C:\Users\username\Desktop>mkdir reactApp C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm init
React using babel ES6 so we need babel to make it functional
C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install -g babel C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install -g babel-cli
We will use webpack bundler in these tutorial. Let's install webpack and webpack-dev-server.
C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install webpack --save C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install webpack-dev-server --save
Since we want to use React, we need to install it first. The --save command will add these packages to package.json file.
C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install react --save C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install react-dom --save
As already mentioned, we will need some babel plugins, so let's install it too.
C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install babel-core C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install babel-loader C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install babel-preset-react C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install babel-preset-es2015
Create the Files
Let's create several files that we need. It can be added manually or using the command prompt.
C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>touch index.html C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>touch App.jsx C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>touch main.js C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>touch webpack.config.js
Alternative way to create files that we need
C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>type nul >index.html C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>type nul >App.jsx C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>type nul >main.js C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>type nul >webpack.config.js
Set Compiler, Server and Loaders
Open webpack.config.js file and add the following code. We are setting webpack entry point to be main.js. Output path is the place where bundled app will be served. We are also setting the development server to 8080 port. You can choose any port you want.
And lastly, we are setting babel loaders to search for js files, and use es2015and react presets that we installed before.
webpack.config.js
var config = {
entry: './main.js',
output: {
path:'/',
filename: 'index.js',
},
devServer: {
inline: true,
port: 8080
},
module: {
loaders: [
{
test: /\.jsx?$/,
exclude: /node_modules/,
loader: 'babel-loader',
query: {
presets: ['es2015', 'react']
}
}
]
}
}
module.exports = config;
Open the package.json and delete "test" "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1" inside "scripts" object. We are deleting this line since we will not do any testing in this tutorial. Let's add the start command instead.
"start": "webpack-dev-server --hot"
Before the above step, it will required webpack-dev-server. To install webpack-dev-server, use the following command.
C:\Users\username\Desktop\reactApp>npm install webpack-dev-server -g
Now, we can use npm start command to start the server. --hot command will add live reload after something is changed inside our files so we don't need to refresh the browser every time we change our code.
