pixijs-events

What this skill does

PixiJS's federated event system mirrors DOM events on the scene graph. Set `container.eventMode = 'static'` to opt an object in, then listen with `.on()`, `addEventListener()`, or `onEventName` property handlers. Move events fire only over the listening object; use `globalpointermove` for drag.

## Quick Start

```ts
const button = new Sprite(await Assets.load("button.png"));
button.eventMode = "static";
button.cursor = "pointer";
app.stage.addChild(button);

button.on("pointertap", (event) => {
  console.log("clicked at", event.global.x, event.global.y);
});

let dragging = false;
button.on("pointerdown", () => {
  dragging = true;
});
button.on("pointerup", () => {
  dragging = false;
});
button.on("pointerupoutside", () => {
  dragging = false;
});
button.on("globalpointermove", (event) => {
  if (dragging) button.parent.toLocal(event.global, undefined, button.position);
});
```

**Related skills:** `pixijs-accessibility` (screen reader + keyboard), `pixijs-scene-dom-container` (HTML overlays), `pixijs-performance` (event-heavy scenes).

## Core Patterns

### eventMode values

```ts
import { Sprite } from "pixi.js";

const sprite = new Sprite();

// No interaction at all; children also ignored
sprite.eventMode = "none";

// Default. Self not interactive; interactive children still work
sprite.eventMode = "passive";

// Hit tested only when a parent is interactive
sprite.eventMode = "auto";

// Standard interaction: receives pointer/mouse/touch events
sprite.eventMode = "static";

// Like static, but also fires synthetic events from the ticker
// when the pointer is stationary (for animated objects under cursor)
sprite.eventMode = "dynamic";
```

Use `'static'` for buttons, UI elements, and drag targets. Use `'dynamic'` only for objects that move under a stationary cursor and need continuous hover updates.

Use `isInteractive()` to check whether an object can receive events:

```ts
sprite.eventMode = "static";
sprite.isInteractive(); // true

sprite.eventMode = "passive";
sprite.isInteractive(); // false
```

### Event types

Pointer events (recommended for cross-device compatibility): `pointerdown`, `pointerup`, `pointerupoutside`, `pointermove`, `pointerover`, `pointerout`, `pointerenter`, `pointerleave`, `pointertap`, `pointercancel`.

Mouse events: `mousedown`, `mouseup`, `mouseupoutside`, `mousemove`, `mouseover`, `mouseout`, `mouseenter`, `mouseleave`, `click`, `rightdown`, `rightup`, `rightupoutside`, `rightclick`, `wheel`.

Touch events: `touchstart`, `touchend`, `touchendoutside`, `touchmove`, `touchcancel`, `tap`. Each touch carries `altKey`, `ctrlKey`, `metaKey`, and `shiftKey` copied from the native `TouchEvent`, so modifier keys work the same as with mouse or pointer events.

Global move events: `globalpointermove`, `globalmousemove`, `globaltouchmove`. These fire on every pointer movement regardless of whether the pointer is over the listening object.

Container lifecycle events (no `eventMode` required): `added`, `removed`, `destroyed`, `childAdded`, `childRemoved`, `visibleChanged`.

### Listening styles

```ts
import { Sprite } from "pixi.js";

const sprite = new Sprite();
sprite.eventMode = "static";

// EventEmitter style (recommended)
const handler = (e) => console.log("clicked");
sprite.on("pointerdown", handler);
sprite.once("pointerdown", handler); // one-time
sprite.off("pointerdown", handler);

// DOM style
sprite.addEventListener(
  "click",
  (event) => {
    console.log("Clicked!", event.detail);
  },
  { once: true },
);

// Property-based handlers
sprite.onclick = (event) => {
  console.log("Clicked!", event.detail);
};
```

### Pointer events and propagation

```ts
import { Sprite, Container } from "pixi.js";

const parent = new Container();
parent.eventMode = "static";

const child = new Sprite();
child.eventMode = "static";
parent.addChild(child);

child.on("pointerdown", (event) => {
  console.log("child pressed");
  event.stopPropagation(); // prevent parent from receiving this event
});

parent.on("pointerdown", () => {
  console.log("parent pressed (only if child did not stop propagation)");
});
```

