useClickOutside

React Hook to Detect Clicks Outside an Element

The useClickOutside hook is a simple and effective way to detect clicks outside of a specified element in your React applications. This is particularly useful for closing modals, dropdowns, or tooltips when the user clicks outside of them.

import React, { useState, useRef, useEffect } from 'react';
type Handler = (event: MouseEvent | TouchEvent) => void;
/**
 * A custom React hook that triggers a callback when a click occurs outside of the referenced element.
 * The hook returns a ref that should be attached to the element to monitor.
 *
 * @param handler - The function to call when a click outside is detected.
 * @returns A React ref object to attach to the element.
 */
function useClickOutside<T extends HTMLElement>(handler: Handler): React.RefObject<T> {
  const ref = useRef<T>(null);
  useEffect(() => {
    const listener = (event: MouseEvent | TouchEvent) => {
      if (!ref.current || ref.current.contains(event.target as Node)) {
        return;
      }
      handler(event);
    };
    document.addEventListener('mousedown', listener);
    document.addEventListener('touchstart', listener);
    return () => {
      document.removeEventListener('mousedown', listener);
      document.removeEventListener('touchstart', listener);
    };
  }, [handler]); 
  return ref;
}