What is react-datepicker?

hacker0x01/react-datepicker — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 8,365TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Calendar date picker
      Optional time selector
      Multi-language support
    Key features
      Locale via date-fns
      JavaScript Date objects
      Configurable time intervals
    Setup
      npm install
      Import CSS file
      Wire to React state
    Compatibility
      React 16 and newer
      Chrome Firefox IE10

mindmap root((repo)) What it does Calendar date picker Optional time selector Multi-language support Key features Locale via date-fns JavaScript Date objects Configurable time intervals Setup npm install Import CSS file Wire to React state Compatibility React 16 and newer Chrome Firefox IE10

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Add a calendar popup to a form in your React app so users can pick a date without typing it in manually.

USE CASE 2

Enable a time selector alongside the date picker so users can choose both date and time from one component.

USE CASE 3

Localize the date picker to display dates in a user's language by setting a locale from date-fns.

USE CASE 4

Replace a larger date library like Moment.js with date-fns to reduce the amount of JavaScript your app downloads.

What is it built with?

TypeScriptReactdate-fns

How does it compare?

	hacker0x01/react-datepicker	spotbye/spotiflac	jeffvli/feishin
Stars	8,365	8,368	8,355
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript	TypeScript
Setup difficulty	easy	easy	moderate
Complexity	2/5	1/5	3/5
Audience	developer	general	general

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Install the npm package and import its CSS file, no build config changes needed.

License not specified in the explanation.

So what is it?

react-datepicker is a date picker component for React web applications. It provides a calendar popup that users click to choose a date, which you embed into a form or page in your app. The goal is straightforward: give your users a consistent, styled way to pick dates without building one from scratch. Adding it to a project takes a few lines of code. You install the package, import the component and its CSS file, wire it to a piece of state in your React component, and you have a working calendar picker. A time selector can be enabled alongside the date picker by setting a single prop, and you can configure how frequently time options appear (defaulting to every 30 minutes). The component supports localization through a date library called date-fns, which covers dozens of languages. Setting a locale changes how dates are displayed and formatted for users in different regions. Dates are stored and handled as standard JavaScript Date objects, which means they reflect the user's local timezone. The README notes a common issue where dates appear off by one day when sent to a server, and points to a guide explaining the timezone math behind it. The package switched its internal date handling from Moment.js to date-fns starting with version 2.0.0, which significantly reduced the download size for apps that use it. It supports React 16 and newer and works in current versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer 10+. A documentation site with live examples is available for browsing the full set of configuration options. The package is actively maintained and has a contribution guide for developers who want to add features or fix bugs.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Add a date picker to my React form using react-datepicker. Show me the complete minimal code: install command, import, state setup, and the JSX to render it.

Prompt 2

How do I enable time selection in react-datepicker alongside the date? Show me the prop I need to add and how to set the time interval to every 15 minutes.

Prompt 3

I want to display the react-datepicker in French for users in France. How do I import the French locale from date-fns and apply it to the component?

Prompt 4

My server is receiving dates from react-datepicker that are off by one day. Walk me through the timezone issue and how to fix it when sending dates to a UTC server.

Frequently asked questions