Django-React-Views

django-react-riews is a Django app providing generic Class Based views and template tags that make it easy to use react alongside django views and templates.

It can be used along with channels-redux-python and channels-redux-js to provide a framework to use websockets to keep a frontend redux state in sync with the database state.

Quick start

1. Add "django_react_views" to your INSTALLED_APPS setting like this::

   INSTALLED_APPS = [
       ...
       'django_react_views',
   ]
   

2. Create a directory in your app called react

3. Copy webpack.config.js or use you're own webpack config as long as it builds your react components into one of your STATICFILES_DIRS

4. Use npm to install at least the packages required for react & building with webpack

   npm install --save-prod react react-dom
   npm install --save-dev babel-core babel-loader babel-preset-env babel-preset-es2015 babel-preset-react glob webpack webpack-cli
   

5. Add these scripts to package.json

   "scripts": {
       "build": "webpack",
       "watch": "webpack --watch"
   },
   

6. Execute npm run watch to start building your react files

7. Add the react template tag to the template where you want to show your react component

   {% load react %}
   ...
   {% react %}
   ...
   

8. Create a view for your template

   from django_react_views.views import ReactDetailView
   class MyReactView(ReactDetailView):
       react_component = 'MyReactComponent.js'  # By default this will resolve to dist/app_name/{react_component}. If {% static %} can not find the file you may need to edit some other properties of this class
       model_serializer = MyModelSerializer
       model = MyModel
   

9. Add a url for your view

   urlpatterns = [
       ...
       path('my-react-view/<int:pk>/', MyReactView.as_view(), name='my-react-view')
   ]
   

10. This framework provides window.props, which contains a javascript object that can be used to hydrate your react state. This has the shape of::

    window.props = {"objects": {"appname.modelname": {"https://example.com/appname/modelname/1/": {object as serialized by your model serializer}} } }
    

11. Start the development server and visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/ and visit your page to see you're react component in action