Project Management Integrations for MUI Apps
Gantt charts, Kanban boards, scheduling, and resource management libraries that compose with MUI's theme, layout, and component slots.
MUI X does not ship a native Gantt component (roadmap item, not yet available). Use these libraries for the timeline and MUI for everything around it.
Gantt Chart Libraries
SVAR React Gantt — Best Free Option (MIT)
npm install wx-react-gantt
Free MIT core:
- Interactive drag-and-drop task editing on timeline
- Task dependencies (FS, SS, EE, SE)
- Hierarchical/summary tasks with collapsible groups
- Customizable task bars, tooltips, grid columns, time scale
- Multiple zoom levels, keyboard navigation, light/dark themes
- Full TypeScript, React 19 compatible, Vite/Next.js
- 10,000+ task performance
SVAR PRO (~$524/dev perpetual) adds:
- Working-day calendars per project/task/resource
- Baselines (original plan vs current)
- Auto-scheduling (tasks shift when dependencies change)
- Split tasks, undo/redo, rollups, slack visualization
- Export to PDF, PNG, Excel
- Import/export MS Project files
MUI integration:
import { Gantt } from 'wx-react-gantt';
import Paper from '@mui/material/Paper';
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
import Dialog from '@mui/material/Dialog';
function ProjectGantt({ tasks, links }) {
const [editTask, setEditTask] = useState(null);
return (
<Paper sx={{ height: 600, overflow: 'hidden' }}>
{/* MUI toolbar above Gantt */}
<Box sx={{ display: 'flex', gap: 1, p: 1, borderBottom: 1, borderColor: 'divider' }}>
<Button size="small" onClick={handleZoomIn}>Zoom In</Button>
<Button size="small" onClick={handleZoomOut}>Zoom Out</Button>
<DateRangePicker slotProps={{ textField: { size: 'small' } }} />
</Box>
{/* Gantt handles timeline rendering */}
<Gantt
tasks={tasks}
links={links}
onTaskDblClick={(task) => setEditTask(task)}
/>
{/* MUI Dialog for task editing */}
<Dialog open={!!editTask} onClose={() => setEditTask(null)} maxWidth="sm" fullWidth>
<TaskEditForm task={editTask} onSave={handleSave} />
</Dialog>
</Paper>
);
}
DHTMLX React Gantt — Enterprise (Paid)
npm install @dhx/react-gantt
- Renders 30,000+ tasks smoothly
- Auto-scheduling, critical path calculation
- Resource management with histogram (PRO)
- Working time calendars at project/task/resource levels
- Undo/redo with Valtio or Redux
- Official MUI examples in docs using MUI Button, Divider, ButtonGroup, icons
- Standard: free (limited); PRO: ~$699/dev; Team: ~$1,299
Bryntum Gantt — MS Project Feature Parity (Paid)
- MS Project-equivalent scheduling engine (ChronoGraph)
- Critical path with early/late dates, free slack, total slack
- Baselines: any number of snapshots
- Progress line visualization
- Resource assignment column with multi-select picker
- CSS variables align to MUI theme tokens
- ~$680-940/dev perpetual
- SaaS/OEM requires separate license — contact before committing
Syncfusion React Gantt — Free for Small Teams
- Free Community License for <$1M revenue, ≤5 devs, ≤10 employees
- Critical path with
enableCriticalPathprop - Resource view, filtering, split tasks, undo/redo
- Part of 1,900+ component suite
- Export PDF/CSV/Excel
FullCalendar Premium — Resource Scheduling ($480/dev/yr)
- Free MIT: day/week/month calendar, drag-and-drop
- Premium: Resource Timeline (horizontal, Gantt-like), Vertical Resource view
- Best for contractor availability/booking views, not dependency Gantt
Feature Comparison Matrix
| Feature | SVAR Free | SVAR PRO | DHTMLX PRO | Bryntum | Syncfusion Community | |---------|:---------:|:--------:|:----------:|:-------:|:--------------------:| | Cost | Free MIT | ~$524/dev | ~$699/dev | ~$680/dev | Free (<$1M) | | React native | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Wrapper | Wrapper | | Drag/drop | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Dependencies | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Critical path | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Baselines | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Auto-scheduling | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Resource mgmt | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Working calendars | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | MS Project import | — | ✓ | — | — | — | | Export PDF/Excel | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Undo/redo | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | MUI theming | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ documented | ✓ | CSS vars | | SaaS/OEM allowed | ✓ MIT | ✓ | ✓ | Need OEM | Needs paid | | Max tasks | 10K+ | 10K+ | 30K+ | 30K+ | Large |
Kanban Board Libraries
dnd-kit — Modern Standard (MIT Free)
npm install @dnd-kit/core @dnd-kit/sortable @dnd-kit/utilities
The successor to react-beautiful-dnd. Community standard for React DnD.
