Pixijs Migration V8

This skill is a breaking-change checklist for bringing a v7 codebase up to v8. Work top-down through the categories; the list maps each v7 pattern to its v8 replacement.

Quick Start

Install the single package, then port in this order: imports → Application init → Graphics → Text → events → shaders/filters → cleanup.

const app = new Application();
await app.init({ width: 800, height: 600 });
document.body.appendChild(app.canvas);

const g = new Graphics()
  .rect(0, 0, 100, 100)
  .fill({ color: 0xff0000 })
  .stroke({ width: 2, color: 0x000000 });
app.stage.addChild(g);

Related skills: pixijs-application (async init), pixijs-scene-graphics (new fill/stroke API), pixijs-custom-rendering (shader rework), pixijs-scene-text (Text constructor changes), pixijs-performance (destroy patterns).

Migration Checklist: v7 to v8

Work through each category. Each item shows the expected v8 pattern and the v7 pattern that must be replaced.

Initialization

Async app.init() -- Expected:

const app = new Application();
await app.init({ width: 800, height: 600 });
document.body.appendChild(app.canvas);

Fail: passing options to new Application({...}) and using synchronously.

app.canvas replaces app.view -- app.view emits a deprecation warning.

Application type parameter -- Expected: new Application<Renderer<HTMLCanvasElement>>(). Fail: new Application<HTMLCanvasElement>().

Imports

Single package -- Expected:

import { Sprite, Application, Assets, Graphics } from "pixi.js";

Fail: importing from any of the deprecated v7 core @pixi/* sub-packages (see list below). Supplemental packages like @pixi/sound are still valid and should continue to be used.

Deprecated @pixi/* packages (never use, any version): @pixi/accessibility, @pixi/app, @pixi/assets, @pixi/compressed-textures, @pixi/core, @pixi/display, @pixi/events, @pixi/extensions, @pixi/extract, @pixi/filter-alpha, @pixi/filter-blur, @pixi/filter-color-matrix, @pixi/filter-displacement, @pixi/filter-fxaa, @pixi/filter-noise, @pixi/graphics, @pixi/mesh, @pixi/mesh-extras, @pixi/mixin-cache-as-bitmap, @pixi/mixin-get-child-by-name, @pixi/mixin-get-global-position, @pixi/particle-container, @pixi/prepare, @pixi/sprite, @pixi/sprite-animated, @pixi/sprite-tiling, @pixi/spritesheet, @pixi/text, @pixi/text-bitmap, @pixi/text-html.

Custom builds -- Set skipExtensionImports: true and import only needed extensions:

import "pixi.js/graphics";
import "pixi.js/text";
import "pixi.js/events";
import { Application } from "pixi.js";
await app.init({ skipExtensionImports: true });

Note: manageImports: false is still accepted but @deprecated since 8.1.6; prefer skipExtensionImports: true.

Extensions not auto-imported (require explicit import even with default auto-imports enabled): pixi.js/advanced-blend-modes, pixi.js/unsafe-eval, pixi.js/prepare, pixi.js/math-extras, pixi.js/dds, pixi.js/ktx, pixi.js/ktx2, pixi.js/basis.

Community filters -- Expected: import { AdjustmentFilter } from 'pixi-filters/adjustment'. Fail: @pixi/filter-adjustment.

Graphics API

Shape-then-fill -- Expected:

const g = new Graphics().rect(50, 50, 100, 100).fill(0xff0000);

Fail: beginFill(0xff0000).drawRect(50, 50, 100, 100).endFill().

Renamed shape methods:

Fill replaces beginFill/beginTextureFill -- Expected:

graphics
  .rect(0, 0, 100, 100)
  .fill({ texture: Texture.WHITE, alpha: 0.5, color: 0xff0000 });

Fail: beginFill(color, alpha) or beginTextureFill({ texture, alpha, color }).

Stroke replaces lineStyle -- Expected:

graphics.rect(0, 0, 100, 100).fill("blue").stroke({ width: 2, color: "white" });

Fail: lineStyle(2, 'white') or lineTextureStyle({ texture, width, color }).

Holes use cut() -- Expected:

graphics.rect(0, 0, 100, 100).fill(0x00ff00).circle(50, 50, 20).cut();

Fail: beginHole() / endHole().

