Quick Reference

When to Use This Skill

Use for React TypeScript integration:

• Typing component props and children
• Handling events with proper types
• Building generic reusable components
• Creating type-safe context and hooks
• Using utility types for prop manipulation
• Implementing polymorphic components

For React basics: see react-fundamentals-19

React with TypeScript

Component Props

Basic Props Types

// Inline props type
function Greeting({ name, age }: { name: string; age: number }) {
  return <p>Hello {name}, you are {age} years old</p>;
}

// Interface for props
interface UserCardProps {
  name: string;
  email: string;
  avatar?: string;  // Optional prop
  role: 'admin' | 'user' | 'guest';  // Union type
}

function UserCard({ name, email, avatar, role }: UserCardProps) {
  return (
    <div className="user-card">
      {avatar && <img src={avatar} alt={name} />}
      <h3>{name}</h3>
      <p>{email}</p>
      <span className={`badge-${role}`}>{role}</span>
    </div>
  );
}

// Type alias
type ButtonVariant = 'primary' | 'secondary' | 'danger';
type ButtonSize = 'sm' | 'md' | 'lg';

type ButtonProps = {
  variant?: ButtonVariant;
  size?: ButtonSize;
  children: React.ReactNode;
  onClick?: () => void;
};

function Button({ variant = 'primary', size = 'md', children, onClick }: ButtonProps) {
  return (
    <button className={`btn btn-${variant} btn-${size}`} onClick={onClick}>
      {children}
    </button>
  );
}

Children Props

import { ReactNode, PropsWithChildren } from 'react';

// Using ReactNode
interface CardProps {
  title: string;
  children: ReactNode;
}

function Card({ title, children }: CardProps) {
  return (
    <div className="card">
      <h2>{title}</h2>
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

// Using PropsWithChildren
type ContainerProps = PropsWithChildren<{
  className?: string;
}>;

function Container({ className, children }: ContainerProps) {
  return <div className={className}>{children}</div>;
}

// Render prop children
interface DataFetcherProps<T> {
  url: string;
  children: (data: T, loading: boolean) => ReactNode;
}

function DataFetcher<T>({ url, children }: DataFetcherProps<T>) {
  const [data, setData] = useState<T | null>(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  // ... fetch logic
  return <>{children(data as T, loading)}</>;
}

Extending HTML Element Props

import { ButtonHTMLAttributes, InputHTMLAttributes, forwardRef } from 'react';

// Extend button props
interface CustomButtonProps extends ButtonHTMLAttributes<HTMLButtonElement> {
  variant?: 'primary' | 'secondary';
  isLoading?: boolean;
}

const CustomButton = forwardRef<HTMLButtonElement, CustomButtonProps>(
  ({ variant = 'primary', isLoading, children, className, disabled, ...props }, ref) => {
    return (
      <button
        ref={ref}
        className={`btn btn-${variant} ${className || ''}`}
        disabled={disabled || isLoading}
        {...props}
      >
        {isLoading ? 'Loading...' : children}
      </button>
    );
  }
);

CustomButton.displayName = 'CustomButton';

// Extend input props
interface TextInputProps extends Omit<InputHTMLAttributes<HTMLInputElement>, 'size'> {
  label: string;
  error?: string;
  size?: 'sm' | 'md' | 'lg';
}

const TextInput = forwardRef<HTMLInputElement, TextInputProps>(
  ({ label, error, size = 'md', className, ...props }, ref) => {
    return (
      <div className="form-field">
        <label>{label}</label>
        <input
          ref={ref}
          className={`input input-${size} ${error ? 'input-error' : ''} ${className || ''}`}
          {...props}
        />
        {error && <span className="error-message">{error}</span>}
      </div>
    );
  }
);

TextInput.displayName = 'TextInput';

