ui-kit-with-linaria

Linaria UI Kit in React Next.js

wiktor-plagaWiktor Plaga
March 25, 20237 min reading time

Linaria UI Kit in React Next.js

In this tutorial, we will explore how to use the Linaria UI Kit in a React Next.js application. Linaria is a CSS-in-JS library that allows developers to write CSS code directly in their JavaScript files. This approach offers several benefits, including improved performance, better code organization, and easier maintenance.

The Linaria UI Kit is a collection of pre-built UI components that can be easily integrated into any React application. These components are designed to be highly customizable, allowing developers to easily modify their appearance and behavior to match the needs of their application. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a solid understanding of how to use Linaria and the Linaria UI Kit to build beautiful and responsive user interfaces in your React Next.js applications.

What is Linaria?

Linaria UI Kit is a collection of pre-built UI components that can be used to create beautiful and responsive user interfaces in React applications. It is built on top of the Linaria CSS-in-JS library, which allows developers to write CSS code directly in their JavaScript files. This approach offers several benefits, including improved performance, better code organization, and easier maintenance.

The Linaria UI Kit includes a wide range of UI components, including buttons, forms, modals, and more. Each component is designed to be highly customizable, allowing developers to easily modify their appearance and behavior to match the needs of their application. Additionally, the Linaria UI Kit is designed to be easy to use, with clear documentation and examples provided for each component. With the Linaria UI Kit, developers can quickly and easily build beautiful and responsive user interfaces in their React applications.

Why use Linaria for UI Kit in React Next.js application?

Linaria is an excellent choice for building UI Kits due to its many benefits. First, it allows developers to write CSS code directly in their JavaScript files, which makes it easier to manage and maintain the codebase. This approach also improves performance by reducing the number of HTTP requests required to load the application. Additionally, Linaria provides a simple and intuitive API that makes it easy to create and customize UI components.

Some of the benefits of using Linaria for UI Kit include:

  • Improved performance: By reducing the number of HTTP requests required to load the application, Linaria can significantly improve performance.
  • Better code organization: By allowing developers to write CSS code directly in their JavaScript files, Linaria makes it easier to manage and maintain the codebase.
  • Easy customization: Linaria provides a simple and intuitive API that makes it easy to create and customize UI components.

Overall, Linaria is an excellent choice for building UI Kits due to its many benefits. It provides a powerful and flexible toolset that can help developers create beautiful and responsive user interfaces quickly and easily.

Prerequisites

To complete the "Linaria UI Kit in React Next.js" tutorial, you will need the following prerequisites:

  • Basic knowledge of React and Next.js: This tutorial assumes that you have a basic understanding of React and Next.js. You should be familiar with concepts such as components, props, and state.

  • Node.js and npm: You will need to have Node.js and npm installed on your computer to run the sample code provided in this tutorial.

  • A code editor: You will need a code editor such as Visual Studio Code, Atom, or Sublime Text to edit the code files.

  • Linaria and the Linaria UI Kit: You will need to install Linaria and the Linaria UI Kit to follow along with this tutorial. Instructions for installing these packages are provided in the tutorial.

  • A basic understanding of CSS: While you do not need to be an expert in CSS, a basic understanding of CSS concepts such as selectors, properties, and values will be helpful in understanding how Linaria works.

React Next.js Linaria step by step setup and configuration

Integrating Linaria into a React Next.js project is a straightforward process. First, you will need to install the Linaria package using npm. You can do this by running the following command in your project directory:

npm install linaria

Once you have installed Linaria, you can start using it in your React components. To do this, you will need to import the css function from the linaria package at the top of your component file:

import { css } from 'linaria';

You can then use the css function to define your styles directly in your component file. For example, you could define a simple button component like this:

import { css } from 'linaria';

const buttonStyles = css`
  background-color: #007bff;
  color: #fff;
  padding: 10px 20px;
  border-radius: 5px;
`;

const Button = ({ children }) => (
  <button className={buttonStyles}>{children}</button>
);

export default Button;

In this example, we define a buttonStyles variable using the css function from Linaria. We then use this variable as the className prop for our button component. This will apply the styles defined in the buttonStyles variable to the button element.

Finally, to enable server-side rendering with Linaria in a Next.js project, you will need to create a custom _document.js file in your pages directory. This file should import the Document component from the next/document package and wrap it with the withStyles higher-order component from Linaria. Here is an example _document.js file:

import Document, { Html, Head, Main, NextScript } from 'next/document';
import { withStyles } from 'linaria/react';

const styles = css`
  :global() {
    body {
      margin: 0;
      padding: 0;
    }
  }
`;

class MyDocument extends Document {
  render() {
    const { styles } = this.props;

    return (
      <Html>
        <Head>
          <style>{styles}</style>
        </Head>
        <body>
          <Main />
          <NextScript />
        </body>
      </Html>
    );
  }
}

export default withStyles(styles)(MyDocument);

In this example, we define a styles variable using the css function from Linaria. We then wrap the MyDocument component with the withStyles higher-order component from Linaria, passing in the styles variable as a prop. This will ensure that the styles are applied correctly during server-side rendering.

Linaria configuration options in React Next.js

Here are the Linaria configuration options for React Next.js integration:

  • babel: An object that allows you to configure Babel options for Linaria. This can be used to customize the Babel configuration used by Linaria.

  • displayName: A boolean that determines whether or not Linaria should generate display names for your CSS classes. This can be useful for debugging purposes.

  • evaluate: A boolean that determines whether or not Linaria should evaluate your CSS at runtime. This can be useful for dynamic styles.

  • outputCSS: A boolean that determines whether or not Linaria should output CSS files. This can be useful for debugging purposes.

  • preprocessor: A function that allows you to use a custom preprocessor with Linaria. This can be used to preprocess your CSS before it is evaluated by Linaria.

  • sourceMap: A boolean that determines whether or not Linaria should generate source maps for your CSS. This can be useful for debugging purposes.

  • styledDisplayName: A boolean that determines whether or not Linaria should generate display names for your styled components. This can be useful for debugging purposes.

  • validate: A boolean that determines whether or not Linaria should validate your CSS at runtime. This can be useful for catching errors early.

These configuration options can be passed to the linaria-loader in your Next.js configuration file. For example, to enable source maps and display names for your CSS classes, you could use the following configuration:

// next.config.js

module.exports = {
  webpack: (config) => {
    config.module.rules.push({
      test: /\.tsx?$/,
      use: [
        {
          loader: 'linaria/loader',
          options: {
            sourceMap: true,
            displayName: true,
          },
        },
        'babel-loader',
      ],
    });

    return config;
  },
};

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Linaria UI Kit is a powerful tool for building beautiful and responsive user interfaces in React Next.js applications. By using Linaria, developers can write CSS code directly in their JavaScript files, which offers several benefits, including improved performance, better code organization, and easier maintenance. Additionally, the Linaria UI Kit provides a wide range of pre-built UI components that can be easily customized to match the needs of any application.

Throughout this tutorial, we have explored how to integrate Linaria into a React Next.js project and how to use the Linaria UI Kit to build UI components. We have covered topics such as installing Linaria, defining styles with the css function, and enabling server-side rendering with Linaria. We have also looked at some of the configuration options available for Linaria and how they can be used to customize its behavior.

By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you should now have a solid understanding of how to use Linaria and the Linaria UI Kit to build beautiful and responsive user interfaces in your React Next.js applications. With Linaria, you can create UI components that are highly customizable, easy to maintain, and performant.

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