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What is react-demos?

ruanyf/react-demos — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24 · repo last pushed 2024-10-29

16,481JavaScriptAudience · vibe coderComplexity · 1/5StaleSetup · easy

In one sentence

A set of 16 numbered, minimal React examples for beginners, covering JSX, components, props, state, lifecycle, Ajax, and server-side rendering with no build tool required, just open in a browser.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((react-demos))
    What it is
      Numbered example set
      No build tool needed
      Beginner companion
    Topics covered
      JSX syntax
      Components and props
      State and lifecycle
      Forms and Ajax
    Advanced demos
      Promises
      Server-side rendering
    Tech Stack
      React
      Babel in-browser
      JavaScript
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Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Run a working React form example locally to understand controlled inputs before building your own.

USE CASE 2

Copy the Ajax demo to learn how to fetch data from an API inside a React component.

USE CASE 3

Follow the numbered demos in order as a hands-on crash course alongside the official React docs.

What is it built with?

JavaScriptReactBabelJSX

How does it compare?

ruanyf/react-demosalsotang/node-lessonstwitter/typeahead.js
Stars16,48116,46116,461
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Last pushed2024-10-29
MaintenanceStale
Setup difficultyeasyeasyeasy
Complexity1/51/52/5
Audiencevibe coderdeveloperdeveloper

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

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

So what is it?

This repository is a collection of small, deliberately simple example projects for learning React, the JavaScript library used to build interactive user interfaces in the browser. The maintainer's stated goal is to make each demo so straightforward that a newcomer can follow without getting lost, and to use them as a hands-on companion to the official documentation rather than as production-ready code. The repository is organised around a series of numbered demos, each in its own folder. The README lists them in order, starting with the basics, rendering JSX (a special syntax that lets you write what looks like HTML directly inside JavaScript), mixing JavaScript expressions into JSX, and using arrays of elements, then progressively introducing core React ideas: defining a component as a class, passing data through its props, accessing nested elements via this.props.children, validating those props with PropTypes, finding a real DOM node, holding mutable data in this.state, building a form, the component lifecycle, making Ajax requests, displaying values from a Promise, and finally rendering a component on the server. Each entry quotes a short code snippet showing the key idea and links to a runnable demo page and the source file. Someone would clone this repository to follow along step by step while learning React, or to copy a tiny working example for a concept they are stuck on. The setup is intentionally light: a single HTML template loads React, ReactDOM and a browser build of Babel so JSX can be compiled in the page itself, with no build tool required. The primary language is JavaScript and the full README is longer than what was provided here.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Based on ruanyf/react-demos demo 12 (Ajax), rewrite the fetch call to use async/await and add a loading spinner while the request is in flight.
Prompt 2
Take the state demo from react-demos and extend it into a counter that increments and decrements, with the count displayed in large text.
Prompt 3
Show me how to convert the class component in react-demos demo 4 into a modern React functional component using useState and useEffect hooks.
Prompt 4
Using the PropTypes pattern from react-demos, add PropTypes validation to a component that receives a user object with name (string) and age (number).

Frequently asked questions

What is react-demos?

A set of 16 numbered, minimal React examples for beginners, covering JSX, components, props, state, lifecycle, Ajax, and server-side rendering with no build tool required, just open in a browser.

What language is react-demos written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, React, Babel.

Is react-demos actively maintained?

Stale — no commits in 1-2 years (last push 2024-10-29).

How hard is react-demos to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is react-demos for?

Mainly vibe coder.

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