Best React Developer Tools for Programmers

React is a popular programming language for web app development. As powered by Facebook, It is one of the most loved javascript library for UI development.

There are a number of tools available for React that makes it ideal for the programming and east to use.

We will discuss here the top react developer tools that every developer has to know. Let’s start with one by one.

1. React Extension Pack for VS Studio

Visual Studio is a popular IDE for JavaScript developers. You don't have to use Visual Studio to be a successful JavaScript developer. There are excellent alternatives like Sublime and IntelliJ. ).

VS is a strong community, so I thought I'd write a few words about React Extension pack.

This bundle contains extensions that will help you with react-related tasks. VS is great at parsing and providing snippets and tools for generic JS needs. But this pack takes it to another level. This pack contains:

ReactJS Code Snippets - It offers 40 (yes, that's right! There are 34 propType-specific snippets and snippets that can be used for general purposes. These snippets, in case your are too lazy to do the math, total 74.

ES Line: This adds support to the command-line tool of the same name. It will integrate it into your IDE, help you improve the syntax, and set your own coding style. In some cases, it even finds and fixes errors automatically for you.

npm. Jumping from your IDE into the terminal to install a dependency, restart the server, or run an npm-specific command is tedious. This extension allows you to execute npm commands directly from the command palette.

JS E6 Snippets: Other JS-generic short snippets? You should! The set of snippets that you will receive this time will contain another 40 snippets. Although they aren't specific, this set of snippets will include another 40 snippets. This is a must-have if you work with JavaScript.

Search node_modules - How often have you asked yourself if you'd installed this module? How many times have you found yourself looking through the code of an extension to find out why it wasn't working as you had hoped? This extension makes it easy to find and open the module in your editor. Although it may sound odd, it will be very useful for you.

npm IntelliSense. The name may not accurately describe the time-saver that this extension is. It will help you to auto-complete extensions names whenever you import them into your code. You might lose track of all the modules you have installed on large projects. This one allows you to quickly list all modules installed, search through them quickly, and then insert the appropriate snippet into your code.

Path intelliSense - This extension will allow you to auto-complete your path for local imports. This saves time, especially if you aren't the only person working on a large project. Having to remember all filenames and paths can become a major headache.

These are seven small extensions that add value to projects but pack a lot of punch when combined. This line will guide you through how to install the extension pack.

ext install jawandarajbir.react-vscode-extension-pack

2. React Styleguideist

Another interactive and interesting tool that allows you to showcase your React components libraries. (Starting to see a pattern? ).

This will allow you to add this to your React projects.

$ npm install --save-dev react-styleguidist

Start your style guide server now by running:

$ npx styleguidist server

Styleguideist can be used on projects of all sizes. For more information, visit their complete documentation or their demo.

3. Create React App

This article should be enough to show the popularity of React for front-end developers. Many of the tools discussed here require that you follow a standard project structure in order to make them work properly. There are many ways of doing it, and it is difficult to provide guidance if there isn't one.

Here's where Facebook's create react app comes in. This tool lets you bootstrap a new React project using just one command line. 

This tool does all the work for you, so forget about worrying about how to structure your project or what support modules to include.

You don't need to install any software to use this app if you have npx already installed. All you have to do is to type the following line:

$ npx create-react-app my-app

You can also use NPM or yarn if you don't like npx.

$ npm init react-app my-app

Or

$ yarn create react-app my-app

You will need Node.js installed on your system in either version 8.16.0, 10.16.0, or higher.

You can get a folder structure like this by using either of these commands:

my-app +-- README.md +-- node_modules +-- package.json +-- .gitignore +-- public | +-- favicon.ico | +-- index.html | +-- manifest.json +-- src +-- App.css +-- App.js +-- App.test.js +-- index.css +-- index.js +-- logo.svg +-- serviceWorker.js

Congrats! Congratulations! Just:

$ cd $ my-app $ #or yarn begin depending on your preference

This will start a dev server on http://localhost:3000 which will reload the code everytime you edit it, so you're set!

Their full documentation is available if you are planning to use it. There is so much more; you won't believe what you are seeing.

4. React Bootstrap

Bootstrap - Have you heard of it? It is a very popular, if not the most well-known, CSS framework. It provides a collection of JavaScript functions and CSS classes that enable you to create beautiful UIs without needing to be an expert in either of these technologies.

The React Bootstrap creators have rewritten the JS bits to make them compatible with React. You can now use their components as if React components (because they are now).

You can add it to your project using NPM

$ npm - install react-bootstrap bootstrap

Once you are done, you can insert the stylesheet into your App.js and src/index.js files. (Remember how we assume there is a pre-defined structure to this project).

5. React-Proto

Reactproto might be the tool you need if you are less interested in code and more interested in visual design. It allows you to prototype UIs with drag&drop, instead of writing code.

You are not going to create a complete UI from scratch. This is just for prototyping the components that you require. To do this, you will need to start with an image, usually provided by your designer, and then use the tool to mark any potential components and give them names, props, and a hierarchy. Once you are done, you will be able export them to actual code that you can customize later.

The animation shows how the user selects a section from the image and creates a component.

This is a great tool to save time on a project you already have designed.

The best thing? The best part? It is compatible with all major operating systems.

6. Why Did You Render

This tool is especially useful when you are trying to debug your components' behavior. It can be difficult to figure out when components are rendered or re-renewed when they shouldn’t, especially if you’re just getting started with React.

This little library will allow you to monkeypatch React, which will tell you when you should avoid them. ).

It can be installed with a simple:

$ npm install @welldone-software/why-did-you-render --save

These lines will allow you to include it in your project.

Then, you can mark the components that you wish to be notified by following this:

After everything is ready and set up, you can now expect the following output:

For more information, check out the full documentation. This is definitely something to watch out for!

7. Proton Native

Last but not least, I want to discuss a way to create native desktop apps using React. This is possible because of Electron and JavaScript.

Now, Proton Native allows you to do this with React too. This tool can be used to define GUI elements using react components. 

It is compatible with all Node.js module (since it's based upon it), Redux, and it's fully cross-platform due to the nature of Proton!

To install this in your system, you will need npm installed.

$ install -g create -proton app

You should note, however, that you will need to install these requirements if you are running Linux.

libgtk-3-dev build-essential python2 pkg-config

To create an app, follow these steps:

$ create-proton-app my-app # move to your project directory $ cd my-app # run your app $ npm run start

You can find a example available from them. Or, you can review their full documentation to learn how it can be used in your own projects.

Moving Forward

Above, we have discussed the best tools for react development. You can select any tool from this list for your web development project.

Each tool have it’s own features and functionalities, so the selection criteria will be based on the scope and requirement of your project.