Polymorphic Components

import { ElementType, ComponentPropsWithoutRef, ReactNode } from 'react';

type PolymorphicProps<E extends ElementType> = {
  as?: E;
  children: ReactNode;
} & Omit<ComponentPropsWithoutRef<E>, 'as' | 'children'>;

function Box<E extends ElementType = 'div'>({
  as,
  children,
  ...props
}: PolymorphicProps<E>) {
  const Component = as || 'div';
  return <Component {...props}>{children}</Component>;
}

// Usage
function App() {
  return (
    <>
      <Box>Default div</Box>
      <Box as="section" className="section">Section element</Box>
      <Box as="a" href="/about">Link element</Box>
      <Box as="button" onClick={() => console.log('clicked')}>Button</Box>
    </>
  );
}

Event Handlers

Common Event Types

import {
  ChangeEvent,
  FormEvent,
  MouseEvent,
  KeyboardEvent,
  FocusEvent,
  DragEvent,
} from 'react';

function EventExamples() {
  // Input change
  const handleInputChange = (e: ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
    console.log(e.target.value);
  };

  // Select change
  const handleSelectChange = (e: ChangeEvent<HTMLSelectElement>) => {
    console.log(e.target.value);
  };

  // Form submit
  const handleSubmit = (e: FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    const formData = new FormData(e.currentTarget);
    console.log(Object.fromEntries(formData));
  };

  // Button click
  const handleClick = (e: MouseEvent<HTMLButtonElement>) => {
    console.log(e.clientX, e.clientY);
  };

  // Keyboard
  const handleKeyDown = (e: KeyboardEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
    if (e.key === 'Enter') {
      console.log('Enter pressed');
    }
  };

  // Focus
  const handleFocus = (e: FocusEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
    console.log('Focused:', e.target.name);
  };

  // Drag
  const handleDragStart = (e: DragEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
    e.dataTransfer.setData('text/plain', 'dragging');
  };

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
      <input onChange={handleInputChange} onKeyDown={handleKeyDown} onFocus={handleFocus} />
      <select onChange={handleSelectChange}>
        <option value="1">Option 1</option>
      </select>
      <div draggable onDragStart={handleDragStart}>Drag me</div>
      <button onClick={handleClick}>Submit</button>
    </form>
  );
}

Event Handler Props

interface FormFieldProps {
  onChange: (value: string) => void;
  onBlur?: () => void;
}

function FormField({ onChange, onBlur }: FormFieldProps) {
  const handleChange = (e: ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
    onChange(e.target.value);
  };

  return <input onChange={handleChange} onBlur={onBlur} />;
}

// Generic event handler
interface ListItemProps<T> {
  item: T;
  onSelect: (item: T) => void;
  onDelete?: (item: T) => void;
}

function ListItem<T extends { id: string; name: string }>({
  item,
  onSelect,
  onDelete,
}: ListItemProps<T>) {
  return (
    <li>
      <span onClick={() => onSelect(item)}>{item.name}</span>
      {onDelete && <button onClick={() => onDelete(item)}>Delete</button>}
    </li>
  );
}

Hooks with TypeScript

useState

import { useState } from 'react';

// Inferred type
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);  // number

// Explicit type
const [user, setUser] = useState<User | null>(null);

// Union types
type Status = 'idle' | 'loading' | 'success' | 'error';
const [status, setStatus] = useState<Status>('idle');

// Complex state
interface FormState {
  name: string;
  email: string;
  errors: Record<string, string>;
}

const [form, setForm] = useState<FormState>({
  name: '',
  email: '',
  errors: {},
});

// Update partial state
setForm(prev => ({ ...prev, name: 'John' }));

useReducer

import { useReducer, Reducer } from 'react';

// State and action types
interface CounterState {
  count: number;
  step: number;
}

type CounterAction =
  | { type: 'increment' }
  | { type: 'decrement' }
  | { type: 'reset' }
  | { type: 'setStep'; payload: number };