import {
DndContext,
DragOverlay,
closestCorners,
PointerSensor,
KeyboardSensor,
useSensor,
useSensors,
} from '@dnd-kit/core';
import { SortableContext, verticalListSortingStrategy } from '@dnd-kit/sortable';
import { useSortable } from '@dnd-kit/sortable';
import { CSS } from '@dnd-kit/utilities';
import Paper from '@mui/material/Paper';
import Card from '@mui/material/Card';
import Typography from '@mui/material/Typography';
import Avatar from '@mui/material/Avatar';
import Chip from '@mui/material/Chip';
import Stack from '@mui/material/Stack';
// Sortable card using MUI Card
function KanbanCard({ task }: { task: Task }) {
const { attributes, listeners, setNodeRef, transform, transition, isDragging } = useSortable({
id: task.id,
});
const style = {
transform: CSS.Transform.toString(transform),
transition,
opacity: isDragging ? 0.5 : 1,
};
return (
<Card
ref={setNodeRef}
style={style}
{...attributes}
{...listeners}
sx={{
p: 1.5, mb: 1, cursor: 'grab',
'&:hover': { borderColor: 'primary.main', boxShadow: 2 },
border: '1px solid', borderColor: 'divider', borderRadius: 2,
}}
>
<Typography variant="body2" fontWeight={600}>{task.title}</Typography>
<Stack direction="row" spacing={1} sx={{ mt: 1 }} alignItems="center">
<Chip label={task.priority} size="small" color={priorityColor(task.priority)} />
<Avatar src={task.assignee.avatar} sx={{ width: 24, height: 24 }} />
</Stack>
</Card>
);
}
// Kanban column
function KanbanColumn({ column, tasks }: { column: Column; tasks: Task[] }) {
return (
<Paper
sx={{
width: 280, minHeight: 400, p: 1, borderRadius: 2,
bgcolor: 'action.hover',
}}
>
<Stack direction="row" justifyContent="space-between" alignItems="center" sx={{ mb: 1, px: 1 }}>
<Typography variant="subtitle2">{column.title}</Typography>
<Chip label={tasks.length} size="small" />
</Stack>
<SortableContext items={tasks.map((t) => t.id)} strategy={verticalListSortingStrategy}>
{tasks.map((task) => (
<KanbanCard key={task.id} task={task} />
))}
</SortableContext>
</Paper>
);
}
// Board with drag between columns
function KanbanBoard({ columns, tasks }: KanbanBoardProps) {
const sensors = useSensors(
useSensor(PointerSensor, { activationConstraint: { distance: 8 } }),
useSensor(KeyboardSensor),
);
const [activeId, setActiveId] = useState<string | null>(null);
return (
<DndContext
sensors={sensors}
collisionDetection={closestCorners}
onDragStart={({ active }) => setActiveId(active.id as string)}
onDragEnd={handleDragEnd}
onDragOver={handleDragOver}
>
<Stack direction="row" spacing={2} sx={{ overflowX: 'auto', p: 2 }}>
{columns.map((col) => (
<KanbanColumn
key={col.id}
column={col}
tasks={tasks.filter((t) => t.columnId === col.id)}
/>
))}
</Stack>
{/* Ghost clone while dragging */}
<DragOverlay>
{activeId && (
<Card sx={{ p: 1.5, boxShadow: 8, borderRadius: 2, opacity: 0.9 }}>
<Typography variant="body2">{findTask(activeId)?.title}</Typography>
</Card>
)}
</DragOverlay>
</DndContext>
);
}
Pattern: Intercept onDragEnd to call ASP.NET Core PATCH endpoint for column/order change. Use DragOverlay with MUI elevation for smooth animated ghost.
