A mostly reasonable approach to React and JSX
- Basic Rules
- Class vs
React.createClass
- Naming
- Declaration
- Alignment
- Quotes
- Spacing
- Props
- Parentheses
- Tags
- Methods
- Ordering
isMounted
- Only include one React component per file.
- Always use JSX syntax.
- Do not use
React.createElement
unless you're initializing the app from a file that is not JSX.
- Use
class extends React.Component
unless you have a very good reason to use mixins.
eslint rules: react/prefer-es6-class
.
```javascript
// bad
const Listing = React.createClass({
render() {
return <div />;
}
});
// good
class Listing extends React.Component {
render() {
return <div />;
}
}
```
- Extensions: Use
.jsx
extension for React components. - Filename: Use PascalCase for filenames. E.g.,
ReservationCard.jsx
. - Reference Naming: Use PascalCase for React components and camelCase for their instances.
eslint rules: react/jsx-pascal-case
.
```javascript
// bad
import reservationCard from './ReservationCard';
// good
import ReservationCard from './ReservationCard';
// bad
const ReservationItem = <ReservationCard />;
// good
const reservationItem = <ReservationCard />;
```
-
Component Naming: Use the filename as the component name. For example,
ReservationCard.jsx
should have a reference name ofReservationCard
. However, for root components of a directory, useindex.jsx
as the filename and use the directory name as the component name:// bad import Footer from './Footer/Footer'; // bad import Footer from './Footer/index'; // good import Footer from './Footer';
-
Do not use
displayName
for naming components. Instead, name the component by reference.// bad export default React.createClass({ displayName: 'ReservationCard', // stuff goes here }); // good export default class ReservationCard extends React.Component { }
- Follow these alignment styles for JSX syntax
eslint rules: react/jsx-closing-bracket-location
.
```javascript
// bad
<Foo superLongParam="bar"
anotherSuperLongParam="baz" />
// good
<Foo
superLongParam="bar"
anotherSuperLongParam="baz"
/>
// if props fit in one line then keep it on the same line
<Foo bar="bar" />
// children get indented normally
<Foo
superLongParam="bar"
anotherSuperLongParam="baz"
>
<Spazz />
</Foo>
```
- Always use double quotes (
"
) for JSX attributes, but single quotes for all other JS.
Why? JSX attributes can't contain escaped quotes, so double quotes make conjunctions like
"don't"
easier to type. Regular HTML attributes also typically use double quotes instead of single, so JSX attributes mirror this convention.
eslint rules: jsx-quotes
.
```javascript
// bad
<Foo bar='bar' />
// good
<Foo bar="bar" />
// bad
<Foo style={{ left: "20px" }} />
// good
<Foo style={{ left: '20px' }} />
```
-
Always include a single space in your self-closing tag.
// bad <Foo/> // very bad <Foo /> // bad <Foo /> // good <Foo />
-
Always use camelCase for prop names.
// bad <Foo UserName="hello" phone_number={12345678} /> // good <Foo userName="hello" phoneNumber={12345678} />
-
Omit the value of the prop when it is explicitly
true
.
eslint rules: react/jsx-boolean-value
.
```javascript
// bad
<Foo
hidden={true}
/>
// good
<Foo
hidden
/>
```
- Wrap JSX tags in parentheses when they span more than one line.
eslint rules: react/wrap-multilines
.
```javascript
// bad
render() {
return <MyComponent className="long body" foo="bar">
<MyChild />
</MyComponent>;
}
// good
render() {
return (
<MyComponent className="long body" foo="bar">
<MyChild />
</MyComponent>
);
}
// good, when single line
render() {
const body = <div>hello</div>;
return <MyComponent>{body}</MyComponent>;
}
```
- Always self-close tags that have no children.
eslint rules: react/self-closing-comp
.
```javascript
// bad
<Foo className="stuff"></Foo>
// good
<Foo className="stuff" />
```
- If your component has multi-line properties, close its tag on a new line.
eslint rules: react/jsx-closing-bracket-location
.
```javascript
// bad
<Foo
bar="bar"
baz="baz" />
// good
<Foo
bar="bar"
baz="baz"
/>
```
- Bind event handlers for the render method in the constructor.
Why? A bind call in a the render path creates a brand new function on every single render.
eslint rules: react/jsx-no-bind
.
```javascript
// bad
class extends React.Component {
onClickDiv() {
// do stuff
}
render() {
return <div onClick={this.onClickDiv.bind(this)} />
}
}
// good
class extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
this.onClickDiv = this.onClickDiv.bind(this);
}
onClickDiv() {
// do stuff
}
render() {
return <div onClick={this.onClickDiv} />
}
}
```
-
Do not use underscore prefix for internal methods of a React component.
// bad React.createClass({ _onClickSubmit() { // do stuff }, // other stuff }); // good class extends React.Component { onClickSubmit() { // do stuff } // other stuff }
- Ordering for
class extends React.Component
:
constructor
- optional
static
methods getChildContext
componentWillMount
componentDidMount
componentWillReceiveProps
shouldComponentUpdate
componentWillUpdate
componentDidUpdate
componentWillUnmount
- clickHandlers or eventHandlers like
onClickSubmit()
oronChangeDescription()
- getter methods for
render
likegetSelectReason()
orgetFooterContent()
- Optional render methods like
renderNavigation()
orrenderProfilePicture()
render
-
How to define
propTypes
,defaultProps
,contextTypes
, etc...import React, { PropTypes } from 'react'; const propTypes = { id: PropTypes.number.isRequired, url: PropTypes.string.isRequired, text: PropTypes.string, }; const defaultProps = { text: 'Hello World', }; class Link extends React.Component { static methodsAreOk() { return true; } render() { return <a href={this.props.url} data-id={this.props.id}>{this.props.text}</a> } } Link.propTypes = propTypes; Link.defaultProps = defaultProps; export default Link;
-
Ordering for
React.createClass
:
displayName
propTypes
contextTypes
childContextTypes
mixins
statics
defaultProps
getDefaultProps
getInitialState
getChildContext
componentWillMount
componentDidMount
componentWillReceiveProps
shouldComponentUpdate
componentWillUpdate
componentDidUpdate
componentWillUnmount
- clickHandlers or eventHandlers like
onClickSubmit()
oronChangeDescription()
- getter methods for
render
likegetSelectReason()
orgetFooterContent()
- Optional render methods like
renderNavigation()
orrenderProfilePicture()
render
eslint rules: react/sort-comp
.
- Do not use
isMounted
.
Why?
isMounted
is an anti-pattern, is not available when using ES6 classes, and is on its way to being officially deprecated.
eslint rules: react/no-is-mounted
.