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Compose DataTable

A highly customizable, feature-rich DataTable component for Compose Desktop, built entirely on Foundation APIs — no Material dependency required.

Maven Central License

DataTable(
    items = people,
    headers = headers,
    itemKey = { it.id },
)

Get started API reference

What it does

  • Columns that behave

    Fixed or weighted widths, per-column alignment, ellipsis, visibility toggles, custom cell and header composables, drag-to-resize, left-pinned frozen columns, and grouped headers nested to any depth.

  • Sorting that scales

    Single-column, multi-column with Ctrl +click, custom comparators — or hand sorting off to your database with manualSorting and translate header clicks into ORDER BY.

  • Selection by key, not by identity

    Selection and expansion are tracked by the key from itemKey, so they survive item instances being replaced and never depend on your row type implementing equals/hashCode.

  • Built for large data

    Virtualized rows, client-side or server-side pagination, and manualPagination so the table holds one page while your query holds the rest.

  • Keyboard driven

    Arrow keys, Home/End, Enter, Space. Focus is tracked by key, so it follows its row across a re-sort instead of sticking to a position.

  • Themeable without a theme

    Every color and text style is a parameter. Three densities. Works with Material, or with nothing at all.

Requirements
Kotlin 2.2+
Compose Multiplatform 1.11.1
JVM 11+

The artifact is compiled to Java 11 bytecode, so it runs on any JVM from 11 up. It is built and tested against Compose Multiplatform 1.11.1, which it exposes as an api dependency — Gradle will resolve your Compose version up to that if you are on an older one. Kotlin metadata is emitted at language level 2.2, so a 2.2 compiler can read it.

Desktop only, for now

The library targets Compose Desktop. It uses AWT cursors for the column-resize handle, so it is not yet a Compose Multiplatform artifact.

Try it

The repository ships a gallery app that exercises every feature — nested headers, server-side paging, all three densities, keyboard navigation, loading and empty states:

./gradlew :composeApp:run

Each release also carries prebuilt demo packages — .deb and .tar.gz for Linux, .msi for Windows, .dmg for macOS — on the Releases page.

What it does not do

The honest boundary of the component as it stands, so you can rule it in or out before building on it:

  • No cell editing. There is no edit mode, commit/cancel lifecycle, or per-cell validation. A cellContent composable can hold an editor, but you own all of its behaviour.
  • No cell-level selection. Selection and keyboard focus are per row. Arrow keys move rows; there is no cell cursor, no Shift +click range selection, and no Shift +arrow extension.
  • No clipboard integration. Copying a block of rows or cells is not built in.
  • No filtering UI. Filter items yourself before handing them over; there is no filter row and no manualFiltering counterpart to manualSorting.
  • No export. CSV, Excel, and PDF are the caller's job.
  • No column reordering by dragging, and no built-in column chooser — visible is a flag you drive from your own UI.
  • No layout persistence. Column widths, sort, focus, and scroll live only as long as the composition. See Interactions.
  • No per-column formatter. value is rendered with toString(); formatting means a cellContent composable, and sorting a formatted column means a comparator.
  • No tree tables. groupBy is one level deep, flat, and always expanded — see Grouping.
  • No accessibility semantics. Rows and cells carry no roles or content descriptions, so screen reader support is whatever Compose infers from the text.
  • Frozen columns pin left only, and rows cannot be frozen at all.

License

Copyright 2025 Wanjala Stephen

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at

    https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.