Building a Robust React App: A Step-by-Step Guide
When it comes to building complex React projects, having a solid foundation is crucial for success. A robust setup can significantly improve the developer experience, allowing your team to focus on what matters most – creating an amazing product.
Laying the Groundwork
To create a robust React app, you’ll need four essential tools: TypeScript, React Testing Library, ESLint, and Prettier. These tools will help you write better code, ensure consistency, and catch errors early on.
Getting Started with Create React App
Let’s begin by creating a new React app using Create React App. This will give us a solid foundation to build upon. We’ll also add a script to our package.json file to make type checking easier.
Setting Up ESLint
Next, we’ll install ESLint and configure it to our needs. This will help us catch errors and enforce coding standards. We’ll also add a lint script to our package.json file to make it easy to run lint checks.
Formatting with Prettier
Now, let’s install Prettier and create a basic config file. This will ensure our code is formatted consistently across the project. We’ll also add a script to our package.json file to check for formatting errors.
Automating with Husky and Lint-Staged
To take our setup to the next level, we’ll add a pre-commit hook using Husky and lint-staged. This will run checks on our code before we commit, ensuring we catch errors early on. We’ll also configure our hook to run on staged files only, making the process more efficient.
Taking it to the Next Level with Continuous Integration
While our pre-commit hook is useful, it has its limitations. To ensure our app builds successfully and is ready for deployment, we need to set up a continuous integration workflow using GitHub Actions. This will run comprehensive checks on our entire project, giving us confidence in our code.
Putting it all Together
By combining these tools and automating our workflow, we can create a robust React app that’s easy to maintain and scale. Remember, this is just the starting point, and you’ll need to tailor your setup to your project’s specific needs.
Want to Learn More?
Check out our working example repo to see the code in action. Follow us on Twitter for more tech content, and happy coding!