react

react

A JavaScript library for building web and native user interfaces from components that manage their own state. For developers who want to adopt it in a whole app or in a small part of one.

Made by react on GitHub. These notes are Mindket's, written from its README; the project's own files and license are in its repository.

About

What it is: React lets you build user interfaces in JavaScript, for the web and for native apps. You describe how the screen should look for each state of your app, and React updates the right components when your data changes.

Who it suits: Front-end developers who build interactive interfaces, and teams that want to add a library to a codebase they already have instead of rewriting it.

Industry | Who uses it | How they use it | Example
Software | Front-end developers | Build interactive interfaces from components | A page whose parts update as data changes
Product teams | Teams with an existing codebase | Add React to one part of a project | Using it for a single screen of a larger site
Mobile | App developers | Build mobile apps with React Native | An app whose screens are written as components

Anyone who does not build user interfaces can skip it.

Where to use it:

• Web pages and web applications
• Servers running Node, to render pages there
• Mobile apps, through React Native

Use case | Who | What they get back
New web interface | Front-end developers | Views built from components that keep their own state
Existing project | Teams with older code | A way to adopt it in small steps and stop wherever they choose
Server rendering | Developers using Node | React output produced on the server

How to set it up: You need a JavaScript project. The source names no account or key, and it points you to two guides.

• A JavaScript project
• Node, if you want to render on the server

1. Open the Quick Start guide to try React out.
2. For a project you already have, follow the guide on adding React to an existing project.
3. Use React in as many parts of the project as you like.

For newcomers and experts: If you are new, think of a React interface as a set of small pieces, each one owning its own state. A first small try is the Quick Start guide, which gives a taste of the library before you commit to anything.

If you know the field, three ideas matter. Views are declarative, so you write one view per state and React handles the updates. Components are written in JavaScript and not in templates, which lets you pass rich data around and keep state out of the DOM. And React makes no assumptions about the rest of your stack, so new features need no rewrite of old code.

You design a view for each state
You build components that hold their state
Your data changes
React updates the right components

Good to know:

• Adoption: it was designed for gradual use, so you can add it a little at a time.
• License: MIT.
• Cost to run: none named.
• Data it reaches: the source names none.

On GitHub, 7 November 2026

• Stars: 252,263 (248 that day)
• Forks: 51,812
• Watching: 6,620
• Open issues and pull requests: 1,504
• Language: JavaScript
• License: MIT
• Topics: declarative, frontend, javascript, library, react, ui
• Trending: #6 repository of the day on GitHub trending (7 November 2026)

Links

• Code: https://github.com/react/react
• Website: https://react.dev/
• Releases: https://github.com/react/react/releases
• Issues: https://github.com/react/react/issues
• Star history: https://www.star-history.com/#react/react&Date

Get the code

git clone https://github.com/react/react.git

Then follow the setup in its README. Nothing in this kit runs by itself.