Threejs Interaction

When to Use

• You need user interaction inside a Three.js scene.
• The task involves raycasting, object picking, pointer handling, touch input, or camera controls.
• You are building an interactive 3D experience rather than a passive render.

Prerequisites

• Three.js installed in the project (npm install three).
• Basic understanding of Three.js scene, camera, and renderer setup (see threejs-fundamentals).

Procedure

1. Camera Controls

OrbitControls

import { OrbitControls } from "three/addons/controls/OrbitControls.js";

const controls = new OrbitControls(camera, renderer.domElement);

// Damping (smooth movement)
controls.enableDamping = true;
controls.dampingFactor = 0.05;

// Rotation limits
controls.minPolarAngle = 0; // Top
controls.maxPolarAngle = Math.PI / 2; // Horizon
controls.minAzimuthAngle = -Math.PI / 4; // Left
controls.maxAzimuthAngle = Math.PI / 4; // Right

// Zoom limits
controls.minDistance = 2;
controls.maxDistance = 50;

// Enable/disable features
controls.enableRotate = true;
controls.enableZoom = true;
controls.enablePan = true;

// Auto-rotate
controls.autoRotate = true;
controls.autoRotateSpeed = 2.0;

// Target (orbit point)
controls.target.set(0, 1, 0);

// Update in animation loop
function animate() {
  controls.update(); // Required for damping and auto-rotate
  renderer.render(scene, camera);
}

OrbitControls Programmatic Methods (r183)

// Programmatic camera movement
controls.dolly(1.5); // Dolly in/out (zoom for perspective cameras)
controls.pan(deltaX, deltaY); // Pan the camera
controls.rotate(deltaAzimuth, deltaPolar); // Rotate around target

// Cursor style (r183)
controls.cursorStyle = { orbit: "grab", pan: "move", dolly: "zoom-in" };

FlyControls

import { FlyControls } from "three/addons/controls/FlyControls.js";

const controls = new FlyControls(camera, renderer.domElement);
controls.movementSpeed = 10;
controls.rollSpeed = Math.PI / 24;
controls.dragToLook = true;

// Update with delta
function animate() {
  controls.update(clock.getDelta());
  renderer.render(scene, camera);
}

FirstPersonControls

import { FirstPersonControls } from "three/addons/controls/FirstPersonControls.js";

const controls = new FirstPersonControls(camera, renderer.domElement);
controls.movementSpeed = 10;
controls.lookSpeed = 0.1;
controls.lookVertical = true;
controls.constrainVertical = true;
controls.verticalMin = Math.PI / 4;
controls.verticalMax = (Math.PI * 3) / 4;

function animate() {
  controls.update(clock.getDelta());
}

PointerLockControls

import { PointerLockControls } from "three/addons/controls/PointerLockControls.js";

const controls = new PointerLockControls(camera, document.body);

// Lock pointer on click
document.addEventListener("click", () => {
  controls.lock();
});

controls.addEventListener("lock", () => {
  console.log("Pointer locked");
});

controls.addEventListener("unlock", () => {
  console.log("Pointer unlocked");
});

// Movement
const velocity = new THREE.Vector3();
const direction = new THREE.Vector3();
const moveForward = false;
const moveBackward = false;

document.addEventListener("keydown", (event) => {
  switch (event.code) {
    case "KeyW":
      moveForward = true;
      break;
    case "KeyS":
      moveBackward = true;
      break;
  }
});

function animate() {
  if (controls.isLocked) {
    direction.z = Number(moveForward) - Number(moveBackward);
    direction.normalize();

    velocity.z -= direction.z * 0.1;
    velocity.z *= 0.9; // Friction

    controls.moveForward(-velocity.z);
  }
}

TrackballControls

import { TrackballControls } from "three/addons/controls/TrackballControls.js";

const controls = new TrackballControls(camera, renderer.domElement);
controls.rotateSpeed = 2.0;
controls.zoomSpeed = 1.2;
controls.panSpeed = 0.8;
controls.staticMoving = true;

function animate() {
  controls.update();
}

MapControls

import { MapControls } from "three/addons/controls/MapControls.js";

const controls = new MapControls(camera, renderer.domElement);
controls.enableDamping = true;
controls.dampingFactor = 0.05;
controls.screenSpacePanning = false;
controls.maxPolarAngle = Math.PI / 2;

2. TransformControls

Gizmo for moving/rotating/scaling objects.