react-mui-scheduler — MUI-Native Calendar (MIT Free)
npm install react-mui-scheduler
- Month/week/day/timeline views built on
@mui/material - Event grouping by resource
- Search bar, date picker, view switcher in toolbar
- Localization: 8 languages
- Best for appointment/availability calendars (contractor scheduling, event booking)
Pragmatic Drag and Drop (Atlassian) — MIT Free
npm install @atlaskit/pragmatic-drag-and-drop
- Powers Jira and Trello's drag-and-drop
- Lower-level API than dnd-kit, purpose-built for production kanban at scale
- MIT open-source since 2024
Recommended Stack by Use Case
| Use Case | Library | License | |----------|---------|---------| | Contractor project timeline (internal) | SVAR Gantt Free | MIT | | Full MS Project-equivalent Gantt in SaaS | Bryntum OEM or DHTMLX PRO | Paid | | Free Gantt for early SaaS <$1M revenue | Syncfusion Community | Free | | Resource booking / availability calendar | FullCalendar Premium + MUI | $480/yr | | Kanban task board (Jira-style) | dnd-kit + MUI Cards | MIT | | Contractor appointment scheduler | react-mui-scheduler | MIT | | Flexible timeline (bookings, media) | gantt-schedule-timeline-calendar | Freemium |
Architecture: Gantt + MUI DataGrid Sidebar
The most powerful project management UI combines a Gantt timeline with a companion DataGrid.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MUI AppBar Toolbar │
│ [Zoom In] [Zoom Out] [View: Gantt|Kanban|Calendar] │
│ [DateRangePicker] [Export] │
├───────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┤
│ MUI X DataGrid │ Gantt Timeline (SVAR/DHTMLX) │
│ ┌─────────────────┐ │ ┌─────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Task | Status │ │ │ ▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░ Project Alpha ││
│ │ Alpha| ● Active │◄─┼──│ ▓▓▓▓░░░░░ Task 1 ││
│ │ Beta | ○ Draft │ │ │ ▓▓▓▓▓░░ Task 2 ──────►││
│ │ Gamma| ● Active │ │ │ ▓▓▓ Task 3 ││
│ └─────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────────────────┘│
├───────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────┤
│ MUI Drawer (right) — Task Detail Form │
│ [RHF Form] [Resource Autocomplete] [Time Entry Grid] │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Implementation:
- Left panel: MUI X DataGrid with status chips, assignee avatars, priority bars
- Right panel: Gantt timeline synchronized to DataGrid selection
- Sync: Click DataGrid row → scroll Gantt to task; click Gantt bar → select DataGrid row
- Detail drawer: MUI Drawer with RHF form, resource Autocomplete, sub-DataGrid of time entries
- Toolbar: MUI GridToolbarContainer with zoom controls, view switches, DateRangePicker
function ProjectManagementView({ tasks, links }) {
const [selectedTaskId, setSelectedTaskId] = useState<string | null>(null);
const [drawerOpen, setDrawerOpen] = useState(false);
const ganttRef = useRef<GanttAPI>(null);
const gridApiRef = useGridApiRef();
// Sync: DataGrid row click → Gantt scroll
const handleGridRowClick = useCallback((params: GridRowParams) => {
setSelectedTaskId(params.id as string);
ganttRef.current?.scrollToTask(params.id);
}, []);
// Sync: Gantt bar click → DataGrid selection
const handleGanttTaskClick = useCallback((task: Task) => {
setSelectedTaskId(task.id);
gridApiRef.current?.selectRow(task.id);
gridApiRef.current?.scrollToIndexes({ rowIndex: findRowIndex(task.id) });
}, []);
return (
<Box sx={{ display: 'flex', height: 'calc(100vh - 64px)' }}>
{/* Left: DataGrid */}
<Box sx={{ width: 400, borderRight: 1, borderColor: 'divider' }}>
<DataGrid
apiRef={gridApiRef}
rows={tasks}
columns={taskColumns}
onRowClick={handleGridRowClick}
rowSelectionModel={selectedTaskId ? [selectedTaskId] : []}
/>
</Box>
{/* Right: Gantt */}
<Box sx={{ flex: 1 }}>
<Gantt
ref={ganttRef}
tasks={tasks}
links={links}
onTaskClick={handleGanttTaskClick}
onTaskDblClick={(task) => { setSelectedTaskId(task.id); setDrawerOpen(true); }}
/>
</Box>
{/* Detail Drawer */}
<Drawer
anchor="right"
open={drawerOpen}
onClose={() => setDrawerOpen(false)}
PaperProps={{ sx: { width: 480 } }}
>
{selectedTaskId && (
<TaskDetailForm
taskId={selectedTaskId}
onSave={() => { refetchTasks(); setDrawerOpen(false); }}
/>
)}
</Drawer>
</Box>
);
}
The Gantt library handles only timeline rendering and dependency logic. MUI handles all surrounding UI — dialogs, forms, notifications, navigation, theming, and data tables. Result: unified, branded experience matching your design system.