/pixijs-events

name: pixijs-events
description: "Use this skill when handling pointer, mouse, touch, or wheel input in PixiJS v8. Covers eventMode (none, passive, auto, static, dynamic), FederatedEvent types, propagation and capture phase, hitArea, interactiveChildren, cursor and cursorStyles, global move events for drag, eventFeatures config. Triggers on: eventMode, FederatedPointerEvent, pointerdown, click, tap, globalpointermove, drag, hitArea, cursor, stopPropagation, persistentDeviceId."
license: MIT

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

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

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:

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

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

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.

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:

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