How to Use Webpack with React and Bootstrap

March 06, 2016

Today, I was setting up a project using Webpack, React, and Bootstrap without jQuery. What seemed like a straightforward task ended up taking more time than expected, so I've decided to document the steps below:

Step 1: Install All Dependencies

First, install all the required dependencies:

npm install react react-dom bootstrap react-bootstrap babel-preset-react --save
npm install webpack css-loader style-loader file-loader url-loader babel-core babel-loader babel-preset-es2015 --save-dev

Step 2: Add Loaders in webpack.config.js

Next, add the necessary loaders to your webpack.config.js file:

var path = require("path")
var webpack = require("webpack")

module.exports = {
  entry: "./main.js",
  output: { path: __dirname, filename: "bundle.js" },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.jsx?$/,
        loader: "babel-loader",
        exclude: /node_modules/,
        options: {
          presets: ["es2015", "react"],
        },
      },
      {
        test: /\.css$/,
        use: ["style-loader", "css-loader"],
      },
      {
        test: /\.png$/,
        loader: "url-loader?limit=100000",
      },
      {
        test: /\.jpg$/,
        loader: "file-loader",
      },
      {
        test: /\.(woff|woff2)(\?v=\d+\.\d+\.\d+)?$/,
        loader: "url-loader?limit=10000&mimetype=application/font-woff",
      },
      {
        test: /\.ttf(\?v=\d+\.\d+\.\d+)?$/,
        loader: "url-loader?limit=10000&mimetype=application/octet-stream",
      },
      {
        test: /\.eot(\?v=\d+\.\d+\.\d+)?$/,
        loader: "file-loader",
      },
      {
        test: /\.svg(\?v=\d+\.\d+\.\d+)?$/,
        loader: "url-loader?limit=10000&mimetype=image/svg+xml",
      },
    ],
  },
}

Step 3: Import Bootstrap CSS in main.js

In your main.js file (or whatever your entry file is), import the Bootstrap CSS:

import App from "./app.jsx"
import Bootstrap from "bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.css"

Step 4: Import React Bootstrap in app.jsx

Finally, in your app.jsx, import React Bootstrap components:

import React from "react"
import ReactDOM from "react-dom"
import { Button } from "react-bootstrap"

const buttonsInstance = <Button>Click me!</Button>

ReactDOM.render(buttonsInstance, document.getElementById("here"))

HTML Setup

Don't forget to include a div with the appropriate ID, as well as the bundle.js:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
    <title>Hello React</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="here"></div>
    <script src="bundle.js"></script>
  </body>
</html>

That's it! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.