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React components are a powerful way to create interactive and reusable elements in your documentation.

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Using React components

You can build React components directly in your MDX files using React hooks.

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Example

This example declares a Counter component and then uses it with <Counter />. 
export const Counter = () => {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0)

  const increment = () => setCount(count + 1)
  const decrement = () => setCount(count - 1)

  return (
  <div className="flex items-center justify-center">
      <div className="flex items-center rounded-xl overflow-hidden border border-zinc-950/20 dark:border-white/20">
        <button
          onClick={decrement}
          className="flex items-center justify-center h-8 w-8 text-zinc-950/80 dark:text-white/80 border-r border-zinc-950/20 dark:border-white/20"
          aria-label="Decrease"
        >
          -
        </button>

        <div className="flex text-sm items-center justify-center h-8 px-6 text-zinc-950/80 dark:text-white/80 font-medium min-w-[4rem] text-center">
          {count}
        </div>

        <button
          onClick={increment}
          className="flex items-center justify-center h-8 w-8 text-zinc-950/80 dark:text-white/80 border-l border-zinc-950/20 dark:border-white/20"
          aria-label="Increase"
        >
          +
        </button>
      </div>
    </div>
  )
}

<Counter />
The counter renders as an interactive React component.

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Importing components

To import React components in your MDX files, the component files must be located in the snippets folder. You can then import them into any MDX page in your documentation. Learn more about reusable snippets.

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Example

This example declares a ColorGenerator component that uses multiple React hooks and then uses it in an MDX file. Create color-generator.jsx file in the snippets folder:
/snippets/color-generator.jsx
export const ColorGenerator = () => {
  const [hue, setHue] = useState(180)
  const [saturation, setSaturation] = useState(50)
  const [lightness, setLightness] = useState(50)
  const [colors, setColors] = useState([])

  useEffect(() => {
    const newColors = []
    for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
      const l = Math.max(10, Math.min(90, lightness - 20 + i * 10))
      newColors.push(`hsl(${hue}, ${saturation}%, ${l}%)`)
    }
    setColors(newColors)
  }, [hue, saturation, lightness])

  const copyToClipboard = (color) => {
    navigator.clipboard
      .writeText(color)
      .then(() => {
        console.log(`Copied ${color} to clipboard!`)
      })
      .catch((err) => {
        console.error("Failed to copy: ", err)
      })
  }

  return (
    <div className="p-4 border dark:border-zinc-950/80 rounded-xl not-prose">
      <div className="space-y-4">
        <div className="space-y-2">
          <label className="block text-sm text-zinc-950/70 dark:text-white/70">
            Hue: {hue}°
            <input
              type="range"
              min="0"
              max="360"
              value={hue}
              onChange={(e) => setHue(Number.parseInt(e.target.value))}
              className="w-full h-2 bg-zinc-950/20 rounded-lg appearance-none cursor-pointer dark:bg-white/20 mt-1"
              style={{
                background: `linear-gradient(to right, 
                  hsl(0, ${saturation}%, ${lightness}%), 
                  hsl(60, ${saturation}%, ${lightness}%), 
                  hsl(120, ${saturation}%, ${lightness}%), 
                  hsl(180, ${saturation}%, ${lightness}%), 
                  hsl(240, ${saturation}%, ${lightness}%), 
                  hsl(300, ${saturation}%, ${lightness}%), 
                  hsl(360, ${saturation}%, ${lightness}%))`,
              }}
            />
          </label>

          <label className="block text-sm text-zinc-950/70 dark:text-white/70">
            Saturation: {saturation}%
            <input
              type="range"
              min="0"
              max="100"
              value={saturation}
              onChange={(e) => setSaturation(Number.parseInt(e.target.value))}
              className="w-full h-2 bg-zinc-950/20 rounded-lg appearance-none cursor-pointer dark:bg-white/20 mt-1"
              style={{
                background: `linear-gradient(to right, 
                  hsl(${hue}, 0%, ${lightness}%), 
                  hsl(${hue}, 50%, ${lightness}%), 
                  hsl(${hue}, 100%, ${lightness}%))`,
              }}
            />
          </label>

          <label className="block text-sm text-zinc-950/70 dark:text-white/70">
            Lightness: {lightness}%
            <input
              type="range"
              min="0"
              max="100"
              value={lightness}
              onChange={(e) => setLightness(Number.parseInt(e.target.value))}
              className="w-full h-2 bg-zinc-950/20 rounded-lg appearance-none cursor-pointer dark:bg-white/20 mt-1"
              style={{
                background: `linear-gradient(to right, 
                  hsl(${hue}, ${saturation}%, 0%), 
                  hsl(${hue}, ${saturation}%, 50%), 
                  hsl(${hue}, ${saturation}%, 100%))`,
              }}
            />
          </label>
        </div>

        <div className="flex space-x-1">
          {colors.map((color, idx) => (
            <div
              key={idx}
              className="h-16 rounded flex-1 cursor-pointer transition-transform hover:scale-105"
              style={{ backgroundColor: color }}
              title={`Click to copy: ${color}`}
              onClick={() => copyToClipboard(color)}
            />
          ))}
        </div>

        <div className="text-sm font-mono text-zinc-950/70 dark:text-white/70">
          <p>
            Base color: hsl({hue}, {saturation}%, {lightness}%)
          </p>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  )
}
Import the ColorGenerator component and use it in an MDX file: 
import { ColorGenerator } from "/snippets/color-generator.jsx"

<ColorGenerator />
The color generator renders as an interactive React component.

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Considerations

React hook components render on the client-side, which has several implications:
  • SEO: Search engines might not fully index dynamic content.
  • Initial load: Visitors may experience a flash of loading content before components render.
  • Accessibility: Ensure dynamic content changes are announced to screen readers.
  • Optimize dependency arrays: Include only necessary dependencies in your useEffect dependency arrays.
  • Memoize complex calculations: Use useMemo or useCallback for expensive operations.
  • Reduce re-renders: Break large components into smaller ones to prevent cascading re-renders.
  • Lazy loading: Consider lazy loading complex components to improve initial page load time.
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