Preact Integration

The @tsparticles/preact package provides a <Particles> component that works seamlessly with Preact, including both class and functional component patterns.

Installation

npm install @tsparticles/preact tsparticles

The @tsparticles/preact package ships with TypeScript declarations. No additional type packages are needed.

Engine Initialization

Before you can render particles, you must initialize the engine with the plugins you need. Call initParticlesEngine once, before your app renders.

import { initParticlesEngine } from "@tsparticles/preact";
import { loadFull } from "tsparticles";

void initParticlesEngine(async (engine) => {
  await loadFull(engine);
});

For smaller bundles, load only the features you need:

import { initParticlesEngine } from "@tsparticles/preact";
import { loadBasic } from "@tsparticles/basic";
import { loadPolygonMaskPlugin } from "@tsparticles/plugin-polygon-mask";

void initParticlesEngine(async (engine) => {
  await loadBasic(engine);
  await loadPolygonMaskPlugin(engine);
});

initParticlesEngine returns a promise that resolves once all plugins are registered. The <Particles> component will not render until initialization is complete.

Basic Usage

Once the engine is initialized, use the <Particles> component anywhere in your app:

import Particles from "@tsparticles/preact";
import configs from "@tsparticles/configs";

function App() {
  return <Particles id="tsparticles" options={configs.basic} />;
}

The id attribute sets both the DOM element id and the container identifier used by tsParticles internally. The options prop accepts any valid tsParticles configuration object.

Preset Switching

Switch between presets dynamically by changing the options prop:

import { useState } from "preact/hooks";
import Particles from "@tsparticles/preact";
import configs from "@tsparticles/configs";

function App() {
  const [preset, setPreset] = useState("basic");

  const presets = {
    basic: configs.basic,
    snow: configs.snow,
    stars: configs.stars,
    fireworks: configs.fireworks,
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <select onChange={(e) => setPreset(e.currentTarget.value)}>
        <option value="basic">Basic</option>
        <option value="snow">Snow</option>
        <option value="stars">Stars</option>
        <option value="fireworks">Fireworks</option>
      </select>
      <Particles id="tsparticles" key={preset} options={presets[preset]} />
    </div>
  );
}

Using a key prop forces Preact to remount the component, fully restarting the particles for each preset.

Class Component

For class-based components, initialize the engine in componentDidMount and manage state in componentDidUpdate:

import { Component } from "preact";
import Particles, { initParticlesEngine } from "@tsparticles/preact";
import { loadFull } from "tsparticles";
import configs from "@tsparticles/configs";

export default class ParticlesApp extends Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    this.state = {
      engineReady: false,
      options: configs.basic,
    };
  }

  componentDidMount() {
    initParticlesEngine(async (engine) => {
      await loadFull(engine);
    }).then(() => {
      this.setState({ engineReady: true });
    });
  }

  handlePresetChange = (e) => {
    const presets = {
      basic: configs.basic,
      snow: configs.snow,
      stars: configs.stars,
    };
    this.setState({ options: presets[e.currentTarget.value] || configs.basic });
  };

  render() {
    const { engineReady, options } = this.state;

    return (
      <div>
        <select onChange={this.handlePresetChange}>
          <option value="basic">Basic</option>
          <option value="snow">Snow</option>
          <option value="stars">Stars</option>
        </select>
        {engineReady && <Particles id="tsparticles" options={options} />}
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Functional Component

With hooks, use useState and useEffect to initialize the engine and manage configuration:

import { useState, useEffect } from "preact/hooks";
import Particles, { initParticlesEngine } from "@tsparticles/preact";
import { loadFull } from "tsparticles";
import configs from "@tsparticles/configs";

export default function App() {
  const [engineReady, setEngineReady] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    initParticlesEngine(async (engine) => {
      await loadFull(engine);
    }).then(() => setEngineReady(true));
  }, []);

  return <div>{engineReady && <Particles id="tsparticles" options={configs.snow} />}</div>;
}

Custom Configuration

Define a full configuration object directly instead of using presets:

import { useState, useEffect } from "preact/hooks";
import Particles, { initParticlesEngine } from "@tsparticles/preact";
import { loadFull } from "tsparticles";

export default function App() {
  const [engineReady, setEngineReady] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    initParticlesEngine(async (engine) => {
      await loadFull(engine);
    }).then(() => setEngineReady(true));
  }, []);

  const options = {
    background: {
      color: "#0d1117",
    },
    fpsLimit: 120,
    particles: {
      color: {
        value: "#58a6ff",
      },
      links: {
        color: "#58a6ff",
        enable: true,
        opacity: 0.4,
        distance: 150,
      },
      move: {
        enable: true,
        speed: 2,
      },
      number: {
        value: 80,
        density: {
          enable: true,
        },
      },
      opacity: {
        value: 0.5,
      },
      size: {
        value: { min: 1, max: 4 },
      },
    },
    interactivity: {
      events: {
        onHover: {
          enable: true,
          mode: "repulse",
        },
        onClick: {
          enable: true,
          mode: "push",
        },
      },
      modes: {
        repulse: {
          distance: 100,
        },
        push: {
          quantity: 4,
        },
      },
    },
  };

  return <>{engineReady && <Particles id="tsparticles" options={options} />}</>;
}

Event Handling

Use the particlesLoaded callback to access the tsParticles Container instance after particles are fully rendered:

import { useCallback, useState, useEffect } from "preact/hooks";
import Particles, { initParticlesEngine } from "@tsparticles/preact";
import { loadFull } from "tsparticles";
import configs from "@tsparticles/configs";

export default function App() {
  const [engineReady, setEngineReady] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    initParticlesEngine(async (engine) => {
      await loadFull(engine);
    }).then(() => setEngineReady(true));
  }, []);

  const handleParticlesLoaded = useCallback(async (container) => {
    console.log("Particles container ready:", container);
    container?.refresh();
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      {engineReady && <Particles id="tsparticles" options={configs.basic} particlesLoaded={handleParticlesLoaded} />}
    </div>
  );
}

The particlesLoaded callback receives the Container instance, which you can use to call methods like refresh(), pause(), play(), or destroy().

Reactive Behavior

The <Particles> component automatically reloads particles when id, options, or url props change. Changes to the theme prop apply the theme via loadTheme without a full reload — this requires the optional @tsparticles/plugin-themes package to be loaded (safe no-op otherwise).

Cleanup

On component unmount, the particles container is automatically destroyed, stopping all animations and freeing resources.