React + TypeScript Patterns

Overview

Modern React 19+ patterns with TypeScript for building robust frontend applications.

Component Patterns

Function Components with TypeScript

interface UserCardProps {
  user: User;
  onSelect?: (user: User) => void;
  className?: string;
}

export function UserCard({ user, onSelect, className }: UserCardProps) {
  return (
    <div className={className} onClick={() => onSelect?.(user)}>
      <h3>{user.name}</h3>
      <p>{user.email}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Props with Children

interface ContainerProps {
  children: React.ReactNode;
  title?: string;
}

export function Container({ children, title }: ContainerProps) {
  return (
    <div className="container">
      {title && <h2>{title}</h2>}
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

Generic Components

interface ListProps<T> {
  items: T[];
  renderItem: (item: T) => React.ReactNode;
  keyExtractor: (item: T) => string;
}

export function List<T>({ items, renderItem, keyExtractor }: ListProps<T>) {
  return (
    <ul>
      {items.map(item => (
        <li key={keyExtractor(item)}>{renderItem(item)}</li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

Hooks Patterns

Custom Hook with TypeScript

interface UseCounterOptions {
  initialValue?: number;
  min?: number;
  max?: number;
}

export function useCounter({ initialValue = 0, min, max }: UseCounterOptions = {}) {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(initialValue);

  const increment = useCallback(() => {
    setCount(c => (max !== undefined ? Math.min(c + 1, max) : c + 1));
  }, [max]);

  const decrement = useCallback(() => {
    setCount(c => (min !== undefined ? Math.max(c - 1, min) : c - 1));
  }, [min]);

  const reset = useCallback(() => setCount(initialValue), [initialValue]);

  return { count, increment, decrement, reset };
}

Data Fetching Hook

interface UseFetchResult<T> {
  data: T | null;
  loading: boolean;
  error: Error | null;
  refetch: () => Promise<void>;
}

export function useFetch<T>(url: string): UseFetchResult<T> {
  const [data, setData] = useState<T | null>(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  const [error, setError] = useState<Error | null>(null);

  const fetchData = useCallback(async () => {
    setLoading(true);
    setError(null);
    try {
      const response = await fetch(url);
      if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
      const result = await response.json();
      setData(result);
    } catch (e) {
      setError(e instanceof Error ? e : new Error('Unknown error'));
    } finally {
      setLoading(false);
    }
  }, [url]);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetchData();
  }, [fetchData]);

  return { data, loading, error, refetch: fetchData };
}

State Management

Context with TypeScript

interface AuthContextValue {
  user: User | null;
  login: (credentials: Credentials) => Promise<void>;
  logout: () => void;
  isAuthenticated: boolean;
}

const AuthContext = createContext<AuthContextValue | null>(null);

export function AuthProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const [user, setUser] = useState<User | null>(null);

  const login = async (credentials: Credentials) => {
    const user = await authService.login(credentials);
    setUser(user);
  };

  const logout = () => {
    authService.logout();
    setUser(null);
  };

  return (
    <AuthContext.Provider
      value={{ user, login, logout, isAuthenticated: !!user }}
    >
      {children}
    </AuthContext.Provider>
  );
}

export function useAuth() {
  const context = useContext(AuthContext);
  if (!context) throw new Error('useAuth must be used within AuthProvider');
  return context;
}

Zustand Store

interface StoreState {
  count: number;
  users: User[];
  increment: () => void;
  setUsers: (users: User[]) => void;
}

export const useStore = create<StoreState>((set) => ({
  count: 0,
  users: [],
  increment: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
  setUsers: (users) => set({ users }),
}));

TanStack Query Patterns

Basic Query

export function useUser(userId: string) {
  return useQuery({
    queryKey: ['user', userId],
    queryFn: () => api.getUser(userId),
    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // 5 minutes
  });
}

// Usage
function UserProfile({ userId }: { userId: string }) {
  const { data: user, isLoading, error } = useUser(userId);

  if (isLoading) return <Spinner />;
  if (error) return <ErrorMessage error={error} />;
  if (!user) return <NotFound />;

  return <UserCard user={user} />;
}

Mutation with Optimistic Updates

export function useUpdateUser() {
  const queryClient = useQueryClient();

  return useMutation({
    mutationFn: (data: UpdateUserInput) => api.updateUser(data),
    onMutate: async (newData) => {
      await queryClient.cancelQueries({ queryKey: ['user', newData.id] });
      const previous = queryClient.getQueryData(['user', newData.id]);
      queryClient.setQueryData(['user', newData.id], (old: User) => ({
        ...old,
        ...newData,
      }));
      return { previous };
    },
    onError: (err, newData, context) => {
      queryClient.setQueryData(['user', newData.id], context?.previous);
    },
    onSettled: (data, error, variables) => {
      queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['user', variables.id] });
    },
  });
}

