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.