Is there an addHeaderView equivalent for RecyclerView?

There isn't an easy way like listview.addHeaderView() but you can achieve this by adding a type to your adapter for header.

Here is an example

public class HeaderAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<RecyclerView.ViewHolder> {
    private static final int TYPE_HEADER = 0;
    private static final int TYPE_ITEM = 1;
    String[] data;

    public HeaderAdapter(String[] data) {
        this.data = data;
    }

    @Override
    public RecyclerView.ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int viewType) {
        if (viewType == TYPE_ITEM) {
            //inflate your layout and pass it to view holder
            return new VHItem(null);
        } else if (viewType == TYPE_HEADER) {
            //inflate your layout and pass it to view holder
            return new VHHeader(null);
        }

        throw new RuntimeException("there is no type that matches the type " + viewType + " + make sure your using types correctly");
    }

    @Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(RecyclerView.ViewHolder holder, int position) {
        if (holder instanceof VHItem) {
            String dataItem = getItem(position);
            //cast holder to VHItem and set data
        } else if (holder instanceof VHHeader) {
            //cast holder to VHHeader and set data for header.
        }
    }

    @Override
    public int getItemCount() {
        return data.length + 1;
    }

    @Override
    public int getItemViewType(int position) {
        if (isPositionHeader(position))
            return TYPE_HEADER;

        return TYPE_ITEM;
    }

    private boolean isPositionHeader(int position) {
        return position == 0;
    }

    private String getItem(int position) {
        return data[position - 1];
    }

    class VHItem extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
        TextView title;

        public VHItem(View itemView) {
            super(itemView);
        }
    }

    class VHHeader extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
        Button button;

        public VHHeader(View itemView) {
            super(itemView);
        }
    }
}

link to gist -> here


Going to show you to make header with items in a Recycler view.Recycler view with Header

Step 1- Add dependency into your gradle file.

compile 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:23.2.0'
// CardView
compile 'com.android.support:cardview-v7:23.2.0'

Cardview is used for decoration purpose.

Step2- Make three xml files. One for main activity.Second for Header layout.Third for list item layout.

activity_main.xml

<android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:id="@+id/my_recycler_view"
    android:scrollbars="vertical"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent" />

header.xml

<android.support.v7.widget.CardView
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    app:cardElevation="2dp">

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/txtHeader"
        android:gravity="center"
        android:textColor="#000000"
        android:textSize="@dimen/abc_text_size_large_material"
        android:background="#DCDCDC"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="50dp" />

</android.support.v7.widget.CardView>

list.xml

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:card_view="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content">

    <android.support.v7.widget.CardView
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        app:cardElevation="1dp">

        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/txtName"
            android:text="abc"
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

    </android.support.v7.widget.CardView>

</LinearLayout>

Step 3- Create three bean classes.

Header.java

public class Header extends ListItem {
    private String header;

    public String getHeader() {
        return header;
    }
    public void setHeader(String header) {
        this.header = header;
    }
}

ContentItem.java

public class ContentItem extends ListItem {

    private String name;
    private String rollnumber;

    @Override
    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    @Override
    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public String getRollnumber() {
        return rollnumber;
    }

    public void setRollnumber(String rollnumber) {
        this.rollnumber = rollnumber;
    }
}

ListItem.java

public class ListItem {
    private String name;

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    private int id;

    public int getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(int id) {
        this.id = id;
    }
}

Step 4- Create an adapter named MyRecyclerAdapter.java

public class MyRecyclerAdapter extends  RecyclerView.Adapter<RecyclerView.ViewHolder> {
    private static final int TYPE_HEADER = 0;
    private static final int TYPE_ITEM = 1;

    //Header header;
    List<ListItem> list;
    public MyRecyclerAdapter(List<ListItem> headerItems) {
        this.list = headerItems;
    }

