React Native Menus

A native menu component for React Native that provides platform-specific context menus for both Android and iOS. Pass any custom component as a child to trigger native menus.

Screenshots

iOS (Native UIMenu)

Android (Modal Dialog)

Features

• ✅ Native context menu implementation (UIMenu on iOS, Modal on Android)
• ✅ Custom trigger components - pass any React Native component as a child
• ✅ Customizable colors for menu items
• ✅ Checkmark support with custom colors
• ✅ Scrollable menus for long lists
• ✅ Event handling for menu item selection
• ✅ TypeScript support
• ✅ Fabric (New Architecture) compatible

Installation

npm install react-native-menus
# or
yarn add react-native-menus

iOS Setup

For iOS, run:

cd ios && pod install

Android Setup

No additional setup required for Android.

Usage

Basic Example

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { View, Text, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';
import { MenuView } from 'react-native-menus';

const App = () => {
  const [selectedTheme, setSelectedTheme] = useState('system');

  const handleMenuSelect = (event: {
    nativeEvent: { identifier: string; title: string };
  }) => {
    setSelectedTheme(event.nativeEvent.identifier);
    console.log('Selected:', event.nativeEvent.title);
  };

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <MenuView
        checkedColor="#007AFF"
        uncheckedColor="#8E8E93"
        menuItems={[
          { identifier: 'light', title: 'Light Mode' },
          { identifier: 'dark', title: 'Dark Mode' },
          { identifier: 'system', title: 'System Default' },
        ]}
        onMenuSelect={handleMenuSelect}
      >
        <View style={styles.menuButton}>
          <Text style={styles.menuButtonText}>
            🌓 Theme: {selectedTheme}
          </Text>
        </View>
      </MenuView>
    </View>
  );
};

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
    justifyContent: 'center',
    alignItems: 'center',
  },
  menuButton: {
    backgroundColor: '#fff',
    paddingHorizontal: 20,
    paddingVertical: 12,
    borderRadius: 8,
    borderWidth: 1,
    borderColor: '#ddd',
  },
  menuButtonText: {
    fontSize: 16,
    color: '#333',
  },
});

export default App;

Controlled Selection (Recommended)

Use the selectedIdentifier prop to fully control which item is marked as selected. Update it in your onMenuSelect handler to keep iOS and Android behavior consistent.

const [selectedSort, setSelectedSort] = useState('date');

<MenuView
  selectedIdentifier={selectedSort}
  menuItems={[
    { identifier: 'date', title: 'Date' },
    { identifier: 'name', title: 'Name' },
    { identifier: 'size', title: 'Size' },
  ]}
  onMenuSelect={({ nativeEvent }) => setSelectedSort(nativeEvent.identifier)}
>
  <View style={styles.menuButton}>
    <Text>📊 Sort by: {selectedSort}</Text>
  </View>
</MenuView>

Custom Styled Trigger

<MenuView
  menuItems={[
    { identifier: 'profile', title: 'View Profile' },
    { identifier: 'settings', title: 'Settings' },
    { identifier: 'logout', title: 'Logout' },
  ]}
  onMenuSelect={handleMenuSelect}
>
  <View style={styles.customButton}>
    <Text style={styles.customButtonText}>👤 Account Menu</Text>
  </View>
</MenuView>

Long Scrollable List

<MenuView
  checkedColor="#5856D6"
  menuItems={[
    { identifier: 'opt1', title: 'Option 1' },
    { identifier: 'opt2', title: 'Option 2' },
    // ... many more items
    { identifier: 'opt20', title: 'Option 20' },
  ]}
  onMenuSelect={handleMenuSelect}
>
  <View style={styles.menuButton}>
    <Text>📋 Select Option</Text>
  </View>
</MenuView>

API Reference

Props

Prop	Type	Required	Default	Description
children	ReactNode	Yes	-	The trigger component that opens the menu when tapped
menuItems	MenuItem[]	Yes	[]	Array of menu items to display
onMenuSelect	(event: MenuSelectEvent) => void	No	-	Callback fired when a menu item is selected
selectedIdentifier	string	No	-	Controlled selected item identifier; shows a native checkmark for the matching item
checkedColor	string	No	#007AFF	Color for checked/selected menu items (Android only)
uncheckedColor	string	No	#8E8E93	Color for unchecked/unselected menu items (Android only)
color	string	No	-	Reserved for future use
style	ViewStyle	No	-	Style applied to the container view