// Reducer function
const counterReducer: Reducer<CounterState, CounterAction> = (state, action) => {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'increment':
      return { ...state, count: state.count + state.step };
    case 'decrement':
      return { ...state, count: state.count - state.step };
    case 'reset':
      return { ...state, count: 0 };
    case 'setStep':
      return { ...state, step: action.payload };
    default:
      return state;
  }
};

function Counter() {
  const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(counterReducer, { count: 0, step: 1 });

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {state.count}</p>
      <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: 'increment' })}>+</button>
      <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: 'decrement' })}>-</button>
      <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: 'setStep', payload: 5 })}>Set Step to 5</button>
    </div>
  );
}

useRef

import { useRef, useEffect } from 'react';

function RefExamples() {
  // DOM element ref
  const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
  const canvasRef = useRef<HTMLCanvasElement>(null);

  // Mutable value ref
  const countRef = useRef<number>(0);
  const timerRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    // Focus input on mount
    inputRef.current?.focus();

    // Access canvas context
    const ctx = canvasRef.current?.getContext('2d');
    if (ctx) {
      ctx.fillRect(0, 0, 100, 100);
    }

    // Start timer
    timerRef.current = setInterval(() => {
      countRef.current += 1;
    }, 1000);

    return () => {
      if (timerRef.current) {
        clearInterval(timerRef.current);
      }
    };
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      <input ref={inputRef} />
      <canvas ref={canvasRef} />
    </div>
  );
}

useContext

import { createContext, useContext, useState, ReactNode } from 'react';

// Theme context
interface Theme {
  primary: string;
  secondary: string;
  mode: 'light' | 'dark';
}

interface ThemeContextType {
  theme: Theme;
  setTheme: (theme: Theme) => void;
  toggleMode: () => void;
}

const ThemeContext = createContext<ThemeContextType | null>(null);

// Provider
function ThemeProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
  const [theme, setTheme] = useState<Theme>({
    primary: '#007bff',
    secondary: '#6c757d',
    mode: 'light',
  });

  const toggleMode = () => {
    setTheme((prev) => ({
      ...prev,
      mode: prev.mode === 'light' ? 'dark' : 'light',
    }));
  };

  return (
    <ThemeContext.Provider value={{ theme, setTheme, toggleMode }}>
      {children}
    </ThemeContext.Provider>
  );
}

// Hook with type safety
function useTheme() {
  const context = useContext(ThemeContext);
  if (!context) {
    throw new Error('useTheme must be used within ThemeProvider');
  }
  return context;
}

// Usage
function ThemedButton() {
  const { theme, toggleMode } = useTheme();

  return (
    <button
      style={{ backgroundColor: theme.primary }}
      onClick={toggleMode}
    >
      Toggle {theme.mode === 'light' ? 'Dark' : 'Light'} Mode
    </button>
  );
}

Custom Hooks

import { useState, useEffect, useCallback } from 'react';

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

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 error! status: ${response.status}`);
      }
      const result = await response.json();
      setData(result);
    } catch (err) {
      setError(err instanceof Error ? err : new Error('Unknown error'));
    } finally {
      setLoading(false);
    }
  }, [url]);

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

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

// Usage
interface User {
  id: number;
  name: string;
  email: string;
}

function UserProfile({ userId }: { userId: number }) {
  const { data: user, loading, error } = useFetch<User>(`/api/users/${userId}`);

  if (loading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  if (error) return <div>Error: {error.message}</div>;
  if (!user) return <div>No user found</div>;

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{user.name}</h1>
      <p>{user.email}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Generic Components, Type Utilities & Type-Safe Context

Full code for generic components (List<T>, Select<T>, Table<T>), utility types (Partial, Pick, Omit, Record, Extract, Exclude, ComponentProps, ComponentPropsWithRef, ComponentPropsWithoutRef), discriminated unions for API states, inference / conditional types (infer, Awaited, PropsOf), and the type-safe Context factory pattern (createSafeContext) lives in references/generics-utilities-context.md. Load that reference when building reusable typed components, working with React's prop-type utilities, or wiring a strongly-typed Context provider.

Best Practices