In this blog post, we'll cover everything you need to know to set up a React app that's ready for deployment.
GitHub Repo: https://github.com/shivam-pawar/sample-react-app
Prerequisites
Before we begin, make sure you have Node.js and npm (or yarn) installed on your machine.
Initialize a new project
Use your Command Line and navigate to the root folder of your project and enter
npm init
This will ask you some basic information like package name, author name, description, and license. With this info it will create a file called package.json
Install React and TypeScript
- Install React and ReactDOM as dependencies:
npm install react react-dom
- Install TypeScript and its types as dev dependencies:
npm install --save-dev typescript @types/react @types/react-dom
Set up Webpack
Install the necessary Webpack dependencies:
npm install --save-dev webpack webpack-cli webpack-dev-server html-webpack-plugin webpack-merge ts-loader terser-webpack-plugin uglify-js
Your package.json will look like this:
-
Create a webpack folder at root/project level and inside that add these 3 config files.
- webpack.common.js
- webpack.config.js
- webpack.dev.js
- webpack.prod.js
-
Create a src folder at root/project level and inside that add these 2 files.
- index.tsx
- index.html
Copy paste below code in index.tsx
import React from "react";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
const App = () => {
return <div>Hello, React!</div>;
};
const rootElement = document.getElementById("root") as Element;
const root = createRoot(rootElement);
root.render(<App />);
- Copy paste below code in index.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>My React App</title>
</head>
<body>
<div id="root"></div>
</body>
</html>
Now lets update the webpack config files.
- webpack.common.js
const path = require("path");
const HtmlWebpackPlugin = require("html-webpack-plugin");
module.exports = {
entry: path.resolve(__dirname, "..", "./src/index.tsx"),
output: {
path: path.resolve(__dirname, "..", "dist"),
filename: "bundle.js",
},
resolve: {
extensions: [".ts", ".tsx", ".js"],
},
module: {
rules: [
{
test: /\.(ts|js)x?$/,
use: "ts-loader",
exclude: /node_modules/,
},
],
},
plugins: [
new HtmlWebpackPlugin({
template: path.resolve(__dirname, "..", "./src/index.html"),
}),
],
devServer: {
static: "./dist",
},
};
- webpack.config.js
const { merge } = require("webpack-merge");
const commonConfig = require("./webpack.common");
module.exports = (envVars) => {
const { env } = envVars;
const envConfig = require(`./webpack.${env}.js`);
const config = merge(commonConfig, envConfig);
return config;
};
- webpack.dev.js
const webpack = require("webpack");
module.exports = {
mode: "development",
devtool: "cheap-module-source-map",
devServer: {
hot: true,
open: true,
},
plugins: [
new webpack.DefinePlugin({
"process.env.name": JSON.stringify("development"),
}),
],
};
- webpack.prod.js
const webpack = require("webpack");
const TerserPlugin = require("terser-webpack-plugin");
module.exports = {
mode: "production",
devtool: false,
plugins: [
new webpack.DefinePlugin({
"process.env.name": JSON.stringify("production"),
}),
],
optimization: {
minimize: true,
minimizer: [
new TerserPlugin({
minify: TerserPlugin.uglifyJsMinify,
extractComments: true,
parallel: true,
test: /\.(ts|js)x?$/,
terserOptions: {
compress: {
drop_console: true,
},
output: {
comments: false,
},
},
}),
],
},
};
- Update/replace the scripts section in your package.json file:
"scripts": {
"start": "webpack serve --config webpack/webpack.config.js --env env=dev",
"build": "webpack --config webpack/webpack.config.js --env env=prod"
}
Setup TypeScript
At root/project level add tsconfig.json file and paste below config in it.
{
"compilerOptions": {
"target": "ES6",
"lib": [
"DOM",
"ESNext"
],
"jsx": "react-jsx",
"module": "ESNext",
"moduleResolution": "Node",
"types": ["react", "react-dom", "@types/react", "@types/react-dom"],
"resolveJsonModule": true,
"isolatedModules": true,
"esModuleInterop": true,
"forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
"strict": true,
"skipLibCheck": true
}
}
Now your project folder and file structure will look like this:
Run the development server
In terminal/command prompt run below command to run your development server:
npm start
Your React app should now be running at http://localhost:8080.
Set up ESLint and Prettier
- Install ESLint, Prettier, and the necessary plugins:
npm install --save-dev eslint eslint-config-prettier eslint-plugin-prettier @typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin @typescript-eslint/parser eslint-plugin-react
- Create an .eslintrc.json file in the root of your project with the following configuration:
{
"env": {
"browser": true,
"es2021": true
},
"extends": [
"eslint:recommended",
"plugin:react/recommended",
"plugin:@typescript-eslint/recommended",
"prettier"
],
"parser": "@typescript-eslint/parser",
"parserOptions": {
"ecmaFeatures": {
"jsx": true
},
"ecmaVersion": 12,
"sourceType": "module"
},
"plugins": [
"react",
"@typescript-eslint",
"prettier"
],
"rules": {
"prettier/prettier": "error"
}
}
- Create a .prettierrc file in the root of your project with the following configuration:
{
"semi": true,
"trailingComma": "all",
"singleQuote": false,
"printWidth": 100,
"tabWidth": 2
}
- Update the scripts section in your package.json file:
"scripts": {
"start": "webpack serve --config webpack/webpack.config.js --env env=dev",
"build": "webpack --config webpack/webpack.config.js --env env=prod",
"lint": "eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx --fix"
}
- Run ESLint to check for any linting issues:
npm run lint
Your final package.json will look like this:
Your final folder structure will look like this:
Conclusion
By following this guide, you now have a production-ready React application setup with Webpack, TypeScript, ESLint and Prettier. This setup provides a solid foundation for building scalable and maintainable React applications with best practices in place.
Remember to keep your dependencies up-to-date and continue learning about these tools to optimize your development workflow further.
Happy coding!❤️
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