Types

MenuItem

interface MenuItem {
  identifier: string; // Unique identifier for the menu item
  title: string;      // Display text for the menu item
}

MenuSelectEvent

interface MenuSelectEvent {
  identifier: string; // The identifier of the selected menu item
  title: string;      // The title of the selected menu item
}

How It Works

Architecture

The MenuView component accepts any React Native component as a child, which becomes the trigger for opening the menu. When tapped, a native context menu appears with the specified menu items.

Android Implementation

File: android/src/main/java/com/menu/MenuView.kt

• Container: FrameLayout that accepts child views from React Native
• Touch Handling: Intercepts all touch events at the parent level using onInterceptTouchEvent()
• UI: Modal dialog with white background, rounded corners, and bottom positioning
• Menu Items: Implemented as RadioButton elements with custom styling
• Colors: Full support for checkedColor and uncheckedColor customization
• Dividers: 0.5px light gray dividers between menu items
• Scrolling: Automatic scrolling for long lists (max 90% of screen height)
• Selection: Visual feedback with radio button selection states

Key Implementation Details:

• Uses ViewGroupManager to support child views
• Touch events are intercepted to ensure child views don't block menu opening
• Modal appears at bottom with horizontal margins for mobile-friendly UX

iOS Implementation

File: ios/MenuView.mm

• Container: RCTViewComponentView (Fabric architecture)
• Child Mounting: Uses mountChildComponentView and unmountChildComponentView for Fabric compatibility
• UI: Native UIMenu attached to an invisible UIButton overlay
• Menu Items: Native UIAction elements with system styling
• Trigger: Creates transparent button overlay on top of child view to show native menu
• Checkmarks: Controlled via selectedIdentifier and rendered using UIMenuElementStateOn
• Selection: Emits onMenuSelect without mutating native state; update selectedIdentifier in React to reflect changes

Key Implementation Details:

• Disables user interaction on child views recursively
• Creates invisible button overlay that shows UIMenu on tap
• Fully native iOS 14+ context menu appearance
• Supports both button and non-button child components

Platform Differences

Feature	iOS	Android
Menu Style	Native UIMenu popover	Modal dialog at bottom
Checkmark Color	System default (not customizable)	Fully customizable
Unchecked Color	System default	Fully customizable
Animation	Native iOS animation	Slide up animation
Scrolling	Native UIMenu scrolling	Custom ScrollView (max 40% screen)
Selection State	Controlled via selectedIdentifier	use selectedIdentifier for cross-platform parity
Appearance	iOS system theme	White background with rounded corners

Example Project

The repository includes a complete example project with 6 different use cases:

1. Theme Selector - Shows state management with current selection
2. Sort Options - Demonstrates sorting menu with dynamic labels
3. File Actions - Common file operations menu
4. Priority Selector - Priority level selection
5. Custom Trigger - Fully custom styled button
6. Long List - Scrollable menu with many items

cd example
yarn install
# For iOS
cd ios && pod install && cd ..
yarn ios
# For Android
yarn android

Requirements

• React Native >= 0.68.0
• iOS >= 14.0 (for UIMenu support)
• Android API >= 21

Troubleshooting

Menu not opening on tap

iOS: Make sure you're running iOS 14 or later, as UIMenu is only available from iOS 14+.

Android: Ensure your child component doesn't have onPress or other touch handlers that might interfere. The MenuView intercepts all touch events at the parent level.

Checkmark not updating on iOS/Android

Pass and update selectedIdentifier. iOS does not shift the checkmark automatically—reflect selection in props via your onMenuSelect handler.

Children prop is required

The MenuView component requires a child component to act as the trigger. Always wrap your trigger in the MenuView:

// ✅ Correct
<MenuView menuItems={items}>
  <View><Text>Open Menu</Text></View>
</MenuView>

// ❌ Wrong - no children
<MenuView menuItems={items} />

Contributing

• Development workflow
• Sending a pull request
• Code of conduct

License

MIT

Made with create-react-native-library