import { TransformControls } from "three/addons/controls/TransformControls.js";

const transformControls = new TransformControls(camera, renderer.domElement);
scene.add(transformControls);

// Attach to object
transformControls.attach(selectedMesh);

// Switch modes
transformControls.setMode("translate"); // 'translate', 'rotate', 'scale'

// Change space
transformControls.setSpace("local"); // 'local', 'world'

// Size
transformControls.setSize(1);

// Events
transformControls.addEventListener("dragging-changed", (event) => {
  // Disable orbit controls while dragging
  orbitControls.enabled = !event.value;
});

transformControls.addEventListener("change", () => {
  renderer.render(scene, camera);
});

// Keyboard shortcuts
window.addEventListener("keydown", (event) => {
  switch (event.key) {
    case "g":
      transformControls.setMode("translate");
      break;
    case "r":
      transformControls.setMode("rotate");
      break;
    case "s":
      transformControls.setMode("scale");
      break;
    case "Escape":
      transformControls.detach();
      break;
  }
});

3. DragControls

Drag objects directly.

import { DragControls } from "three/addons/controls/DragControls.js";

const draggableObjects = [mesh1, mesh2, mesh3];
const dragControls = new DragControls(
  draggableObjects,
  camera,
  renderer.domElement,
);

dragControls.addEventListener("dragstart", (event) => {
  orbitControls.enabled = false;
  event.object.material.emissive.set(0xaaaaaa);
});

dragControls.addEventListener("drag", (event) => {
  // Constrain to ground plane
  event.object.position.y = 0;
});

dragControls.addEventListener("dragend", (event) => {
  orbitControls.enabled = true;
  event.object.material.emissive.set(0x000000);
});

4. Raycasting and Picking

Basic Raycasting

const raycaster = new THREE.Raycaster();

// From camera (mouse picking)
raycaster.setFromCamera(mousePosition, camera);

// From any origin and direction
raycaster.set(origin, direction); // origin: Vector3, direction: normalized Vector3

// Get intersections
const intersects = raycaster.intersectObjects(objects, recursive);

// intersects array contains:
// {
//   distance: number,          // Distance from ray origin
//   point: Vector3,            // Intersection point in world coords
//   face: Face3,               // Intersected face
//   faceIndex: number,         // Face index
//   object: Object3D,          // Intersected object
//   uv: Vector2,               // UV coordinates at intersection
//   uv1: Vector2,              // Second UV channel
//   normal: Vector3,           // Interpolated face normal
//   instanceId: number         // For InstancedMesh
// }

Mouse Position Conversion

const mouse = new THREE.Vector2();

function updateMouse(event) {
  // For full window
  mouse.x = (event.clientX / window.innerWidth) * 2 - 1;
  mouse.y = -(event.clientY / window.innerHeight) * 2 + 1;
}

// For specific canvas element
function updateMouseCanvas(event, canvas) {
  const rect = canvas.getBoundingClientRect();
  mouse.x = ((event.clientX - rect.left) / rect.width) * 2 - 1;
  mouse.y = -((event.clientY - rect.top) / rect.height) * 2 + 1;
}

Touch Support

function onTouchStart(event) {
  event.preventDefault();

  if (event.touches.length === 1) {
    const touch = event.touches[0];
    mouse.x = (touch.clientX / window.innerWidth) * 2 - 1;
    mouse.y = -(touch.clientY / window.innerHeight) * 2 + 1;

    raycaster.setFromCamera(mouse, camera);
    const intersects = raycaster.intersectObjects(clickableObjects);

    if (intersects.length > 0) {
      handleSelection(intersects[0]);
    }
  }
}

renderer.domElement.addEventListener("touchstart", onTouchStart);

Raycaster Options

const raycaster = new THREE.Raycaster();

// Near/far clipping (default: 0, Infinity)
raycaster.near = 0;
raycaster.far = 100;

// Line/Points precision
raycaster.params.Line.threshold = 0.1;
raycaster.params.Points.threshold = 0.1;

// Layers (only intersect objects on specific layers)
raycaster.layers.set(1);

Efficient Raycasting

// Only check specific objects
const clickables = [mesh1, mesh2, mesh3];
const intersects = raycaster.intersectObjects(clickables, false);

// Use layers for filtering
mesh1.layers.set(1); // Clickable layer
raycaster.layers.set(1);

// Throttle raycast for hover effects
let lastRaycast = 0;
function onMouseMove(event) {
  const now = Date.now();
  if (now - lastRaycast < 50) return; // 20fps max
  lastRaycast = now;

