React Flow Smart Edge v12+

> Maintained fork of @tisoap/react-flow-smart-edge by Tiso Alvarez Puccinelli
> Updated for @xyflow/react v12+ with zero security vulnerabilities

Custom Edges for React Flow that never intersect with other nodes, using pathfinding.

!TypeScript
!ESLint
!Zero Vulnerabilities
!React Flow v12

!Smart Edge

Why This Fork?

The original @tisoap/react-flow-smart-edge has been archived and unmaintained for 3+ years. This fork provides:

- ✅ @xyflow/react v12+ compatibility (migrated from deprecated reactflow package)
- ✅ Zero security vulnerabilities (was 22+ in original)
- ✅ Reduced bundle size (removed Storybook dependencies)
- ✅ Updated dependencies (all packages updated to latest compatible versions)
- ✅ Modern TypeScript support (TypeScript 5.8+)
- ✅ Active maintenance (accepting issues and PRs)

Migration from Original

If you're using the original package:

``bash


Remove old package

npm uninstall @tisoap/react-flow-smart-edge reactflow

Install new packages

npm install @jalez/react-flow-smart-edge @xyflow/react
`

The API remains 100% compatible - just update your imports:

`typescript
// Update your React Flow imports
import { ReactFlow, Node, Edge } from '@xyflow/react'
import '@xyflow/react/dist/style.css'

// Smart Edge imports remain the same
import { SmartBezierEdge } from '@jalez/react-flow-smart-edge'
`

Install

With npm:

`bash
npm install @jalez/react-flow-smart-edge @xyflow/react
`

With yarn:

`bash
yarn add @jalez/react-flow-smart-edge @xyflow/react
`

This package is compatible with @xyflow/react v12+ (the new official React Flow package).

Usage

This package ships with the following Smart Edges components:

- SmartBezierEdge: A smart equivalent to React Flow's BezierEdge
- SmartStraightEdge: A smart equivalent to React Flow's StraightEdge
- SmartStepEdge: A smart equivalent to React Flow's StepEdge

Each one can be imported individually as a named export.

$3

`jsx
import React from 'react'
import { ReactFlow } from '@xyflow/react'
import { SmartBezierEdge } from '@jalez/react-flow-smart-edge'
import '@xyflow/react/dist/style.css'

const nodes = [
{
id: '1',
data: { label: 'Node 1' },
position: { x: 300, y: 100 }
},
{
id: '2',
data: { label: 'Node 2' },
position: { x: 300, y: 200 }
}
]

const edges = [
{
id: 'e21',
source: '2',
target: '1',
type: 'smart'
}
]

// You can give any name to your edge types
// https://reactflow.dev/docs/api/edges/custom-edges/
const edgeTypes = {
smart: SmartBezierEdge
}

export const Graph = (props) => {
const { children, ...rest } = props

return (
defaultNodes={nodes}
defaultEdges={edges}
edgeTypes={edgeTypes}
{...rest}
>
{children}

)
}
`

Edge Options

All smart edges will take the exact same options as a React Flow Edge.

Custom Smart Edges

You can have more control over how the edge is rerendered by creating a custom edge and using the provided getSmartEdge function. It takes an object with the following keys:

- sourcePosition, targetPosition, sourceX, sourceY, targetX and targetY: The same values your custom edge will take as props
- nodes: An array containing all graph nodes, you can get it from the useNodes hook

$3

Just like you can use getBezierPath from reactflow to create a custom edge with a button, you can do the same with getSmartEdge:

`jsx
import React from 'react'
import { useNodes, BezierEdge } from '@xyflow/react'
import { getSmartEdge } from '@jalez/react-flow-smart-edge'

const foreignObjectSize = 200

export function SmartEdgeWithButtonLabel(props) {
const {
id,
sourcePosition,
targetPosition,
sourceX,
sourceY,
targetX,
targetY,
style,
markerStart,
markerEnd
} = props

const nodes = useNodes()

const getSmartEdgeResponse = getSmartEdge({
sourcePosition,
targetPosition,
sourceX,
sourceY,
targetX,
targetY,
nodes
})

// If the value returned is null, it means "getSmartEdge" was unable to find
// a valid path, and you should do something else instead
if (getSmartEdgeResponse === null) {
return
}

const { edgeCenterX, edgeCenterY, svgPathString } = getSmartEdgeResponse

return (
<>
style={style}
className='react-flow__edge-path'
d={svgPathString}
markerEnd={markerEnd}
markerStart={markerStart}
/>
width={foreignObjectSize}
height={foreignObjectSize}
x={edgeCenterX - foreignObjectSize / 2}
y={edgeCenterY - foreignObjectSize / 2}
requiredExtensions='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'
>
onClick={(event) => {
event.stopPropagation()
alert(remove ${id})
}}
>
X



)
}
`

Advanced Custom Smart Edges

The getSmartEdge function also accepts an optional object options, which allows you to configure aspects of the path-finding algorithm. You may use it like so:

`js
const myOptions = {
// your configuration goes here
nodePadding: 20,
gridRatio: 15
}

