Drawer Navigator and Nested Navigators
Set up a drawer navigator, nest a stack inside one of its screens, and understand how nested navigators interact with the header and back button.
Drawer Navigator and Nested Navigators is a free React Native Academy lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 4 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the React Native Academy learning path, one of 4 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.
What is a Drawer Navigator?
A drawer navigator shows a slide-out side menu (drawer) that the user can open by swiping from the left edge or tapping a hamburger icon. It is ideal for apps with many top-level sections that do not fit in a tab bar. React Navigation provides it via the @react-navigation/drawer package.
Installing the Drawer Package
The drawer navigator requires additional gesture and animation libraries. Install the drawer package and its peer dependencies. The drawer relies on react-native-gesture-handler and react-native-reanimated for smooth animations.
npm install @react-navigation/drawer
npx expo install react-native-gesture-handler react-native-reanimatedConfiguring Reanimated Babel Plugin
React Native Reanimated requires a Babel plugin to work. Add 'react-native-reanimated/plugin' as the last entry in your babel.config.js plugins array. Restart Metro bundler after making this change to clear the cache.
// babel.config.js
module.exports = function(api) {
api.cache(true);
return {
presets: ['babel-preset-expo'],
plugins: ['react-native-reanimated/plugin'],
};
};Creating a Drawer Navigator
Use createDrawerNavigator() and register screens with Drawer.Screen components. Each screen appears as a menu item in the drawer. The drawer also renders a header with a hamburger menu icon that opens the drawer when tapped.
import { createDrawerNavigator } from '@react-navigation/drawer';
const Drawer = createDrawerNavigator();
function MyDrawer() {
return (
<Drawer.Navigator initialRouteName='Home'>
<Drawer.Screen name='Home' component={HomeScreen} />
<Drawer.Screen name='Settings' component={SettingsScreen} />
<Drawer.Screen name='About' component={AboutScreen} />
</Drawer.Navigator>
);
}Opening and Closing the Drawer
From any screen inside the drawer navigator, call navigation.openDrawer() to open the side menu, navigation.closeDrawer() to close it, and navigation.toggleDrawer() to toggle between open and closed. Users can also swipe from the edge or tap the backdrop to close it.
function HomeScreen({ navigation }) {
return (
<Button
title='Open Menu'
onPress={() => navigation.openDrawer()}
/>
);
}Customizing Drawer Screen Options
Use the drawerIcon option on each Drawer.Screen to add an icon next to the menu item. Use drawerLabel to override the display name. These options follow the same pattern as tab navigator options, giving you a consistent API across navigators.
<Drawer.Screen
name='Home'
component={HomeScreen}
options={{
drawerLabel: 'Dashboard',
drawerIcon: ({ color, size }) => (
<Ionicons name='home-outline' size={size} color={color} />
),
}}
/>What Are Nested Navigators?
Nested navigators occur when you place one navigator inside a screen of another navigator. For example, a drawer navigator can contain a tab navigator, which can itself contain stack navigators inside each tab. This is how complex apps structure their navigation hierarchy.
Nesting a Stack Inside a Drawer Screen
To give each drawer section its own navigation history, use a Stack.Navigator as the component for a Drawer.Screen. The stack's header and the drawer header may conflict — set headerShown: false on the drawer to hide its header and rely on the stack header.
function HomeStack() {
return (
<Stack.Navigator>
<Stack.Screen name='Home' component={HomeScreen} />
<Stack.Screen name='Details' component={DetailsScreen} />
</Stack.Navigator>
);
}
<Drawer.Screen
name='HomeSection'
component={HomeStack}
options={{ headerShown: false }}
/>Navigation Across Nested Navigators
When navigating across nested navigators (e.g., from a screen inside a tab to a screen in another tab's stack), use the full screen name and navigator target. React Navigation resolves the correct navigator. You may also navigate to a parent navigator's screen using navigation.navigate('ParentScreen', { screen: 'ChildScreen' }).
// Navigate to a screen nested inside a different tab
navigation.navigate('ProfileTab', {
screen: 'EditProfile',
params: { userId: 5 },
});The Back Button and Nested Stacks
When a stack is nested inside a tab or drawer, the back button in the stack header only pops the stack — it does not switch tabs or close the drawer. Each navigator manages its own history independently. This is intentional and matches the expected behavior users experience in native apps.
Custom Drawer Content
Replace the default drawer menu with a fully custom component using the drawerContent prop on Drawer.Navigator. Your custom component receives navigation and state props and can display a user avatar, subscription info, or any other content above or below the menu items.
function CustomDrawer(props) {
return (
<DrawerContentScrollView {...props}>
<Image source={{ uri: user.avatar }} style={styles.avatar} />
<Text>{user.name}</Text>
<DrawerItemList {...props} />
</DrawerContentScrollView>
);
}
<Drawer.Navigator drawerContent={(props) => <CustomDrawer {...props} />}>Quick Check
Test your understanding of Drawer Navigator and nested navigators from this lesson.
Lesson Recap
In this lesson you learned: create a drawer navigator with createDrawerNavigator, open and close the drawer programmatically with navigation.openDrawer/closeDrawer, and nest navigators by using a navigator component as a screen's component prop. Next up we explore the FlatList component for efficiently rendering large data sets.
Frequently asked questions
Is the “Drawer Navigator and Nested Navigators” lesson free?
Yes — the full text of “Drawer Navigator and Nested Navigators” is free to read here on the web, and the React Native Academy course includes 4 lessons in total. To practise it interactively (a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor) and unlock the rest of the React Native Academy course, upgrade to CoddyKit PRO.
What will I learn in “Drawer Navigator and Nested Navigators”?
Set up a drawer navigator, nest a stack inside one of its screens, and understand how nested navigators interact with the header and back button. You practise React Native Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.
Do I need any experience to start React Native Academy?
No prior experience is required. React Native Academy on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners; this is — lesson 4 of 4, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.
How long does the “Drawer Navigator and Nested Navigators” lesson take?
Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.
Can I write and run code in this React Native Academy lesson?
Yes. Every React Native Academy lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.
All lessons in this course
- Installing and Configuring React Navigation
- Navigating Between Screens and Passing Params
- Bottom Tab Navigator
- Drawer Navigator and Nested Navigators