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Install React directly on Windows

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This guide will walk through installing React on a Linux distribution (ie. Ubuntu) running on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) using the vite frontend tooling.

We recommend following these instructions if you are new to React and just interested in learning. If you are creating a single-page app (SPA) that you would like to use Bash commands or tools with and/or plan to deploy to a Linux server, we recommend that you install with vite on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).

For more general information about React, deciding between React (web apps), React Native (mobile apps), and React Native for Windows (desktop apps), see the React overview.

Create your React app

To install Create React App:

  1. Open a terminal(Windows Command Prompt or PowerShell).

  2. Create a new project folder: mkdir ReactProjects and enter that directory: cd ReactProjects.

  3. Install React using vite :

    npm create vite@latest my-react-app -- --template react

  4. Once installed, change directories into your new app ("my-react-app" or whatever you've chosen to call it): cd my-react-app, install the dependencies: npm install and then start your local development server: npm run dev

    This command will start up the Node.js server and launch a new browser window displaying your app. You can use Ctrl + c to stop running the React app in your command line.

Note

Vite includes a frontend build pipeline using Babel, esbuild and Rollup, but doesn't handle backend logic or databases. If you are seeking to build a server-rendered website with React that uses a Node.js backend, we recommend installing Next.js, rather than this Vite installation, which is intended more for single-page apps(SPAs). You also may want to consider installing Gatsby if you want to build a static content-oriented website.

  1. When you're ready to deploy your web app to production, running npm run build to create a build of your app in the "dist" folder. You can learn more in the Deploying a Static Site.

Additional resources