React SVG Pattern Manager

Create, manage, and use SVG patterns in your React components!

Demo

Install

yarn:

yarn add react-svg-patterns

npm:

npm install --save react-svg-patterns

Usage

Import createManagedSvgPatternLibrary and use it to create a ManagedSvgPatternLibrary component and its accompanying registerSvgPattern function and useSvgPattern hook.

import { createManagedSvgPatternLibrary } from 'react-svg-patterns';

const {
  ManagedSvgPatternLibrary,
  registerSvgPattern,
  useSvgPattern,
} = createManagedSvgPatternLibrary();

Use registerSvgPattern to add SVG patterns to the library. The return value is a string that you can use to reference the fill in your other SVGs.

const linearGradientFill = registerSvgPattern('myGradient', 'linear', {
  angle: 30,
  stops: ['#f00', '#0f0', '#00f'],
});
// linearGradientFill == 'url(#svg-pattern-linear__myGradient)'

const YourSvgIcon = () => (
  <svg
    width={100}
    height={100}
    viewBox="0 0 100 100"
    fill={linearGradientFill}
  >
    <rect x={0} y={0} width={100} height={100} />
  </svg>
);

Note: Calling registerSvgPattern mid-render can cause problems for React. If you are creating an SVG pattern inside a component during rendering, try useSvgPattern instead.

const YourSvgIcon = () => {
  const linearGradientFill = useSvgPattern('myGradient', 'linear', {
    angle: 30,
    stops: ['#f00', '#0f0', '#00f'],
  });
  return (
    <svg
      width={100}
      height={100}
      viewBox="0 0 100 100"
      fill={linearGradientFill}
    >
      <rect x={0} y={0} width={100} height={100} />
    </svg>
  );
};

Add ManagedSvgPatternLibrary near the top of your component tree. This renders an SVG element that acts as a container for all of your fill patterns.

const YourApp = () => (
  <>
    <div>
      <YourSvgIcon />
    </div>
    <ManagedSvgPatternLibrary />
  </>
);

The rendered HTML ends up looking something like this:

<div>
  <svg
    width="100"
    height="100"
    viewBox="0 0 100 100"
    fill="url(#svg-pattern-linear__myGradient)"
  >
    <rect x="0" y="0" width="100" height="100" />
  </svg>
</div>
<svg style="bottom: 0px; height: 1px; opacity: 0; pointer-events: none; position: fixed; right: 0px; width: 1px; z-index: -1;">
  <linearGradient id="svg-pattern-linear__myGradient" x1="0.5" x2="0.5" y1="1" y2="0" spreadMethod="pad">
    <stop offset="0%" stop-color="#f00"></stop>
    <stop offset="50%" stop-color="#0f0"></stop>
    <stop offset="100%" stop-color="#00f"></stop>
  </linearGradient>
</svg>

API

SvgPatternManager

add(key, type, params)

Registers a new pattern fill.

Parameters

key

Unique ID for the pattern you're adding.

type and params

Determines the type of SVG pattern. All patterns types accept a string for id, but other parameters are optional and vary by pattern type.

linear (PATTERN_TYPE_LINEAR_GRADIENT, LinearGradient)

• stops: array of colors or { offset, color }
• from and to: shorthand for a gradient with two stops
• angle: gradient angle in degrees (default: 0, top-to-bottom)
• spreadMethod
• scale: enlarge the gradient within the pattern

radial (PATTERN_TYPE_RADIAL_GRADIENT, RadialGradient)

• stops: array of colors or { offset, color }
• from and to: shorthand for a gradient with two stops
• r: gradient radius
• cx and cy: center of the gradient
• fx and fy: focus of the gradient
• spreadMethod
• scale: enlarge the gradient within the pattern

angular (PATTERN_TYPE_ANGULAR_GRADIENT, AngularGradient)

• stops: array of colors or { offset, color }
• from and to: shorthand for a gradient with two stops
• angle: gradient start angle in degrees (default: 0, clockwise from the top)
• slices: number of slices in the gradient, lower is chunkier (default: 100)
• spreadMethod
• scale: enlarge the gradient within the pattern

image (PATTERN_TYPE_IMAGE, BackgroundImage)

• src: URL of the image

custom (PATTERN_TYPE_CUSTOM, CustomSvgPattern)

• children: SVG content to use in <pattern> or a function that creates it

Returns

Pattern URL string that can be used as a fill for other SVGs.

get(key)

Returns the pattern URL for a given key.

Parameters

key

Unique ID for the pattern.

Returns

Pattern URL string that can be used as a fill for other SVGs.

has(key)

Check whether a key was registered for a pattern.