    @Override
    public RecyclerView.ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int viewType) {
        LayoutInflater inflater = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext());
        if (viewType == TYPE_HEADER) {
            View v = inflater.inflate(R.layout.header, parent, false);
            return  new VHHeader(v);
        } else {
            View v = inflater.inflate(R.layout.list, parent, false);
            return new VHItem(v);
        }
        throw new IllegalArgumentException();
    }

    @Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(RecyclerView.ViewHolder holder, int position) {
        if (holder instanceof VHHeader) {
           // VHHeader VHheader = (VHHeader)holder;
            Header  currentItem = (Header) list.get(position);
            VHHeader VHheader = (VHHeader)holder;
            VHheader.txtTitle.setText(currentItem.getHeader());
        } else if (holder instanceof VHItem) 
            ContentItem currentItem = (ContentItem) list.get(position);
            VHItem VHitem = (VHItem)holder;
            VHitem.txtName.setText(currentItem.getName());
        }
    }

    @Override
    public int getItemViewType(int position) {
        if (isPositionHeader(position))
            return TYPE_HEADER;
        return TYPE_ITEM;
    }

    private boolean isPositionHeader(int position) {
        return list.get(position) instanceof Header;
    }

    @Override
    public int getItemCount() {
        return list.size();
    }

    class VHHeader extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder{
        TextView txtTitle;
        public VHHeader(View itemView) {
            super(itemView);
            this.txtTitle = (TextView) itemView.findViewById(R.id.txtHeader);
        }
    }
    class VHItem extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder{
        TextView txtName;
        public VHItem(View itemView) {
            super(itemView);
            this.txtName = (TextView) itemView.findViewById(R.id.txtName);
        }
    }
}

Step 5- In MainActivity add the following code:

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    RecyclerView recyclerView;
    List<List<ListItem>> arraylist;
    MyRecyclerAdapter adapter;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        recyclerView = (RecyclerView)findViewById(R.id.my_recycler_view);
        LinearLayoutManager linearLayoutManager = new LinearLayoutManager(this);
        adapter = new MyRecyclerAdapter(getList());
        recyclerView.setLayoutManager(linearLayoutManager);
        recyclerView.setAdapter(adapter);
    }

    private ArrayList<ListItem> getList() {
        ArrayList<ListItem> arrayList = new ArrayList<>();
        for(int j = 0; j <= 4; j++) {
            Header header = new Header();
            header.setHeader("header"+j);
            arrayList.add(header);
            for (int i = 0; i <= 3; i++) {
                ContentItem item = new ContentItem();
                item.setRollnumber(i + "");
                item.setName("A" + i);
                arrayList.add(item);
            }
        }
        return arrayList;
    }

}

The function getList() is dynamically generating the data for the headers and for list items.


Easy and reusable ItemDecoration

Static headers can easily be added with an ItemDecoration and without any further changes.

// add the decoration. done.
HeaderDecoration headerDecoration = new HeaderDecoration(/* init */);
recyclerView.addItemDecoration(headerDecoration);

The decoration is also reusable since there is no need to modify the adapter or the RecyclerView at all.

The sample code provided below will require a view to add to the top which can just be inflated like everything else. It can look like this:

HeaderDecoration sample

Why static?

If you just have to display text and images this solution is for you—there is no possibility for user interaction like buttons or view pagers, since it will just be drawn to top of your list.

Empty list handling

If there is no view to decorate, the decoration will not be drawn. You will still have to handle an empty list yourself. (One possible workaround would be to add a dummy item to the adapter.)

The code

You can find the full source code here on GitHub including a Builder to help with the initialization of the decorator, or just use the code below and supply your own values to the constructor.

