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Edges ​

Edges are what connects your nodes into a map.

They cannot exist on their own and need nodes to which they are connected.

Each edge requires a unique id, a source node and a target node id. Anything else is optional.

You can check the full options for an edge element in the TypeDocs here.

Usage ​

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

vue
<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',
        },
        {
          id: '2',
          position: { x: 50, y: 250 },
          label: 'Node 2',
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  mounted() {
    // Add an edge after mount
    this.elements.push(
      {
        id: 'e1-2',
        source: '1',
        target: '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 addEdges utility function, which you can use to add edges directly to the state.

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

const initialNodes = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    position: { x: 50, y: 50 },
    label: 'Node 1',
  },
  {
    id: '2',
    position: { x: 50, y: 250 },
    label: 'Node 2',
  }
])
const { addEdges } = useVueFlow({
  nodes: initialNodes,
})

onMounted(() => {
  // Add an edge after mount
  addEdges([
     {
        source: '1',
        target: '2',
        sourceHandle: null,
        targetHandle: null,
     }
  ])
})
</script>
<template>
  <div style="height: 300px">
    <VueFlow />
  </div>
</template>

You can also apply changes (like removing elements safely) using the applyEdgeChanges utility function, which expects an array of changes to be applied to the currently stored edges.

Default Edge-Types ​

Vue Flow comes with built-in edges that you can use right out of the box. These edge types include default (bezier), step, smoothstep and straight.

Default Edge (Bezier) ​

A bezier edge has a curved path.

js
const edges = [
  {
    id: 'e1-2',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
  }
]

Step Edge ​

A step edge has a straight path with a step towards the target.

js
const edges = [
  {
    id: 'e1-2',
    type: 'step',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
  }
]

Smoothstep Edge ​

The same as the step edge though with a border radius on the step (rounded step).

js
const edges = [
  {
    id: 'e1-2',
    type: 'smoothstep',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
  }
]

Straight Edge ​

A simple straight path.

js
const edges = [
  {
    id: 'e1-2',
    type: 'straight',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
  }
]

Custom Edges ​

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

js
const edges = [
  {
    id: 'e1-2',
    type: 'special',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
  },
]

Vue Flow will now try to resolve this edge-type to a component. First and foremost we will look for a definition in the edgeTypes 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 edge-type.

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

Template slots ​

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

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

const elements = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    position: { x: 50, y: 50 },
  },
  {
    id: '2',
    label: 'Node 2',
    position: { x: 50, y: 250 },
  },
  {
    id: 'e1-2',
    type: 'custom',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
  },
])
</script>
<template>
  <VueFlow v-model="elements">
    <template #edge-custom="props">
      <CustomEdge v-bind="props" />
    </template>
  </VueFlow>
</template>

Edge-types object ​

You can also define edge-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.

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

const edgeTypes = {
  custom: markRaw(CustomEdge),
}

const elements = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
  },
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
  },
    {
    id: 'e1-2',
    type: 'custom',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
  },
])
</script>
<template>
  <div style="height: 300px">
    <VueFlow v-model="elements" :edge-types="edgeTypes" />
  </div>
</template>

Edge Template ​

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

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

const elements = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    position: { x: 0, y: 0 },
  },
  {
    id: '2',
    label: 'Node 2',
    position: { x: 0, y: 150 },
  },
    {
    id: '3',
    label: 'Node 3',
    position: { x: 0, y: 300 },
  },
  {
    id: 'e1-2',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
  },
  {
    id: 'e1-3',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
    template: markRaw(CustomEdge),
  },
])
</script>
<template>
  <div style="height: 300px">
    <VueFlow v-model="elements" />
  </div>
</template>

Custom Edge Props ​

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

NameDefinitionTypeOptional
idEdge idstringfalse
sourceThe source node idstringfalse
targetThe target node idstringfalse
sourceNodeThe source nodeGraphNodefalse
targetNodeThe target nodeGraphNodefalse
sourceXX position of source handlenumberfalse
sourceYY position of source handlenumberfalse
targetXX position of target handlenumberfalse
targetYY position of target handlenumberfalse
typeEdge typestringtrue
sourceHandleIdSource handle idstringtrue
targetHandleIdTarget handle idstringtrue
dataCustom data objectAny objecttrue
eventsEdge events and custom eventsEdgeEventsOntrue
labelEdge labelstring, Componenttrue
labelStyleAdditional label stylesCSSPropertiestrue
labelShowBgEnable/Disable label bgbooleantrue
labelBgPaddingEdge label bg paddingnumbertrue
labelBgBorderRadiusEdge label bg border radiusnumbertrue
selectedIs edge selectedbooleantrue
animatedIs edge animatedbooleantrue
updatableIs edge updatableEdgeUpdatabletrue
markerEndEdge marker idstringtrue
markerStartEdge marker idstringtrue
curvatureEdge path curvaturenumbertrue

(Custom) Edge 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 edge definition, or you can access the edge events through the events prop passed to your edge components.

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

const elements = ref([
  {
    id: '1',
    label: 'Node 1',
    position: { x: 50, y: 50 },
  },
  {
    id: '2',
    label: 'Node 2',
    position: { x: 50, y: 150 },
  },
  {
    id: 'edge1-2',
    source: '1',
    target: '2',
    events: {
      click: () => {
        console.log('Edge clicked')
      },
      change: () => {
        console.log('Something changed')
      },
    },
  }
])
</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 EdgeEventsHandler type, meaning it will be triggered when the edge is clicked.

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

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

interface CustomEdgeProps extends EdgeProps<any, CustomEdgeEvents> {
  id: string
  events: CustomEdgeEvents
}

props.events.click(() => {
  console.log(`Edge ${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>

Released under the MIT License.