---
title: "Non-passive wheel/touch listener (smooth/scroll-listener-nonpassive)"
description: "smooth/scroll-listener-nonpassive: A non-passive wheel or touchmove listener forces the browser to wait for JavaScript before it can scroll, so every scroll…"
canonical: https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/smooth/scroll-listener-nonpassive
lastModified: 2026-09-16
---

# Non-passive wheel/touch listener

`smooth/scroll-listener-nonpassive` · severity **warn** · category Smoothness · detected by `void smooth` and `void audit`

## Why it matters

A non-passive wheel or touchmove listener forces the browser to wait for JavaScript before it can scroll, so every scroll gesture starts late.

## How to fix it

Pass { passive: true } unless you truly need preventDefault(); for scroll effects prefer IntersectionObserver or animation-timeline: view().

## Example

```
addEventListener('touchmove', onMove, { passive: true });
```

## More smoothness rules

`void smooth` reports 13 rules in this category. How the page feels after it loads: dropped frames during a scripted scroll, long animation frames, INP of real clicks, shifts after input, animated layout properties, idle rAF loops and reduced-motion handling.

- `scroll-jank` Frames are dropped while scrolling — [smooth/scroll-jank](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/smooth/scroll-jank)
- `long-frames-during-scroll` Long animation frames block scrolling — [smooth/long-frames-during-scroll](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/smooth/long-frames-during-scroll)
- `inp-slow` Interactions are slow to respond (INP) — [smooth/inp-slow](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/smooth/inp-slow)
- `layout-shift-after-input` Layout shifts long after an interaction — [smooth/layout-shift-after-input](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/smooth/layout-shift-after-input)
- `layout-shift-on-scroll` Layout shifts while scrolling — [smooth/layout-shift-on-scroll](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/smooth/layout-shift-on-scroll)
- `animate-layout-property` Animation of a layout-triggering property — [smooth/animate-layout-property](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/smooth/animate-layout-property)
- `transition-all` transition: all — [smooth/transition-all](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/smooth/transition-all)
- `will-change-overuse` will-change is applied too broadly — [smooth/will-change-overuse](https://void-design.vercel.app/rules/smooth/will-change-overuse)

Detected by `void smooth` and `void audit`. Explain it in a terminal: `void rules smooth/scroll-listener-nonpassive`