Multiple Drop Containers

Build complex drag and drop interfaces with multiple containers and cross-container dragging

Overview

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll often need to handle multiple drop containers. This guide shows you how to create a drag and drop interface where items can be moved between multiple containers, like a kanban board or card organizer.

What You’ll Build

A multi-container drag and drop interface featuring:

• Multiple drop zones with unique identities
• Ability to drag items between any container
• Visual feedback showing which container will receive the item
• State management for tracking items across containers

Prerequisites

This guide assumes you understand the basics from the Simple Drag and Drop guide.

Implementation

Complete Example

Here’s a full working implementation with multiple containers:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { DragDropProvider, useDraggable, useDroppable } from '@dnd-kit/react';

function Draggable({ id }: { id: string }) {
  const { ref } = useDraggable({ id });
  return <button ref={ref} className="btn">draggable</button>;
}

function Droppable({ id, children }: { id: string; children?: React.ReactNode }) {
  const { ref, isDropTarget } = useDroppable({ id });
  
  return (
    <div ref={ref} className={isDropTarget ? "droppable active" : "droppable"}>
      <h3>Container {id}</h3>
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

export default function App() {
  const [parent, setParent] = useState<string | undefined>(undefined);
  const draggable = <Draggable id="draggable" />;
  const droppables = ['A', 'B', 'C'];

  return (
    <DragDropProvider
      onDragEnd={(event) => {
        if (event.canceled) return;
        setParent(event.operation.target?.id as string);
      }}
    >
      <div className="grid">
        <div className="start-zone">
          {parent == null ? draggable : null}
        </div>
        {droppables.map((id) => (
          <Droppable key={id} id={id}>
            {parent === id ? draggable : null}
          </Droppable>
        ))}
      </div>
    </DragDropProvider>
  );
}

Styling

.grid {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(200px, 1fr));
  gap: 20px;
  padding: 40px;
  max-width: 900px;
  margin: 0 auto;
}

.container {
  min-height: 200px;
  padding: 16px;
  border: 2px solid #e0e0e0;
  border-radius: 8px;
  background: white;
  transition: all 0.2s;
}

.container.active {
  border-color: #0070f3;
  background: #f0f7ff;
  box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0, 112, 243, 0.1);
}

.container h3 {
  margin: 0 0 12px 0;
  font-size: 14px;
  font-weight: 600;
  color: #666;
  text-transform: uppercase;
}

.items {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  gap: 8px;
}

.item {
  padding: 12px;
  background: #0070f3;
  color: white;
  border-radius: 6px;
  cursor: grab;
  user-select: none;
  transition: opacity 0.2s;
}

.item:active {
  cursor: grabbing;
}

.start-zone {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  min-height: 200px;
  padding: 16px;
  border: 2px dashed #ccc;
  border-radius: 8px;
  background: #fafafa;
}

Advanced: Using the Move Helper

For sortable lists within containers, dnd-kit provides a move helper from @dnd-kit/helpers:

import { move } from '@dnd-kit/helpers';
import { useSortable } from '@dnd-kit/react/sortable';

// In your onDragEnd handler:
onDragEnd={(event) => {
  if (event.canceled) return;
  
  setItems((items) => move(items, event));
}}

This automatically handles moving items between containers and reordering within containers.

Key Takeaways

• Structure your state as an object mapping container IDs to item arrays
• Store container information in the draggable’s data property
• Use event.operation.source and event.operation.target to identify containers
• Remove items from the source container and add to the target container
• The move helper from @dnd-kit/helpers can simplify state updates
• Visual feedback helps users understand where items can be dropped

Common Patterns

Preventing Drops in Certain Containers

onDragEnd={(event) => {
  if (event.canceled) return;
  
  const targetContainer = event.operation.target?.id;
  
  // Don't allow drops in container D
  if (targetContainer === 'D') return;
  
  // Continue with state update
}}

Limiting Items Per Container

onDragEnd={(event) => {
  const targetContainer = event.operation.target?.id as string;
  const targetItems = items[targetContainer];
  
  // Max 5 items per container
  if (targetItems.length >= 5) {
    return; // Don't update state
  }
  
  // Continue with state update
}}

Next Steps

• Explore Nested Contexts for hierarchical structures
• Learn about sortable lists for ordering within containers
• Add animations with drag overlays for smoother interactions