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Version: v6

Slides

note

This migration guide is compatible with Swiper 8. An updated guide for Swiper 9 is coming soon!

We recommend Swiper.js if you need a modern touch slider component. It powers our ion-slides component, but we now recommend that developers use Swiper for Angular directly.

This guide will go over how to get Swiper for Angular set up in your Ionic Framework application. It will also go over any migration information you may need to move from ion-slides to the official Swiper Angular integration.

Getting Started

First, update to the latest version of Ionic:

npm install @ionic/angular@latest

Once that is done, install the Swiper dependency in your project:

npm install swiper@8

Once that is done, we need to import the SwiperModule module. This should be done in your component's module file:

// home.module.ts
import { SwiperModule } from 'swiper/angular';

@NgModule({
imports: [..., SwiperModule]
});
...

Swiping with Style

Next, we need to import the base Swiper styles. We are also going to import the styles that Ionic provides which will let us customize the Swiper styles using the same CSS Variables that we used with ion-slides.

You can import these files in global.scss:

// global.scss
@import '~swiper/scss';
@import '~@ionic/angular/css/ionic-swiper';

If you prefer to import these in the CSS file for your slides component, you will need to disable ViewEncapsulation in Angular, otherwise the styles will not apply:

// home.page.ts
import { Component, ViewEncapsulation } from '@angular/core';

@Component({
selector: 'app-home',
templateUrl: 'home.page.html',
styleUrls: ['home.page.scss'],
encapsulation: ViewEncapsulation.None
})
export class HomePage {
...
}
// home.page.scss
@import '~swiper/scss';
@import '~@ionic/angular/css/ionic-swiper';
note

Importing @ionic/angular/css/ionic-swiper' is not required to use Swiper.js with Ionic. This files is used for backward-compatibility with the ion-slides component and can be safely omitted if you prefer not to use the CSS Variables provided in the stylesheet.

Updating Selectors

Previously, we were able to target ion-slides and ion-slide to apply any custom styling. The contents of those style blocks remain the same, but we need to update the selectors. Below is a list of selector changes when going from ion-slides to Swiper Angular:

ion-slides SelectorSwiper Selector
ion-slides.swiper
ion-slide.swiper-slide

Vanilla CSS (Optional)

For developers not using a CSS pre-processor, Swiper also provides the styles bundled together. It is important to note that this will import styles for all modules as well.

// slides.component.css
@import 'swiper/css';
@import '@ionic/angular/css/ionic-swiper';

Using Components

Swiper Angular exports a Swiper component which is the equivalent of ion-slides. It also exports a swiperSlide directive which can be used on an <ng-template> for each slide:

<!-- home.page.html -->
<ion-content>
<swiper>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 1</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 2</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 3</ng-template>
</swiper>
</ion-content>

Using Modules

By default, Swiper for Angular does not import any additional modules. To use modules such as Navigation or Pagination, you need to import them first.

ion-slides automatically included the Pagination, Scrollbar, Autoplay, Keyboard, and Zoom modules. This part of the guide will show you how to install these modules.

To begin, we need to import the modules and provide them to Swiper:

// home.page.ts
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import SwiperCore, { Autoplay, Keyboard, Pagination, Scrollbar, Zoom } from 'swiper';

SwiperCore.use([Autoplay, Keyboard, Pagination, Scrollbar, Zoom]);

@Component({
selector: 'app-home',
templateUrl: 'home.page.html',
styleUrls: ['home.page.scss']
})
export class HomePage {
...
}

Next, we need to import the stylesheets for each module:

// global.scss
@import '~swiper/scss';
@import '~swiper/scss/autoplay';
@import '~swiper/scss/keyboard';
@import '~swiper/scss/pagination';
@import '~swiper/scss/scrollbar';
@import '~swiper/scss/zoom';
@import '~@ionic/angular/css/ionic-swiper';

Finally, we can turn these features on by using the appropriate properties:

<!-- home.page.html -->
<ion-content>
<swiper [autoplay]="true" [keyboard]="true" [pagination]="true" [scrollbar]="true" [zoom]="true">
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 1</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 2</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 3</ng-template>
</swiper>
</ion-content>
note

See https://swiperjs.com/angular#usage for a full list of modules.

