simstudioai · waleedlatif1 · Aug 12, 2026 · Aug 12, 2026 · Aug 12, 2026
diff --git a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/w/[workflowId]/hooks/use-node-utilities.test.tsx b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/w/[workflowId]/hooks/use-node-utilities.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+/**
+ * @vitest-environment jsdom
+ */
+
+import { act } from 'react'
+import { CONTAINER_DIMENSIONS } from '@sim/workflow-renderer'
+import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client'
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+const { mockGetNodes } = vi.hoisted(() => ({ mockGetNodes: vi.fn() }))
+
+vi.mock('reactflow', () => ({
+  useReactFlow: () => ({ getNodes: mockGetNodes }),
+  Position: { Left: 'left', Right: 'right', Top: 'top', Bottom: 'bottom' },
+  Handle: () => null,
+}))
+
+import { useNodeUtilities } from '@/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/w/[workflowId]/hooks/use-node-utilities'
+
+/** Renders the hook and hands back what it returned, without a test library. */
+function renderNodeUtilities(blockMap: Parameters<typeof useNodeUtilities>[0]) {
+  let api: ReturnType<typeof useNodeUtilities> | null = null
+  function Probe() {
+    api = useNodeUtilities(blockMap)
+    return null
+  }
+  const host = document.createElement('div')
+  document.body.appendChild(host)
+  act(() => {
+    createRoot(host).render(<Probe />)
+  })
+  if (!api) throw new Error('hook did not render')
+  return api
+}
+
+/**
+ * A container at (1000, 500) holding one child placed at the top-left of its
+ * body — exactly where `clampPositionToContainer` floors a child.
+ */
+const CONTAINER_POSITION = { x: 1000, y: 500 }
+const CHILD_POSITION = {
+  x: CONTAINER_DIMENSIONS.LEFT_PADDING,
+  y: CONTAINER_DIMENSIONS.HEADER_HEIGHT + CONTAINER_DIMENSIONS.TOP_PADDING,
+}
+
+const blocks: Parameters<typeof useNodeUtilities>[0] = {
+  loop: { id: 'loop', type: 'loop', position: CONTAINER_POSITION, data: {} },
+  child: { id: 'child', type: 'gmail_v2', position: CHILD_POSITION, data: { parentId: 'loop' } },
+  root: { id: 'root', type: 'gmail_v2', position: { x: 10, y: 20 }, data: {} },
+}
+
+const nodes = [
+  { id: 'loop', position: CONTAINER_POSITION },
+  { id: 'child', position: CHILD_POSITION, parentId: 'loop' },
+  { id: 'root', position: { x: 10, y: 20 } },
+]
+
+describe('getNodeAbsolutePosition', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks()
+    mockGetNodes.mockReturnValue(nodes)
+  })
+
+  it('places a child at its parent plus its own position, as React Flow does', () => {
+    /* A child's position is already relative to the container's origin — the
+       header and padding live in the position itself, put there by
+       `clampPositionToContainer`. Adding them again reported a nested node 16px
+       right and 66px below where it actually renders, which is why callers had
+       to subtract the same constants back off. */
+    const api = renderNodeUtilities(blocks)
+
+    expect(api.getNodeAbsolutePosition('child')).toEqual({
+      x: CONTAINER_POSITION.x + CHILD_POSITION.x,
+      y: CONTAINER_POSITION.y + CHILD_POSITION.y,
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('leaves a root-level node exactly where it is', () => {
+    const api = renderNodeUtilities(blocks)
+
+    expect(api.getNodeAbsolutePosition('root')).toEqual({ x: 10, y: 20 })
+    expect(api.getNodeAbsolutePosition('loop')).toEqual(CONTAINER_POSITION)
+  })
+
+  it('round-trips: a child popped out of its container does not move', () => {
+    /* Removing a parent stores the node's absolute position verbatim, so any
+       drift here is a visible jump — the block used to drop 66px down and 16px
+       right the moment it left the container. */
+    const api = renderNodeUtilities(blocks)
+    const absolute = api.getNodeAbsolutePosition('child')
+    const container = api.getNodeAbsolutePosition('loop')
+
+    expect({ x: absolute.x - container.x, y: absolute.y - container.y }).toEqual(CHILD_POSITION)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/w/[workflowId]/hooks/use-node-utilities.ts b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/w/[workflowId]/hooks/use-node-utilities.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { useCallback } from 'react'
 import { createLogger } from '@sim/logger'
 import { BLOCK_DIMENSIONS, CONTAINER_DIMENSIONS, getNoteBlockHeight } from '@sim/workflow-renderer'
+import type { BlockState } from '@sim/workflow-types/workflow'
 import { useReactFlow } from 'reactflow'
 import { getBlockMetrics } from '@/lib/workflows/autolayout/utils'
 import {
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ const logger = createLogger('NodeUtilities')
 /**
  * Hook providing utilities for node position, hierarchy, and dimension calculations
  */
-export function useNodeUtilities(blocks: Record<string, any>) {
+export function useNodeUtilities(blocks: Record<string, BlockState>) {
   const { getNodes } = useReactFlow()
 
   /**
@@ -140,8 +141,20 @@ export function useNodeUtilities(blocks: Record<string, any>) {
   )
 
