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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. 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.