The IonicSlides Module

With ion-slides, Ionic automatically customized dozens of Swiper properties. This resulted in an experience that felt smooth when swiping on mobile devices. We recommend using the IonicSlides module to ensure that these properties are also set when using Swiper directly. However, using this module is not required to use Swiper.js in Ionic.

We can install the IonicSlides module by importing it from @ionic/angular and passing it in as the last item in the array provided in SwiperCore.use:

// home.page.ts
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import SwiperCore, { Autoplay, Keyboard, Pagination, Scrollbar, Zoom } from 'swiper';
import { IonicSlides } from '@ionic/angular';

SwiperCore.use([Autoplay, Keyboard, Pagination, Scrollbar, Zoom, IonicSlides]);

@Component({
selector: 'app-home',
templateUrl: 'home.page.html',
styleUrls: ['home.page.scss']
})
export class HomePage {
...
}
note

The IonicSlides module must be the last module in the array. This will let it automatically customize the settings of modules such as Pagination, Scrollbar, Zoom, and more.

Properties

Swiper options can be provided as individual properties directly on the <swiper> component or via the config property.

Let's say in an app with ion-slides we had the slidesPerView and loop options set:

<ion-slides [options]="{ slidesPerView: true, loop: true }">
<ion-slide>Slide 1</ion-slide>
<ion-slide>Slide 3</ion-slide>
<ion-slide>Slide 3</ion-slide>
</ion-slides>

To set these options as properties directly on <swiper> we would do the following:

<swiper [slidesPerView]="3" [loop]="true">
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 1</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 2</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 3</ng-template>
</swiper>

To set these options using the config object, we would do:

<swiper [config]="{ slidesPerView: true, loop: true }">
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 1</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 3</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 3</ng-template>
</swiper>

Below is a full list of property changes when going from ion-slides to Swiper Angular:

NameNotes
optionsUse the config property instead or set each option as a property directly on the <swiper> component.
modeFor different styles based upon the mode, you can target the slides with .ios .swiper or .md .swiper in your CSS.
pagerUse the pagination property instead. Requires installation of the Pagination module.
scrollbarYou can continue to use the scrollbar property, just be sure to install the Scrollbar module first.
note

All properties available in Swiper Angular can be found at https://swiperjs.com/angular#swiper-component-props.

Events

Since the Swiper component is not provided by Ionic Framework, event names will not have an ionSlide prefix to them.

Let's say in an app with ion-slides we used the ionSlideDidChange event:

<ion-slides (ionSlideDidChange)="onSlideChange()">
<ion-slide>Slide 1</ion-slide>
<ion-slide>Slide 3</ion-slide>
<ion-slide>Slide 3</ion-slide>
</ion-slides>

To migrate, we would change the name of the event to slideChange:

<swiper (slideChange)="onSlideChange()">
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 1</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 2</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 3</ng-template>
</swiper>

Below is a full list of event name changes when going from ion-slides to Swiper Angular:

ion-slides EventSwiper Event
ionSlideWillChangeslideChangeTransitionStart
ionSlideDidChangeslideChangeTransitionEnd
ionSlideDoubleTapdoubleTap
ionSlideDragsliderMove
ionSlideNextStartslideNextTransitionStart
ionSlideNextEndslideNextTransitionEnd
ionSlidePrevStartslidePrevTransitionStart
ionSlidePrevEndslidePrevTransitionEnd
ionSlideReachStartreachBeginning
ionSlideReachEndreachEnd
ionSlideTaptap
ionSlideTouchStarttouchStart
ionSlideTouchEndtouchEnd
ionSlideTransitionStarttransitionStart
ionSlideTransitionEndtransitionEnd
ionSlidesDidLoadinit
note

All events available in Swiper Angular can be found at https://swiperjs.com/angular#swiper-component-events.