// ...

const getSmartEdgeResponse = getSmartEdge({
sourcePosition,
targetPosition,
sourceX,
sourceY,
targetX,
targetY,
nodes,
// Pass down options in the getSmartEdge object
options: myOptions
})
`

The options object accepts the following keys (they're all optional):

- nodePadding: How many pixels of padding are added around nodes, or by how much should the edge avoid the walls of a node. Default 10, minimum 2.
- gridRatio: The size in pixels of each square grid cell used for path-finding. Smaller values for a more accurate path, bigger for faster path-finding. Default 10, minimum 2.
- drawEdge: Allows you to change the function responsible to draw the SVG line, by default it's the same used by SmartBezierEdge (more below)
- generatePath: Allows you to change the function for the path-finding, by default it's the same used by SmartBezierEdge (more below)

$3

With the drawEdge option, you can change the function used to generate the final SVG path string, used to draw the line. By default it's the svgDrawSmoothLinePath function (same as used by the SmartBezierEdge), but the package also includes svgDrawStraightLinePath (same as used by the SmartStraightEdge and SmartStepEdge), or you can provide your own.

`jsx
import {
getSmartEdge,
// Available built-in SVG draw functions
svgDrawSmoothLinePath,
svgDrawStraightLinePath
} from '@jalez/react-flow-smart-edge'

// Using provided SVG draw functions:
const result = getSmartEdge({
// ...
options: {
drawEdge: svgDrawSmoothLinePath
}
})

// ...or using your own custom function
const result = getSmartEdge({
// ...
options: {
drawEdge: (source, target, path) => {
// your code goes here
// ...
return svgPath
}
}
})
`

The function you provided must comply with this signature:

`ts
type SVGDrawFunction = (
source: XYPosition, // The starting {x, y} point
target: XYPosition, // The ending {x, y} point
path: number[][] // The sequence of points [x, y] the line must follow
) => string // A string to be used in the "d" property of the SVG line
`

For inspiration on how to implement your own, you can check the drawSvgPath.ts source code.

$3

With the generatePath option, you can change the function used to do Pathfinding. By default, it's the pathfindingAStarDiagonal function (same as used by the SmartBezierEdge), but the package also includes pathfindingAStarNoDiagonal (used by SmartStraightEdge) and pathfindingJumpPointNoDiagonal (used by SmartStepEdge), or your can provide your own. The built-in functions use the pathfinding dependency behind the scenes.

`jsx
import {
getSmartEdge,
// Available built-in pathfinding functions
pathfindingAStarDiagonal,
pathfindingAStarNoDiagonal,
pathfindingJumpPointNoDiagonal
} from '@jalez/react-flow-smart-edge'

// Using provided pathfinding functions:
const result = getSmartEdge({
// ...
options: {
generatePath: pathfindingJumpPointNoDiagonal
}
})

// ...or using your own custom function
const result = getSmartEdge({
// ...
options: {
generatePath: (grid, start, end) => {
// your code goes here
// ...
return { fullPath, smoothedPath }
}
}
})
`

The function you provide must comply with this signature:

`ts
type PathFindingFunction = (
grid: Grid, // Grid representation of the graph
start: XYPosition, // The starting {x, y} point
end: XYPosition // The ending {x, y} point
) => {
fullPath: number[][] // Array of points [x, y] representing the full path with all points
smoothedPath: number[][] // Array of points [x, y] representing a smaller, compressed path
} | null // The function should return null if it was unable to do pathfinding
`

For inspiration on how to implement your own, you can check the generatePath.ts source code and the pathfinding dependency documentation.

$3

`jsx
import {
getSmartEdge,
svgDrawSmoothLinePath,
svgDrawStraightLinePath
pathfindingAStarDiagonal,
pathfindingAStarNoDiagonal,
pathfindingJumpPointNoDiagonal
} from '@jalez/react-flow-smart-edge'

// ...

// Same as importing "SmartBezierEdge" directly
const bezierResult = getSmartEdge({
// ...
options: {
drawEdge: svgDrawSmoothLinePath,
generatePath: pathfindingAStarDiagonal,
}
})

// Same as importing "SmartStepEdge" directly
const stepResult = getSmartEdge({
// ...
options: {
drawEdge: svgDrawStraightLinePath,
generatePath: pathfindingJumpPointNoDiagonal,
}
})

// Same as importing "SmartStraightEdge" directly
const straightResult = getSmartEdge({
// ...
options: {
drawEdge: svgDrawStraightLinePath,
generatePath: pathfindingAStarNoDiagonal,
}
})
``

Credits & Attribution

This package is a maintained fork of @tisoap/react-flow-smart-edge by Tiso Alvarez Puccinelli.

Original project contributors:
- Tiso Alvarez Puccinelli (@tisoap) - Original author
- All original contributors

Community & Support

- 🐛 Bug reports: Open an issue
- 💡 Feature requests: Open an issue
- 📖 Documentation: This README and inline TypeScript types
- 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions

License

This project is MIT licensed, same as the original.

Original license: MIT by Tiso Alvarez Puccinelli