Form Handling

React Hook Form with Zod

const userSchema = z.object({
  name: z.string().min(2, 'Name must be at least 2 characters'),
  email: z.string().email('Invalid email'),
  age: z.number().min(18, 'Must be 18 or older'),
});

type UserFormData = z.infer<typeof userSchema>;

export function UserForm({ onSubmit }: { onSubmit: (data: UserFormData) => void }) {
  const {
    register,
    handleSubmit,
    formState: { errors, isSubmitting },
  } = useForm<UserFormData>({
    resolver: zodResolver(userSchema),
  });

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit(onSubmit)}>
      <input {...register('name')} placeholder="Name" />
      {errors.name && <span>{errors.name.message}</span>}

      <input {...register('email')} type="email" placeholder="Email" />
      {errors.email && <span>{errors.email.message}</span>}

      <input {...register('age', { valueAsNumber: true })} type="number" />
      {errors.age && <span>{errors.age.message}</span>}

      <button type="submit" disabled={isSubmitting}>
        {isSubmitting ? 'Saving...' : 'Save'}
      </button>
    </form>
  );
}

Error Handling

Error Boundary

interface ErrorBoundaryProps {
  children: React.ReactNode;
  fallback?: React.ReactNode;
}

interface ErrorBoundaryState {
  hasError: boolean;
  error: Error | null;
}

export class ErrorBoundary extends Component<ErrorBoundaryProps, ErrorBoundaryState> {
  state: ErrorBoundaryState = { hasError: false, error: null };

  static getDerivedStateFromError(error: Error): ErrorBoundaryState {
    return { hasError: true, error };
  }

  componentDidCatch(error: Error, errorInfo: ErrorInfo) {
    console.error('ErrorBoundary caught:', error, errorInfo);
  }

  render() {
    if (this.state.hasError) {
      return this.props.fallback ?? <DefaultErrorFallback error={this.state.error} />;
    }
    return this.props.children;
  }
}

Performance Optimization

Memoization

// Memoize expensive computations
const sortedUsers = useMemo(() => {
  return users.sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name));
}, [users]);

// Memoize callbacks
const handleClick = useCallback((id: string) => {
  setSelectedId(id);
}, []);

// Memoize components
const MemoizedUserCard = memo(UserCard);

Code Splitting

// Lazy load components
const AdminPanel = lazy(() => import('./AdminPanel'));

function App() {
  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<Spinner />}>
      <AdminPanel />
    </Suspense>
  );
}

File Structure

src/
├── components/
│   ├── common/           # Shared components
│   │   ├── Button/
│   │   │   ├── Button.tsx
│   │   │   ├── Button.test.tsx
│   │   │   └── index.ts
│   │   └── Input/
│   ├── features/         # Feature components
│   │   ├── auth/
│   │   └── users/
│   └── layout/           # Layout components
├── hooks/                # Custom hooks
├── stores/               # State management
├── services/             # API services
├── types/                # TypeScript types
├── utils/                # Utilities
└── App.tsx

Type Definitions

API Response Types

interface ApiResponse<T> {
  data: T;
  message: string;
  success: boolean;
}

interface PaginatedResponse<T> {
  items: T[];
  total: number;
  page: number;
  pageSize: number;
}

Event Handler Types

type ClickHandler = React.MouseEventHandler<HTMLButtonElement>;
type ChangeHandler = React.ChangeEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>;
type SubmitHandler = React.FormEventHandler<HTMLFormElement>;

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React + TypeScript patterns for modern frontend development

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React 19 Features

Compiler-Friendly Code

The React Compiler automatically optimizes components for performance. Write code that works well with it:

Best Practices:

• Keep components pure and props serializable
• Derive values during render (don't stash in refs unnecessarily)
• Keep event handlers inline unless they close over large mutable objects
• Verify compiler is working (DevTools ✨ badge)
• Opt-out problematic components with "use no memo" while refactoring

Example - Pure Component:

// ✅ Compiler-friendly - pure function
function UserCard({ user }: { user: User }) {
  const displayName = `${user.firstName} ${user.lastName}`
  const isVIP = user.points > 1000

  return (
    <div>
      <h2>{displayName}</h2>
      {isVIP && <Badge>VIP</Badge>}
    </div>
  )
}

// ❌ Avoid - unnecessary effects
function UserCard({ user }: { user: User }) {
  const [displayName, setDisplayName] = useState('')

  useEffect(() => {
    setDisplayName(`${user.firstName} ${user.lastName}`)
  }, [user])

  return <div><h2>{displayName}</h2></div>
}

Verification:

• Open React DevTools
• Look for "Memo ✨" badge on components
• If missing, component wasn't optimized (check for violations)

Opt-Out When Needed:

'use no memo'

// Component code that can't be optimized yet
function ProblematicComponent() {
  // ... code with compiler issues
}

Actions & Forms

For SPA mutations, choose one approach per feature:

• React 19 Actions: <form action={fn}>, useActionState, useOptimistic
• TanStack Query: useMutation

Don't duplicate logic between both approaches.