   /**
-   * Gets the absolute position of a node (accounting for nested parents).
-   * For nodes inside containers, accounts for header and padding offsets.
+   * Gets the absolute position of a node, walking up its parent chain.
+   *
+   * A child's position is relative to its container's own origin — React Flow
+   * places it at the parent's origin plus its position, and
+   * `clampPositionToContainer` is what holds it clear of the chrome, flooring it
+   * at `LEFT_PADDING` and `HEADER_HEIGHT + TOP_PADDING`. The container's header
+   * and padding are therefore already inside the child's coordinates, and
+   * adding them again here counted them twice: a nested node reported 16px
+   * right and 66px below where it actually is.
+   *
+   * That is why callers wanting a relative position had to subtract the same
+   * three constants straight back off, and why `positionAbsolute` — React
+   * Flow's own answer, which carries no offset — disagreed with this one.
+   *
    * @param nodeId ID of the node to check
    * @returns Absolute position coordinates {x, y}
    */
@@ -168,9 +181,10 @@ export function useNodeUtilities(blocks: Record<string, any>) {
       }
 
       const visited = new Set<string>()
-      let currentId = nodeId
-      while (currentId && blocks?.[currentId]?.data?.parentId) {
-        const currentParentId = blocks[currentId].data.parentId
+      let currentId: string | undefined = nodeId
+      while (currentId) {
+        const currentParentId: string | undefined = blocks[currentId]?.data?.parentId
+        if (!currentParentId) break
         if (visited.has(currentParentId)) {
           logger.error('Circular parent reference detected', {
             nodeId,
@@ -184,13 +198,9 @@ export function useNodeUtilities(blocks: Record<string, any>) {
 
       const parentPos = getNodeAbsolutePosition(parentId)
 
-      const headerHeight = 50
-      const leftPadding = 16
-      const topPadding = 16
-
       return {
-        x: parentPos.x + leftPadding + node.position.x,
-        y: parentPos.y + headerHeight + topPadding + node.position.y,
+        x: parentPos.x + node.position.x,
+        y: parentPos.y + node.position.y,
       }
     },
     [getNodes, blocks]

diff --git a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/w/[workflowId]/workflow.tsx b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/w/[workflowId]/workflow.tsx
@@ -969,14 +969,14 @@ const WorkflowContent = React.memo(
 
         let newPosition = oldPosition
         if (newParentId) {
+          /* Both absolutes are in the container's own coordinate space, so the
+             difference is already the child's position within it — the header
+             and padding are accounted for by the clamp, not subtracted here. */
           const nodeAbsPos = getNodeAbsolutePosition(nodeId)
           const parentAbsPos = getNodeAbsolutePosition(newParentId)
-          const headerHeight = 50
-          const leftPadding = 16
-          const topPadding = 16
           newPosition = {
-            x: nodeAbsPos.x - parentAbsPos.x - leftPadding,
-            y: nodeAbsPos.y - parentAbsPos.y - headerHeight - topPadding,
+            x: nodeAbsPos.x - parentAbsPos.x,
+            y: nodeAbsPos.y - parentAbsPos.y,
           }
         } else if (oldParentId) {
           newPosition = getNodeAbsolutePosition(nodeId)
@@ -2711,12 +2711,13 @@ const WorkflowContent = React.memo(
             const parentId = block.data?.parentId as string | undefined
             if (!parentId) return block.data?.extent || undefined
 
-            // Constrain ONLY the top by header height (42px) and keep a small left padding.
-            // Do not clamp right/bottom so blocks can move freely within the body.
-            const headerHeight = 42
-            const leftPadding = 16
-            const minX = leftPadding
-            const minY = headerHeight
+            // Constrain the top and left to the container's own gutter, the same
+            // floor `clampPositionToContainer` applies everywhere else — a drag
+            // that stopped somewhere different from a drop was the whole reason
+            // these numbers were written out by hand and drifted. Right and
+            // bottom stay free so a block can move anywhere in the body.
+            const minX = CONTAINER_DIMENSIONS.LEFT_PADDING
+            const minY = CONTAINER_DIMENSIONS.HEADER_HEIGHT + CONTAINER_DIMENSIONS.TOP_PADDING
             const maxX = Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY
             const maxY = Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY
 
@@ -3767,17 +3768,16 @@ const WorkflowContent = React.memo(
             })
           }
 
-          // Compute relative position BEFORE updating parent to avoid stale state
-          // Account for header (50px), left padding (16px), and top padding (16px)
+          // Computed BEFORE updating the parent to avoid stale state. The two
+          // absolutes share the container's coordinate space, so their
+          // difference is the child's position within it — which is what the
+          // sibling positions this is compared against are measured in too.
           const containerAbsPosBefore = getNodeAbsolutePosition(potentialParentId)
           const nodeAbsPosBefore = getNodeAbsolutePosition(node.id)
-          const headerHeight = 50
-          const leftPadding = 16
-          const topPadding = 16
 
           const relativePositionBefore = {
-            x: nodeAbsPosBefore.x - containerAbsPosBefore.x - leftPadding,
-            y: nodeAbsPosBefore.y - containerAbsPosBefore.y - headerHeight - topPadding,
+            x: nodeAbsPosBefore.x - containerAbsPosBefore.x,
+            y: nodeAbsPosBefore.y - containerAbsPosBefore.y,
           }
 
           // Auto-connect when moving an existing block into a container