Migrating from v6

v7 replaced the binary tree layout with an n-ary tree. If you're coming from v6 or earlier, your layouts still work — <Mosaic value={legacyTree}> normalises the shape on first render — but the modern API is worth adopting.

What changed

Concept	v6 (binary)	v7 (n-ary)
Split node shape	{ direction, first, second }	{ type: 'split', direction, children: [...] }
Split sizing	splitPercentage: number	splitPercentages: number[] (array sums to 100)
Path representation	MosaicBranch[] — ['first', 'second']	number[] — [0, 1]
Tab support	None (had to nest splits manually)	First-class { type: 'tabs', tabs, activeTabIndex } node
Max children	Always 2	Any number per split

Legacy tree

const oldTree = {
  direction: 'row',
  first: 'panel1',
  second: {
    direction: 'column',
    first: 'panel2',
    second: 'panel3',
    splitPercentage: 60,
  },
  splitPercentage: 40,
};

Modern equivalent

const newTree: MosaicNode<string> = {
  type: 'split',
  direction: 'row',
  splitPercentages: [40, 60],
  children: [
    'panel1',
    {
      type: 'split',
      direction: 'column',
      splitPercentages: [60, 40],
      children: ['panel2', 'panel3'],
    },
  ],
};

convertLegacyToNary

If you have a persisted layout in your database that you want to normalise before hitting <Mosaic>, use the conversion helper:

import { convertLegacyToNary } from 'react-mosaic-component';

const modernTree = convertLegacyToNary(oldTree);

This is the same function <Mosaic> calls internally, so the result is guaranteed to be equivalent.

Automatic conversion

You don't have to migrate anything proactively. <Mosaic value={oldTree}> accepts legacy shapes and converts them on the fly. The recommended workflow:

1. Ship v7 with your existing layouts unchanged — it Just Works.
2. Convert stored layouts lazily: when a user saves, normalise with convertLegacyToNary so the new shape gets persisted.
3. Once all stored layouts are normalised, delete the legacy branches from your codebase.

Type exports for the transition

The legacy types are still exported for as long as you need them:

import type {
  MosaicParent,
  MosaicBranch,
  MosaicDirection,
} from 'react-mosaic-component';

• MosaicParent<T> — the old binary split shape
• MosaicBranch — 'first' | 'second'
• MosaicDirection — 'row' | 'column' (unchanged, re-exported for symmetry)

New code should use MosaicNode<T>, MosaicSplitNode<T>, and MosaicTabsNode<T> instead.