  // Raycast here
}

5. Selection System

Click to Select

const raycaster = new THREE.Raycaster();
const mouse = new THREE.Vector2();
let selectedObject = null;

function onMouseDown(event) {
  mouse.x = (event.clientX / window.innerWidth) * 2 - 1;
  mouse.y = -(event.clientY / window.innerHeight) * 2 + 1;

  raycaster.setFromCamera(mouse, camera);
  const intersects = raycaster.intersectObjects(selectableObjects);

  // Deselect previous
  if (selectedObject) {
    selectedObject.material.emissive.set(0x000000);
  }

  // Select new
  if (intersects.length > 0) {
    selectedObject = intersects[0].object;
    selectedObject.material.emissive.set(0x444444);
  } else {
    selectedObject = null;
  }
}

Box Selection

import { SelectionBox } from "three/addons/interactive/SelectionBox.js";
import { SelectionHelper } from "three/addons/interactive/SelectionHelper.js";

const selectionBox = new SelectionBox(camera, scene);
const selectionHelper = new SelectionHelper(renderer, "selectBox"); // CSS class

document.addEventListener("pointerdown", (event) => {
  selectionBox.startPoint.set(
    (event.clientX / window.innerWidth) * 2 - 1,
    -(event.clientY / window.innerHeight) * 2 + 1,
    0.5,
  );
});

document.addEventListener("pointermove", (event) => {
  if (selectionHelper.isDown) {
    selectionBox.endPoint.set(
      (event.clientX / window.innerWidth) * 2 - 1,
      -(event.clientY / window.innerHeight) * 2 + 1,
      0.5,
    );
  }
});

document.addEventListener("pointerup", (event) => {
  selectionBox.endPoint.set(
    (event.clientX / window.innerWidth) * 2 - 1,
    -(event.clientY / window.innerHeight) * 2 + 1,
    0.5,
  );

  const selected = selectionBox.select();
  console.log("Selected objects:", selected);
});

Hover Effects

const raycaster = new THREE.Raycaster();
const mouse = new THREE.Vector2();
let hoveredObject = null;

function onMouseMove(event) {
  mouse.x = (event.clientX / window.innerWidth) * 2 - 1;
  mouse.y = -(event.clientY / window.innerHeight) * 2 + 1;

  raycaster.setFromCamera(mouse, camera);
  const intersects = raycaster.intersectObjects(hoverableObjects);

  // Reset previous hover
  if (hoveredObject) {
    hoveredObject.material.color.set(hoveredObject.userData.originalColor);
    document.body.style.cursor = "default";
  }

  // Apply new hover
  if (intersects.length > 0) {
    hoveredObject = intersects[0].object;
    if (!hoveredObject.userData.originalColor) {
      hoveredObject.userData.originalColor =
        hoveredObject.material.color.getHex();
    }
    hoveredObject.material.color.set(0xff6600);
    document.body.style.cursor = "pointer";
  } else {
    hoveredObject = null;
  }
}

window.addEventListener("mousemove", onMouseMove);

6. Keyboard Input

const keys = {};

document.addEventListener("keydown", (event) => {
  keys[event.code] = true;
});

document.addEventListener("keyup", (event) => {
  keys[event.code] = false;
});

function update() {
  const speed = 0.1;

  if (keys["KeyW"]) player.position.z -= speed;
  if (keys["KeyS"]) player.position.z += speed;
  if (keys["KeyA"]) player.position.x -= speed;
  if (keys["KeyD"]) player.position.x += speed;
  if (keys["Space"]) player.position.y += speed;
  if (keys["ShiftLeft"]) player.position.y -= speed;
}

7. World-Screen Coordinate Conversion

World to Screen

function worldToScreen(position, camera) {
  const vector = position.clone();
  vector.project(camera);

  return {
    x: ((vector.x + 1) / 2) * window.innerWidth,
    y: (-(vector.y - 1) / 2) * window.innerHeight,
  };
}

// Position HTML element over 3D object
const screenPos = worldToScreen(mesh.position, camera);
element.style.left = screenPos.x + "px";
element.style.top = screenPos.y + "px";