Please be sure to set a correct layout_height for your view. e.g. match_parent might not work properly.

public class HeaderDecoration extends RecyclerView.ItemDecoration {

    private final View mView;
    private final boolean mHorizontal;
    private final float mParallax;
    private final float mShadowSize;
    private final int mColumns;
    private final Paint mShadowPaint;

    public HeaderDecoration(View view, boolean scrollsHorizontally, float parallax, float shadowSize, int columns) {
        mView = view;
        mHorizontal = scrollsHorizontally;
        mParallax = parallax;
        mShadowSize = shadowSize;
        mColumns = columns;

        if (mShadowSize > 0) {
            mShadowPaint = new Paint();
            mShadowPaint.setShader(mHorizontal ?
                    new LinearGradient(mShadowSize, 0, 0, 0,
                            new int[]{Color.argb(55, 0, 0, 0), Color.argb(55, 0, 0, 0), Color.argb(3, 0, 0, 0)},
                            new float[]{0f, .5f, 1f},
                            Shader.TileMode.CLAMP) :
                    new LinearGradient(0, mShadowSize, 0, 0,
                            new int[]{Color.argb(55, 0, 0, 0), Color.argb(55, 0, 0, 0), Color.argb(3, 0, 0, 0)},
                            new float[]{0f, .5f, 1f},
                            Shader.TileMode.CLAMP));
        } else {
            mShadowPaint = null;
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void onDraw(Canvas c, RecyclerView parent, RecyclerView.State state) {
        super.onDraw(c, parent, state);
        // layout basically just gets drawn on the reserved space on top of the first view
        mView.layout(parent.getLeft(), 0, parent.getRight(), mView.getMeasuredHeight());

        for (int i = 0; i < parent.getChildCount(); i++) {
            View view = parent.getChildAt(i);
            if (parent.getChildAdapterPosition(view) == 0) {
                c.save();
                if (mHorizontal) {
                    c.clipRect(parent.getLeft(), parent.getTop(), view.getLeft(), parent.getBottom());
                    final int width = mView.getMeasuredWidth();
                    final float left = (view.getLeft() - width) * mParallax;
                    c.translate(left, 0);
                    mView.draw(c);
                    if (mShadowSize > 0) {
                        c.translate(view.getLeft() - left - mShadowSize, 0);
                        c.drawRect(parent.getLeft(), parent.getTop(), mShadowSize, parent.getBottom(), mShadowPaint);
                    }
                } else {
                    c.clipRect(parent.getLeft(), parent.getTop(), parent.getRight(), view.getTop());
                    final int height = mView.getMeasuredHeight();
                    final float top = (view.getTop() - height) * mParallax;
                    c.translate(0, top);
                    mView.draw(c);
                    if (mShadowSize > 0) {
                        c.translate(0, view.getTop() - top - mShadowSize);
                        c.drawRect(parent.getLeft(), parent.getTop(), parent.getRight(), mShadowSize, mShadowPaint);
                    }
                }
                c.restore();
                break;
            }
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void getItemOffsets(Rect outRect, View view, RecyclerView parent, RecyclerView.State state) {
        if (parent.getChildAdapterPosition(view) < mColumns) {
            if (mHorizontal) {
                if (mView.getMeasuredWidth() <= 0) {
                    mView.measure(View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(parent.getMeasuredWidth(), View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST),
                            View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(parent.getMeasuredHeight(), View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST));
                }
                outRect.set(mView.getMeasuredWidth(), 0, 0, 0);
            } else {
                if (mView.getMeasuredHeight() <= 0) {
                    mView.measure(View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(parent.getMeasuredWidth(), View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST),
                            View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(parent.getMeasuredHeight(), View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST));
                }
                outRect.set(0, mView.getMeasuredHeight(), 0, 0);
            }
        } else {
            outRect.setEmpty();
        }
    }
}

Please note: The GitHub project is my personal playground. It is not thorougly tested, which is why there is no library yet.

What does it do?

An ItemDecoration is additional drawing to an item of a list. In this case, a decoration is drawn to the top of the first item.

The view gets measured and laid out, then it is drawn to the top of the first item. If a parallax effect is added it will also be clipped to the correct bounds.