Expandable Card Pattern

Expandable Card Pattern

Build smooth expand/​collapse animations using CSS grid-rows, avoiding height:auto animation issues.

Why grid-rows?

Traditional height animation requires explicit pixel values. The grid-rows technique allows smooth animation to/​from auto height:

• grid-rows-[0fr] + overflow-hidden = collapsed (0 height)
• grid-rows-[1fr] = expanded (natural height)

Core Implementation

"use client";

import { useState } from "react";
import { ChevronDown } from "lucide-react";

function ExpandableCard() {
  const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState(true);

  return (
    <div className="rounded-xl border overflow-hidden transition-all duration-300">
      {/​* Header - clickable toggle */​}
      <div
        className="flex items-center justify-between px-4 py-3 cursor-pointer hover:bg-zinc-50 transition-colors"
        onClick={() => setExpanded(!expanded)}
      >
        <span className="font-medium">Card Title</​span>
        <ChevronDown
          className={`w-5 h-5 transition-transform duration-200 ${
            expanded ? "rotate-180" : ""
          }`}
        />
      </​div>

      {/​* Content - animated container */​}
      <div
        className={`grid transition-all duration-300 ease-in-out ${
          expanded ? "grid-rows-[1fr]" : "grid-rows-[0fr]"
        }`}
      >
        <div className="overflow-hidden">
          <div className="px-4 py-4 border-t">
            {/​* Your content here */​}
            <p>Expandable content goes here.</​p>
          </​div>
        </​div>
      </​div>
    </​div>
  );
}

Key Elements

1. State Management

const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState(true); // Start expanded
// or
const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState(false); // Start collapsed

2. Header Click Handler

<div
  className="cursor-pointer hover:bg-zinc-50 transition-colors"
  onClick={() => setExpanded(!expanded)}
>

3. ChevronDown Rotation

<ChevronDown
  className={`transition-transform duration-200 ${
    expanded ? "rotate-180" : ""
  }`}
/>

4. Grid Container Animation

<div
  className={`grid transition-all duration-300 ease-in-out ${
    expanded ? "grid-rows-[1fr]" : "grid-rows-[0fr]"
  }`}
>
  <div className="overflow-hidden">
    {/​* Content wrapper - REQUIRED for animation */​}
  </​div>
</​div>

Timing Recommendations

Shadow Transition (Optional)

Add shadow that changes with state:

<div
  className={`rounded-xl border overflow-hidden transition-all duration-300 ${
    expanded ? "shadow-lg" : "shadow-sm hover:shadow-md"
  }`}
>

Accessibility Considerations

<div
  role="button"
  tabIndex={0}
  aria-expanded={expanded}
  onClick={() => setExpanded(!expanded)}
  onKeyDown={(e) => {
    if (e.key === "Enter" || e.key === " ") {
      e.preventDefault();
      setExpanded(!expanded);
    }
  }}
>

Common Variations

Multiple Cards (Accordion)

const [expandedId, setExpandedId] = useState<string | null>("first");

// Toggle logic
onClick={() => setExpandedId(expandedId === id ? null : id)}

Nested Content Protection

Prevent clicks on interactive content from toggling:

<a
  href="..."
  onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
>

Important: Always add stopPropagation to:

• Links (<a>)
• Buttons that perform actions other than toggling
• Form inputs
• Any interactive element that shouldn't trigger expand/​collapse

// Full example with multiple interactive elements
<div className="overflow-hidden">
  <div className="px-4 py-4 border-t">
    <a
      href="https://example.com"
      onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
      className="text-blue-500 hover:underline"
    >
      External link
    </​a>

    <button
      onClick={(e) => {
        e.stopPropagation();
        // Handle button action
      }}
    >
      Action Button
    </​button>
  </​div>
</​div>

Checklist

• overflow-hidden on inner wrapper (required for animation)
• transition-all on grid container
• ChevronDown has transition-transform
• Header has cursor-pointer and hover state
• Timing consistent (300ms recommended)