GraphicsContext replaces GraphicsGeometry -- Expected:

const context = new GraphicsContext().rect(0, 0, 100, 100).fill(0xff0000);
const g1 = new Graphics(context);
const g2 = new Graphics(context);

Fail: new Graphics(graphics.geometry).

Text

Options object constructor -- Expected:

const text = new Text({ text: "Hello", style: { fontSize: 24 } });
const bmp = new BitmapText({ text: "Hello", style: { fontFamily: "MyFont" } });
const html = new HTMLText({ text: "<b>Hello</b>", style: { fontSize: 24 } });

Fail: new Text('Hello', { fontSize: 24 }) (positional args).

Bitmap font loading -- Must import 'pixi.js/text-bitmap' before Assets.load('font.fnt').

Sprites / Mesh

Texture.from no longer loads URLs -- Must call await Assets.load('image.png') first, then Texture.from('image.png').

NineSliceSprite replaces NineSlicePlane -- Expected:

const ns = new NineSliceSprite({
  texture,
  leftWidth: 10,
  topHeight: 10,
  rightWidth: 10,
  bottomHeight: 10,
});

Mesh renames: SimpleMesh -> MeshSimple, SimplePlane -> MeshPlane, SimpleRope -> MeshRope. All use options objects.

MeshGeometry options -- Expected:

const geom = new MeshGeometry({
  positions: vertices,
  uvs,
  indices,
  topology: "triangle-list",
});

Fail: new MeshGeometry(vertices, uvs, indices).

ParticleContainer uses Particle -- Expected:

const container = new ParticleContainer({
  boundsArea: new Rectangle(0, 0, 800, 600),
});
const particle = new Particle(texture);
container.addParticle(particle);

Fail: container.addChild(new Sprite(texture)).

Events

eventMode replaces interactive -- Expected:

sprite.eventMode = "static";
sprite.cursor = "pointer";
sprite.on("pointertap", () => {
  /* handle */
});

Legacy: sprite.interactive = true; (still works as an alias for eventMode = 'static', but prefer the explicit form).

Default eventMode is 'passive' (no events). Must set 'static' or 'dynamic' explicitly.

Ticker callback -- Expected:

app.ticker.add((ticker) => {
  bunny.rotation += ticker.deltaTime;
});

Broken: app.ticker.add((dt) => { bunny.rotation += dt; }) -- compiles but dt is a Ticker object, not a number. Coerces to NaN, silently corrupting rotation.

updateTransform removed -- Use this.onRender = this._onRender.bind(this) in constructor instead.

Shaders

Shader.from uses options -- Expected:

const shader = Shader.from({
  gl: { vertex: vertexSrc, fragment: fragmentSrc },
  resources: {
    myUniforms: new UniformGroup({ uTime: { value: 0, type: "f32" } }),
  },
});

Fail: Shader.from(vertex, fragment, uniforms).

Filter constructor -- Expected:

const filter = new Filter({
  glProgram: GlProgram.from({ fragment, vertex }),
  resources: { filterUniforms: { uTime: { value: 0, type: "f32" } } },
});

Fail: new Filter(vertex, fragment, { uTime: 0 }).

Uniforms require type -- new UniformGroup({ uTime: { value: 1, type: 'f32' } }). Fail: new UniformGroup({ uTime: 1 }).

Textures are resources, not uniforms -- Pass as top-level resource entries (texture.source, texture.style), not inside UniformGroup.

Textures

Sprite no longer auto-detects texture UV changes -- If you modify a texture's frame after creation, call texture.update() to recalculate UVs, then call sprite.onViewUpdate() to refresh the sprite. Both calls are required in this order. Updating source data (e.g. video textures) is still automatic.

texture.frame.width = texture.frame.width / 2;
texture.update(); // recalculate texture UVs first
sprite.onViewUpdate(); // then refresh the sprite's display

Mipmaps -- BaseTexture.mipmap renamed to autoGenerateMipmaps. For RenderTextures, you must manually update mipmaps:

const rt = RenderTexture.create({
  width: 100,
  height: 100,
  autoGenerateMipmaps: true,
});
renderer.render({ target: rt, container: scene });
rt.source.updateMipmaps();

Adapters

DOMAdapter replaces settings.ADAPTER -- Expected:

import { DOMAdapter, WebWorkerAdapter } from "pixi.js";
DOMAdapter.set(WebWorkerAdapter);
DOMAdapter.get().createCanvas();

Fail: settings.ADAPTER = WebWorkerAdapter; settings.ADAPTER.createCanvas();.

