
   * precedence.
   */
  const [currentValue, setCurrentValue] = useVarUIValue(path, value, onChange);

  /**
   * We're wrapping our component in VarBase which provides the default
   * label.
   *
   * It is necessary to wrap what should appear on the right in a <span>.
   * If this behavior is undesired, a <div> with grid-column: 1 / 3; can
   * be used.
   */
  return (
    <VarBase label={label} disabled={disabled} className={className}>
      <span>
        <input
          type="text"
          maxLength={maxLength}
          value={currentValue}
          onChange={e => setCurrentValue(e.target.value)}
        />
      </span>
    </VarBase>
  );
};