### Capture phase events

All events support capture phase by appending `capture` to the event name (e.g., `pointerdowncapture`, `clickcapture`). Capture listeners fire during the capturing phase, before the event reaches its target.

```ts
container.addEventListener(
  "pointerdown",
  (event) => {
    event.stopImmediatePropagation(); // blocks event from reaching children
  },
  { capture: true },
);
```

### Hit testing

When a pointer event fires, PixiJS walks the display tree to find the top-most interactive element under the pointer. The traversal follows these rules:

- `eventMode = 'none'` on a container skips that element and its entire subtree.
- `interactiveChildren = false` on a container skips its children (the container itself can still be tested).
- A `hitArea` overrides bounds-based testing; only the shape is checked.
- Objects that are not visible, not renderable, or not measurable are skipped.

Set a custom `hitArea` to override bounds-based testing. This also speeds up hit tests on large or complex objects by reducing the geometry checked:

```ts
import { Sprite, Rectangle, Circle, Polygon } from "pixi.js";

const sprite = new Sprite();
sprite.eventMode = "static";

// Rectangular hit area
sprite.hitArea = new Rectangle(0, 0, 100, 50);

// Circular hit area
sprite.hitArea = new Circle(50, 50, 40);

// Polygon hit area
sprite.hitArea = new Polygon([0, 0, 100, 0, 50, 100]);

// Custom hit test via contains()
sprite.hitArea = {
  contains(x: number, y: number): boolean {
    return x >= 0 && x <= 100 && y >= 0 && y <= 100;
  },
};
```

### Global move events and drag

```ts
import { Sprite, FederatedPointerEvent } from "pixi.js";

const sprite = new Sprite();
sprite.eventMode = "static";
sprite.cursor = "grab";

let dragging = false;

sprite.on("pointerdown", (event: FederatedPointerEvent) => {
  dragging = true;
  sprite.cursor = "grabbing";
});

// globalpointermove fires even when pointer leaves the object
sprite.on("globalpointermove", (event: FederatedPointerEvent) => {
  if (dragging) {
    sprite.position.set(event.global.x, event.global.y);
  }
});

sprite.on("pointerup", () => {
  dragging = false;
  sprite.cursor = "grab";
});

sprite.on("pointerupoutside", () => {
  dragging = false;
  sprite.cursor = "grab";
});
```

### Cursor styles

Basic usage sets the `cursor` property per-object. For reusable cursors, register named styles on the event system:

```ts
app.renderer.events.cursorStyles.default = "url('bunny.png'), auto";
app.renderer.events.cursorStyles.hover = "url('bunny_saturated.png'), auto";

sprite.eventMode = "static";
sprite.cursor = "hover"; // uses the registered 'hover' style
```

Cursor styles can be strings (CSS cursor values), objects (applied as CSS styles), or functions (called with the mode string).

### Event properties

`FederatedPointerEvent` carries rich input data; the more useful fields are:

```ts
sprite.on("pointerdown", (event: FederatedPointerEvent) => {
  event.global; // scene-space Point where the event happened
  event.client; // CSS-pixel Point relative to the viewport
  event.offset; // Point w.r.t. target Container in world space (not supported at the moment)
  event.target; // the Container that received the event
  event.currentTarget; // the Container whose listener is running

  event.pointerType; // 'mouse' | 'pen' | 'touch'
  event.pointerId; // unique id for multi-touch tracking
  event.isPrimary; // first pointer in a multi-pointer gesture
  event.pressure; // 0-1 pen/touch pressure
  event.button; // 0 left, 1 middle, 2 right
  event.buttons; // bitmask of held buttons
  event.altKey; // modifier key state
  event.ctrlKey;
  event.shiftKey;
  event.metaKey;

  event.nativeEvent; // the underlying DOM PointerEvent / MouseEvent / Touch
  event.preventDefault();
  event.stopPropagation();
  event.stopImmediatePropagation();
});
```

`Federate