Built-in adapters: BrowserAdapter (default), WebWorkerAdapter (for web workers).

Other

DisplayObject removed -- Container is the base class. class MyObj extends DisplayObject fails.

Leaf nodes cannot have children -- Sprite, Graphics, Mesh, Text are leaf nodes. Wrap in Container.

Renamed properties (old names still exist as deprecated aliases with warnings):

• container.name -> container.label
• container.cacheAsBitmap = true -> container.cacheAsTexture(true)

getBounds() return type changed: getBounds() now returns a Bounds object, not a Rectangle. Bounds has .x, .y, .width, .height getters, so basic usage works. Use .rectangle when you need a Rectangle instance (e.g., for .contains()).

settings object removed -- Use AbstractRenderer.defaultOptions.resolution = 1 and DOMAdapter.set(BrowserAdapter).

utils namespace removed -- import { isMobile } from 'pixi.js' instead of utils.isMobile.

Text parser renames:

• TextFormat -> bitmapFontTextParser
• XMLStringFormat -> bitmapFontXMLStringParser
• XMLFormat -> bitmapFontXMLParser

Assets.add -- Assets.add({ alias: 'bunny', src: 'bunny.png' }). Fail: Assets.add('bunny', 'bunny.png').

Enum constants replaced with strings:

Culling is manual -- Set cullable = true, then call Culler.shared.cull(container, viewRect) before render. Or add CullerPlugin via extensions.add(CullerPlugin).

Pre-Migration Summary

• No deprecated v7 core @pixi/* packages in dependencies (supplemental packages like @pixi/sound are fine)
• All core @pixi/* imports converted to pixi.js
• All new Application({...}) converted to await app.init({...})
• All Graphics code uses shape-then-fill pattern
• All constructors use options objects (Text, Mesh, NineSliceSprite, etc.)
• Shader/Filter code uses {gl, resources} pattern with typed uniforms
• ParticleContainer code uses Particle, not Sprite
• Ticker callbacks access ticker.deltaTime, not first param as delta
• Event handling uses eventMode instead of interactive
• settings and utils references removed
• DisplayObject references replaced with Container
• Texture UV modifications call sprite.onViewUpdate() where needed
• RenderTexture mipmap code calls source.updateMipmaps() manually
• settings.ADAPTER replaced with DOMAdapter.set()

Common Mistakes

[CRITICAL] Importing from deprecated v7 core @pixi/* sub-packages

Wrong:

import { Sprite } from "@pixi/sprite";
import { Application } from "@pixi/app";

Correct:

import { Sprite, Application } from "pixi.js";

v8 uses a single pixi.js package. The v7 core @pixi/* sub-packages are deprecated and must not be used (see the full list under Imports above). Supplemental packages like @pixi/sound are still valid.

[CRITICAL] Using DisplayObject as base class

Wrong: class MyObject extends DisplayObject { ... } Correct: class MyObject extends Container { ... }

DisplayObject was removed in v8. Container is the base class for all display objects.

[HIGH] Using old SCALE_MODES/WRAP_MODES/DRAW_MODES enums

Wrong: texture.source.scaleMode = SCALE_MODES.NEAREST; Correct: texture.source.scaleMode = 'nearest';

v8 uses string values. Old enums may work as deprecated aliases but should be replaced.

[HIGH] Using interactive = true instead of eventMode

Legacy: sprite.interactive = true; (still works as an alias for eventMode = 'static') Preferred: sprite.eventMode = 'static';

Default eventMode is 'passive' (no events). Must set 'static' (hit-testable, no tick checks) or 'dynamic' (hit-testable with tick checks) explicitly. interactive = true still works without a deprecation warning, but eventMode is the canonical v8 API.

[HIGH] Using utils namespace

Wrong: import { utils } from 'pixi.js'; utils.isMobile.any(); Correct: import { isMobile } from 'pixi.js'; isMobile.any();

The utils namespace was removed. All utility functions are direct imports.

[HIGH] Expecting texture UV changes to auto-update sprites

Wrong: modifying texture.frame and assuming the sprite updates automatically. Correct: call sprite.onViewUpdate() after modifying texture UVs.

Sprites no longer subscribe to texture UV change events for performance. Source data updates (e.g. video) still auto-reflect.

API Reference

• v8 Migration Guide
• v7 Migration Guide
• Application
• Graphics
• Container