React 19 Actions (Form-Centric)

Best for:

• Form submissions
• Simple CRUD operations
• When you want form validation built-in

Basic Action:

async function createTodoAction(formData: FormData) {
  const text = formData.get('text') as string

  // Validation
  if (!text || text.length < 3) {
    return { error: 'Text must be at least 3 characters' }
  }

  // API call
  await api.post('/todos', { text })

  return { success: true }
}

// Component
function TodoForm() {
  return (
    <form action={createTodoAction}>
      <input name="text" required />
      <button type="submit">Add Todo</button>
    </form>
  )
}

With State (useActionState):

import { useActionState } from 'react'

function TodoForm() {
  const [state, formAction, isPending] = useActionState(
    createTodoAction,
    { error: null, success: false }
  )

  return (
    <form action={formAction}>
      {state.error && <ErrorMessage>{state.error}</ErrorMessage>}
      <input name="text" required />
      <button type="submit" disabled={isPending}>
        {isPending ? 'Adding...' : 'Add Todo'}
      </button>
    </form>
  )
}

With Optimistic Updates (useOptimistic):

import { useOptimistic } from 'react'

function TodoList({ initialTodos }: { initialTodos: Todo[] }) {
  const [optimisticTodos, addOptimisticTodo] = useOptimistic(
    initialTodos,
    (state, newTodo: string) => [
      ...state,
      { id: `temp-${Date.now()}`, text: newTodo, completed: false }
    ]
  )

  async function handleSubmit(formData: FormData) {
    const text = formData.get('text') as string
    addOptimisticTodo(text)

    await createTodoAction(formData)
  }

  return (
    <>
      <ul>
        {optimisticTodos.map(todo => (
          <li key={todo.id} style={{ opacity: todo.id.startsWith('temp-') ? 0.5 : 1 }}>
            {todo.text}
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
      <form action={handleSubmit}>
        <input name="text" required />
        <button type="submit">Add</button>
      </form>
    </>
  )
}

The use() Hook

The use hook unwraps Promises and Context, enabling new patterns.

With Promises:

import { use, Suspense } from 'react'

function UserProfile({ userPromise }: { userPromise: Promise<User> }) {
  const user = use(userPromise)

  return <div>{user.name}</div>
}

// Usage
function App() {
  const userPromise = fetchUser(1)

  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<Spinner />}>
      <UserProfile userPromise={userPromise} />
    </Suspense>
  )
}

With Context:

import { use, createContext } from 'react'

const ThemeContext = createContext<string>('light')

function Button() {
  const theme = use(ThemeContext)
  return <button className={theme}>Click me</button>
}

When to Use:

• Primarily useful with Suspense/data primitives and RSC (React Server Components)
• For SPA-only apps, prefer TanStack Query + Router loaders for data fetching
• use shines when you already have a Promise from a parent component

Component Composition Patterns

Compound Components:

// ✅ Good - composable, flexible
<Card>
  <Card.Header>
    <Card.Title>Dashboard</Card.Title>
  </Card.Header>
  <Card.Content>
    {/* content */}
  </Card.Content>
</Card>

// Implementation
function Card({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <div className="card">{children}</div>
}

Card.Header = function CardHeader({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <header className="card-header">{children}</header>
}

Card.Title = function CardTitle({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <h2 className="card-title">{children}</h2>
}

Card.Content = function CardContent({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <div className="card-content">{children}</div>
}

Decision Guide: Actions vs Query Mutations

Scenario	Recommendation
Form submission with validation	React Actions
Button click mutation	TanStack Query
Needs optimistic updates + rollback	TanStack Query
Integrates with existing cache	TanStack Query
SSR/RSC application	React Actions
SPA with complex data flow	TanStack Query
Simple CRUD with forms	React Actions

Rule of Thumb: For SPAs with TanStack Query already in use, prefer Query mutations for consistency. Only use Actions for form-heavy features where the form-centric API is beneficial.

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Performance Best Practices

Security

XSS Prevention:

// ❌ Dangerous
<div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: userInput }} />

// ✅ Sanitize first
import DOMPurify from 'dompurify'

<div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ 
  __html: DOMPurify.sanitize(userInput) 
}} />

// ✅ Best - avoid dangerouslySetInnerHTML
<div>{userInput}</div>

Environment Variables:

// ❌ Exposes secrets
const API_KEY = process.env.VITE_SECRET_API_KEY

// ✅ Separate public/private
// Public (can be in client): VITE_PUBLIC_API_URL
// Private (server only): SECRET_API_KEY

Related Skills

• tanstack-query - Server state management and data fetching
• tanstack-router - Type-safe file-based routing
• shadcn-ui - Component library patterns
• browser-debugging - Browser testing and debugging
• state-management - Zustand and other state management patterns
• testing-frontend - Testing React components with Vitest and RTL