flowy README

The project's README from github.com/alyssaxuu/flowy. As one markdown file: README.md.

Flowy

Demo
A javascript library to create pretty flowcharts with ease ✨

Dribbble | Twitter | Live demo

Flowy makes creating WebApps with flowchart functionality an incredibly simple task. Build automation software, mind mapping tools, or simple programming platforms in minutes by implementing the library into your project.

You can support this project (and many others) through GitHub Sponsors! ❤️

Made by Alyssa X

Table of contents

Features

Currently, Flowy supports the following:

You can suggest new features here

Installation

Adding Flowy to your WebApp is incredibly simple:

  1. Link flowy.min.js and flowy.min.css to your project. Through jsDelivr:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/alyssaxuu/flowy/flowy.min.css"> 
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/alyssaxuu/flowy/flowy.min.js"></script>
  1. Create a canvas element that will contain the flowchart (for example, <div id="canvas"></div>)
  2. Create the draggable blocks with the .create-flowy class (for example, <div class="create-flowy">Grab me</div>)

Running Flowy

Initialization

flowy(canvas, ongrab, onrelease, onsnap, onrearrange, spacing_x, spacing_y);
Parameter Type Description
canvas javascript DOM element The element that will contain the blocks
ongrab function (optional) Function that gets triggered when a block is dragged
onrelease function (optional) Function that gets triggered when a block is released
onsnap function (optional) Function that gets triggered when a block snaps with another one
onrearrange function (optional) Function that gets triggered when blocks are rearranged
spacing_x integer (optional) Horizontal spacing between blocks (default 20px)
spacing_y integer (optional) Vertical spacing between blocks (default 80px)

To define the blocks that can be dragged, you need to add the class .create-flowy

Example

HTML

<div class="create-flowy">The block to be dragged</div>
<div id="canvas"></div>

Javascript

var spacing_x = 40;
var spacing_y = 100;
// Initialize Flowy
flowy(document.getElementById("canvas"), onGrab, onRelease, onSnap, onRearrange, spacing_x, spacing_y);
function onGrab(block){
	// When the user grabs a block
}
function onRelease(){
	// When the user releases a block
}
function onSnap(block, first, parent){
	// When a block snaps with another one
}
function onRearrange(block, parent){
	// When a block is rearranged
}

Callbacks

In order to use callbacks, you need to add the functions when initializing Flowy, as explained before.

On grab

function onGrab(block){
	// When the user grabs a block
}

Gets triggered when a user grabs a block with the class create-flowy

Parameter Type Description
block javascript DOM element The block that has been grabbed

On release

function onRelease(){
	// When the user lets go of a block
}

Gets triggered when a user lets go of a block, regardless of whether it attaches or even gets released in the canvas.

On snap

function onSnap(block, first, parent){
	// When a block can attach to a parent
	return true;
}

Gets triggered when a block can attach to another parent block. You can either prevent the attachment, or allow it by using return true;

Parameter Type Description
block javascript DOM element The block that has been grabbed
first boolean If true, the block that has been dragged is the first one in the canvas
parent javascript DOM element The parent the block can attach to

On rearrange

function onRearrange(block, parent){
	// When a block is rearranged
	return true;
}

Gets triggered when blocks are rearranged and are dropped anywhere in the canvas, without a parent to attach to. You can either allow the blocks to be deleted, or prevent it and thus have them re-attach to their previous parent using return true;

Parameter Type Description
block javascript DOM element The block that has been grabbed
parent javascript DOM element The parent the block can attach to

Methods

Get the flowchart data

// As an object
flowy.output();
// As a JSON string
JSON.stringify(flowy.output());

The JSON object that gets outputted looks like this:

{
	"html": "",
	"blockarr": [],
	"blocks": [
		{
			"id": 1,
			"parent": 0,
			"data": [
				{
				"name": "blockid",
				"value": "1"
				}
			],
			"attr": [
				{
				"id": "block-id",
				"class": "block-class"
				}
			]
		}
	]
}

Here's what each property means:

Key Value type Description
html string Contains the canvas data
blockarr array Contains the block array generated by the library (for import purposes)
blocks array Contains the readable block array
id integer Unique value that identifies a block
parent integer The id of the parent a block is attached to (-1 means the block has no parent)
data array of objects An array of all the inputs within a certain block
name string The name attribute of the input
value string The value attribute of the input
attr array of objects Contains all the data attributes of a certain block

Import the flowchart data

flowy.import(output)

Allows you to import entire flowcharts initially exported using the previous method, flowy.output()

Parameter Type Description
output javascript DOM element The data from flowy.output()

Warning

This method accepts raw HTML and does not sanitize it, therefore this method is vulnerable to XSS. The only safe use for this method is when the input is absolutely trusted, if the input is not to be trusted the use this method can introduce a vulnerability in your system.

Delete all blocks

To remove all blocks at once use:

flowy.deleteBlocks()

Currently there is no method to individually remove blocks. The only way to go about it is by splitting branches manually.

Feel free to reach out to me through email at [email protected] or on Twitter if you have any questions or feedback! Hope you find this useful 💜

flowy (alyssaxuu/flowy)

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12.1K ·GitHub
Flowy
What is this?Flowy is a minimal JavaScript library for building flowcharts in web apps: users drag blocks onto a canvas, snap them together, and rearrange them.
Is it a standalone flowchart app, or a library I embed in my own web app?A library, not a standalone app — you drop it into your own web page, point it at a canvas element, and it turns that element into an interactive flowchart canvas.
How do I add it to a project?Link flowy.min.js and flowy.min.css (jsDelivr works), create a canvas element, give the draggable blocks the .create-flowy class, then initialize Flowy on that canvas.
Do I need npm, a bundler, or any other JavaScript libraries first?None — it's vanilla JavaScript with no dependencies, and there's no npm package yet, so you just link the two files directly into your page.
Can I delete a single block from the canvas?No — there's no method to remove individual blocks yet. You can either delete all blocks at once or rearrange and split branches manually.
Does it work on mobile browsers?Yes — mobile support is one of Flowy's listed features, and the drag and drop is responsive, so it's built with touch in mind.
What can I build with Flowy?Anything that needs a flowchart UI: the README suggests automation software, mind mapping tools, or simple programming platforms, implemented into your own project in minutes.
Can I adjust the spacing between blocks?Yes — at initialization you can set spacingx and spacingy, which default to 20px horizontal and 80px vertical between blocks.
What does the exported flowchart JSON contain?Each block has an id, its parent's id (-1 if none), arrays of input name/value pairs, and its data attributes, alongside the canvas HTML and the library's internal block arrays.
Why does the README warn about the import method?Importing accepts raw HTML and does not sanitize it, so loading untrusted data can expose your app to XSS — only import output you absolutely trust.
What are similar projects?mermaid, dragula, list.js, xyflow, not-paid, skrollr, flatpickr, LogicFlow
Which topics is it in?diagramming, mindmap, minimal, flowchart, marketing-automation, engine, diagrams, vanilla-javascript, drag-and-drop, no-dependencies, marketing, visualization
Creator
alyssaxuu
Size
0.4 MB
Stars
12.1K
Updated
CommitJul 02
Age
6y
Commits · 90 Days