Methods

Most methods have been removed in favor of accessing the <swiper> props directly.

Accessing these properties can be tricky as you want to access the properties on the Swiper instance itself, not your Angular component. To do this, we recommend getting a reference to the Swiper instance via (swiper):

<!-- slides.component.html -->

<swiper (swiper)="setSwiperInstance($event)">
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 1</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 2</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 3</ng-template>
</swiper>
// slides.component.ts
import { Component } from '@angular/core';

@Component({
selector: 'app-slides-example',
templateUrl: 'slides.component.html',
styleUrls: ['slides.component.scss']
})
export class SlidesExample {
private slides: any;

constructor() {}
setSwiperInstance(swiper: any) {
this.slides = swiper;
}
}

From here, if you wanted to access a property on the Swiper instance you would access this.slides. For example, if you wanted to check the isBeginning property, you could do: this.slides.isBeginning. Make sure this.slides is defined first though!

Below is a full list of method changes when going from ion-slides to Swiper Angular:

ion-slides MethodNotes
getActiveIndex()Use the activeIndex property instead.
getPreviousIndex()Use the previousIndex property instead.
getSwiper()Get a reference to the Swiper instance using (swiper). See example above.
isBeginning()Use the isBeginning property instead.
isEnd()Use the isEnd property instead.
length()Use the slides property instead. (i.e swiperRef.slides.length)
lockSwipeToNext()Use the allowSlidesNext property instead.
lockSwipeToPrev()Use the allowSlidePrev property instead.
lockSwipes()Use the allowSlideNext, allowSlidePrev, and allowTouchMove properties instead.
startAutoplay()Use the autoplay property instead.
stopAutoplay()Use the autoplay property instead.

Effects

If you are using effects such as Cube or Fade, you can install them just like we did with the other modules. In this example, we will use the fade effect. To start, we will import the EffectFade module and register it using SwiperCore.use:

<!-- slides.component.html -->

<swiper>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 1</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 2</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 3</ng-template>
</swiper>
// slides.component.ts
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import SwiperCore, { EffectFade } from 'swiper';
import { IonicSlides } from '@ionic/angular';

SwiperCore.use([EffectFade, IonicSlides]);

@Component({
selector: 'app-slides-example',
templateUrl: 'slides.component.html',
styleUrls: ['slides.component.scss'],
})
export class SlidesExample {
constructor() {}
}

Next, we need to import the stylesheet associated with the effect:

// global.scss
@import '~swiper/scss/effect-fade';

After that, we can activate it by setting the effect property on swiper to "fade":

<!-- slides.component.html -->

<swiper effect="fade">
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 1</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 2</ng-template>
<ng-template swiperSlide>Slide 3</ng-template>
</swiper>
// slides.component.ts
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import SwiperCore, { EffectFade } from 'swiper';
import { IonicSlides } from '@ionic/angular';

SwiperCore.use([EffectFade, IonicSlides]);

@Component({
selector: 'app-slides-example',
templateUrl: 'slides.component.html',
styleUrls: ['slides.component.scss'],
})
export class SlidesExample {
constructor() {}
}
note

For more information on effects in Swiper, please see https://swiperjs.com/angular#effects.

Wrap Up

Now that you have Swiper installed, there is a whole set of new Swiper features for you to enjoy. We recommend starting with the Swiper Angular Introduction and then referencing the Swiper API docs.

FAQ

Where can I find an example of this migration?

You can find a sample app with ion-slides and the equivalent Swiper usage at https://github.com/ionic-team/slides-migration-samples.

Where can I get help with this migration?

If you are running into issues with the migration, please create a post on the Ionic Forum.

Where do I file bug reports?

Before opening an issue, please consider creating a post on the Swiper Discussion Board or the Ionic Forum to see if your issue can be resolved by the community.

If you are running into problems with the Swiper library, new bugs should be filed on the Swiper repo: https://github.com/nolimits4web/swiper/issues

If you are running into problems with the IonicSlides module, new bugs should be filed on the Ionic Framework repo: https://github.com/ionic-team/ionic-framework/issues