Screen to World

function screenToWorld(screenX, screenY, camera, targetZ = 0) {
  const vector = new THREE.Vector3(
    (screenX / window.innerWidth) * 2 - 1,
    -(screenY / window.innerHeight) * 2 + 1,
    0.5,
  );

  vector.unproject(camera);

  const dir = vector.sub(camera.position).normalize();
  const distance = (targetZ - camera.position.z) / dir.z;

  return camera.position.clone().add(dir.multiplyScalar(distance));
}

Ray-Plane Intersection

function getRayPlaneIntersection(mouse, camera, plane) {
  const raycaster = new THREE.Raycaster();
  raycaster.setFromCamera(mouse, camera);

  const intersection = new THREE.Vector3();
  raycaster.ray.intersectPlane(plane, intersection);

  return intersection;
}

// Ground plane
const groundPlane = new THREE.Plane(new THREE.Vector3(0, 1, 0), 0);
const worldPos = getRayPlaneIntersection(mouse, camera, groundPlane);

8. Event Handling Best Practices

class InteractionManager {
  constructor(camera, renderer, scene) {
    this.camera = camera;
    this.renderer = renderer;
    this.scene = scene;
    this.raycaster = new THREE.Raycaster();
    this.mouse = new THREE.Vector2();
    this.clickables = [];

    this.bindEvents();
  }

  bindEvents() {
    const canvas = this.renderer.domElement;

    canvas.addEventListener("click", (e) => this.onClick(e));
    canvas.addEventListener("mousemove", (e) => this.onMouseMove(e));
    canvas.addEventListener("touchstart", (e) => this.onTouchStart(e));
  }

  updateMouse(event) {
    const rect = this.renderer.domElement.getBoundingClientRect();
    this.mouse.x = ((event.clientX - rect.left) / rect.width) * 2 - 1;
    this.mouse.y = -((event.clientY - rect.top) / rect.height) * 2 + 1;
  }

  getIntersects() {
    this.raycaster.setFromCamera(this.mouse, this.camera);
    return this.raycaster.intersectObjects(this.clickables, true);
  }

  onClick(event) {
    this.updateMouse(event);
    const intersects = this.getIntersects();

    if (intersects.length > 0) {
      const object = intersects[0].object;
      if (object.userData.onClick) {
        object.userData.onClick(intersects[0]);
      }
    }
  }

  addClickable(object, callback) {
    this.clickables.push(object);
    object.userData.onClick = callback;
  }

  dispose() {
    // Remove event listeners
  }
}

// Usage
const interaction = new InteractionManager(camera, renderer, scene);
interaction.addClickable(mesh, (intersect) => {
  console.log("Clicked at:", intersect.point);
});

9. Performance Tips

1. Limit raycasts: Throttle mousemove handlers.
2. Use layers: Filter raycast targets.
3. Simple collision meshes: Use invisible simpler geometry for raycasting.
4. Disable controls when not needed: controls.enabled = false.
5. Batch updates: Group interaction checks.

// Use simpler geometry for raycasting
const complexMesh = loadedModel;
const collisionMesh = new THREE.Mesh(
  new THREE.BoxGeometry(1, 1, 1),
  new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({ visible: false }),
);
collisionMesh.userData.target = complexMesh;
clickables.push(collisionMesh);

Pitfalls

• OrbitControls Damping: If enableDamping is true, you MUST call controls.update() in the animation loop.
• Mouse Coordinates: Always convert clientX/clientY to Normalized Device Coordinates (NDC) (-1 to 1) before raycasting. Failing to invert the Y-axis (-(clientY / height) * 2 + 1) will cause inverted picking.
• Canvas Offset: If the canvas is not full screen, use getBoundingClientRect() to calculate correct NDC.
• TransformControls Conflict: When using TransformControls with OrbitControls, disable OrbitControls during dragging-changed events to prevent camera movement while dragging the gizmo.
• Performance: Raycasting on every mousemove is expensive. Throttle hover raycasts (e.g., 20fps max) or use simpler invisible collision meshes.
• Disposal: Always remove event listeners when destroying the scene/interaction manager to prevent memory leaks.

Verification

1. Check OrbitControls: Verify that the camera rotates when dragging the mouse, and zooms with the scroll wheel.
2. Check Raycasting: Click on a 3D object and verify the console logs the correct object or the object changes color.
3. Check Touch Input: On a touch device, tap an object and verify it registers as a click/selection.
4. Check Coordinate Conversion: Place an HTML element at a 3D object's position using worldToScreen and verify it stays attached when the camera moves.

Related skills

• threejs-fundamentals - Camera and scene setup
• threejs-animation - Animating interactions
• threejs-shaders - Visual feedback effects