Create a React Library

This guide will bootstrap a publishable React library with Vite, with the following features:

• Built using Vite
• Typechecking with TypeScript
• Code formatting with Prettier

Setup base project

1. Follow this guide to create a React SPA

Configure Library Mode

1. Create src/index.ts with the exports for your library

   src/index.ts

   import App from "./App";
   
   export { App };
   

2. Update the vite.config.js with the following

   vite.config.js

   import { resolve } from "path";
   import { defineConfig } from "vite";
   import packageJson from "./package.json";
   
   export default defineConfig({
       build: {
           lib: {
               // Could also be a dictionary or array of multiple entry points
               entry: resolve(__dirname, "src/index.ts"),
               name: "MyLib",
               // Name the same as the source file
               fileName: "index",
               // Output ESM modules only
               formats: ["es"],
           },
           rollupOptions: {
               external: [
                   ...Object.keys(packageJson.peerDependencies),
                   // Include jsx runtime too
                   "react/jsx-runtime",
                   // (only needed if using MUI) Mark all mui imports as external
                   /@mui\/.*/,
               ],
           },
       },
   });
   

3. Fix TypeScript errors in the config by editing tsconfig.node.json

   tsconfig.node.json

   {
       "compilerOptions": {
           "resolveJsonModule": true
       },
       "include": ["vite.config.ts", "package.json"]
   }
   

4. Add @types/node package to resolve "path" package

   pnpm i -D @types/node
   

5. Update the package.json to include the exports and setup dependencies

   package.json

   {
       "type": "module",
       "files": ["dist"],
       "module": "./dist/index.js",
       "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
       "exports": {
           ".": {
               "import": "./dist/index.js",
           }
       },
       "scripts": {
           // Ensure that `tsc` is ran after `vite build`,
           // otherwise `vite build` will clear what `tsc` generates
           "build": "vite build && tsc"
       },
       // Rename "dependencies" to "peerDependencies"
       "peerDependencies": {
           "react": "^18.2.0",
           "react-dom": "^18.2.0"
       },
       // Add all "peerDependencies" to "devDependencies"
       "devDependencies": {
           "react": "^18.2.0",
           "react-dom": "^18.2.0"
       }
   }
   

6. Configure TypeScript to export types by editing tsconfig.json

   tsconfig.json

   {
       "compilerOptions": {
           // Remove "noEmit" line
           "emitDeclarationOnly": true
           "outDir": "dist",
           "declaration": true,
       }
   }
   

Next Steps

• Create a design system by adding Storybook for component development

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Last update: August 12, 2023
Created: June 3, 2023