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Last updated at 2023-09-22

React Context in Next.js Quick Guide for Beginner

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react-context-beginner-nextjs
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Sep 22, 2023
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React.js
Next.js
React Context is a powerful feature that allows you to manage and share state across your application without the need for prop drilling.
It's particularly useful for passing data, such as themes or authentication, to deeply nested components.
In this quick guide, we'll explore React Context and provide code snippets that seasoned developers can easily follow and implement.

1. Creating a Context

First, you need to create a context using React.createContext.
This function returns an object with two components: Provider and Consumer.
import React from 'react';

const MyContext = React.createContext();

export default MyContext;

2. Providing Context

Wrap your application (or a part of it) with the Provider component to make the context available to nested components.
import React from 'react';
import MyContext from './MyContext'; // Import the context

function App() {
  return (
    <MyContext.Provider value={{ theme: 'light', toggleTheme: () => {} }}>
      {/* Your components */}
    </MyContext.Provider>
  );
}

export default App;

3. Consuming Context

To access the context's data in a component, use the useContext hook.
import React, { useContext } from 'react';
import MyContext from './MyContext'; // Import the context

function MyComponent() {
  const context = useContext(MyContext);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Theme: {context.theme}</p>
      <button onClick={context.toggleTheme}>Toggle Theme</button>
    </div>
  );
}

4. Providing and Consuming Context in Separate Files

To keep your code organized, you can create separate files for providing and consuming context.
MyContext.js (Providing Context)
import React from 'react';

const MyContext = React.createContext();

function MyContextProvider({ children }) {
  // Your context data and functions
  const contextData = { theme: 'light', toggleTheme: () => {} };

  return (
    <MyContext.Provider value={contextData}>
      {children}
    </MyContext.Provider>
  );
}

export { MyContext, MyContextProvider };
MyComponent.js (Consuming Context)
import React, { useContext } from 'react';
import { MyContext } from './MyContext'; // Import the context

function MyComponent() {
  const context = useContext(MyContext);

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Theme: {context.theme}</p>
      <button onClick={context.toggleTheme}>Toggle Theme</button>
    </div>
  );
}

5. Context with Class Components

You can also use context with class components using the contextType property.
import React from 'react';
import MyContext from './MyContext'; // Import the context

class MyComponent extends React.Component {
  static contextType = MyContext;

  render() {
    const { theme, toggleTheme } = this.context;

    return (
      <div>
        <p>Theme: {theme}</p>
        <button onClick={toggleTheme}>Toggle Theme</button>
      </div>
    );
  }
}
And that's it! You've now learned the basics of React Context.
These code snippets can be easily copied and pasted into your projects, allowing you to harness the power of React Context for managing global state and passing data between components in a clean and efficient way.
Happy coding!

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