Parameters

key

Unique ID for the pattern.

Returns

true if the key was used to register a pattern or false otherwise

remove(key)

Removes the pattern fill for the given key.

Parameters

key

Unique ID for the pattern.

SvgPatternLibrary

Component

Props

patterns

Object mapping keys to SVG pattern definition objects with an id, type, and props.

noSvgWrapper

If set, this will render the patterns without a wrapping <svg> tag. (default: false)

createManagedSvgPatternLibrary([idPrefix|patternManager])

Creates a function to register SVG patterns and a component to render them.

Parameters

idPrefix

A new SvgPatternManager instance is created with this idPrefix. The prefix is added to the beginning each pattern element's id attribute. (string, default: 'svg-pattern')

patternManager

You can also supply a SvgPatternManager instance directly.

Returns

• ManagedSvgPatternLibrary: React component that renders the SVG patterns registered to the SvgPatternManager instance
• getSvgPattern(key): gets the fill URL for the supplied key
• registerSvgPattern(key, type, params): registers an SVG pattern
• useSvgPattern(key, type, params): hook version of registerSvgPattern

createSvgPatternManager([idPrefix])

Creates a singleton SvgPatternManager instance with functions to register and retrieve url(#...) strings that can be used as the fill for your SVGs.

Parameters

idPrefix

A new SvgPatternManager instance is created with this idPrefix. (string, default: 'svg-pattern')

Returns

• getInstance(): returns the SvgPatternManager instance
• getSvgPattern(key): gets the fill URL for the supplied key
• registerSvgPattern(key, type, params): registers an SVG pattern
• useSvgPattern(key, type, params): hook version of registerSvgPattern

Tips and Tricks

Sizing and Positioning

These patterns stretch to fill the shape when they're applied. Aspect ratio is not preserved! For multiple shapes or paths in a single SVG, the fill pattern applies to each one individually. In other words, there is a separate copy of the pattern tht starts at the top-left of the shape and stretches to the bottom-right. If you want one continous fill, you need to merge the shapes in your SVG down to a single <path> first.

If you want to ensure that the pattern is always oriented to the top-left of your SVG, you may want to use a mask or a local pattern instead.

const YourSvgIcon = ({ fill }) => {
  const localPatternId = useMemo(() => `pattern-${Math.random().toString().substr(2)}`, []);
  return (
    <svg fill={fill}>
      <defs>
        <pattern id={localPatternId} x={0} y={0} width="100%" height="100%" patternUnits="userSpaceOnUse" patternContentUnits="userSpaceOnUse">
          <rect fill="inherit" x={0} y={0} width="100%" height="100%" />
        </pattern>
      </defs>
      <g fill={`url(#${localPatternId})`}>
        {/* shapes, etc. */}
      </g>
    </svg>
  );
};

Animation

You can animate fill patterns! However, be aware that Safari doesn't handle animations referenced across separate SVGs, as they would be if you created an animation in a custom pattern.

The destination (your SVG) does not update on every frame of the source (SVG pattern library), meaning that the pattern will not move at all or will update irregularly due to other incidental repaints, such as from hover events and window resizing.

There are a few work-arounds that may be helpful, depending on your needs:

• Create a static pattern in the library that is referenced by an animated pattern in your SVG

• Create the entire animated pattern in your SVG using this library's pattern components directly

• Include a dummy animation in your SVG to force frequent repaints. This is very hacky and probably bad for performance as well!

  The included NoopAnimationHack component will apply the hack for Safari only.

  import { NoopAnimationHack } from 'react-svg-patterns';
  
  const YourSvgIcon = () => (
    <svg fill={yourAnimatedFill}>
      <NoopAnimationHack />
      <rect x={0} y={0} width={100} height={100} />
    </svg>
  );

"Cannot update a component while rendering a different component"

Registering an SVG pattern inside of a component introduces a render loop that surfaces as an error in newer versions of React:

Cannot update a component (ManagedSvgPatternLibrary) while rendering a different component (YourSvgIcon). To locate the bad setState() call inside YourSvgIcon, follow the stack trace as described in https://reactjs.org/link/setstate-in-render

This happens when registering the pattern causes the ManagedSvgPatternLibrary to re-render while the parent of the component that registered the pattern is already in the middle rendering. Ouch.

You can avoid this by registering your SVG patterns outside React. If that is not an option because your pattern is dynamic or otherwise tied to the lifecycle of a component, you should call registerSvgPattern in an effect instead. This is effectively what the useSvgPattern hook does.

Contributing

Thank you for your interest! If you find a bug or want to add a new feature, open an issue or create a pull request, and we'll figure it out from there.

License

ISC © Keith McKnight