react-devtools-core

What is react-devtools-core?

The react-devtools-core package provides the core functionality of React Developer Tools, which are used to inspect and debug React component hierarchies in the Chrome Developer Tools. It can be integrated into other environments, such as custom browsers, editors, or embedded inside apps.

What are react-devtools-core's main functionalities?

Standalone React DevTools

This code snippet demonstrates how to connect to the React DevTools from a standalone environment. It is useful when you want to debug React components within an environment that is not a web browser.

const { connectToDevTools } = require('react-devtools-core');
connectToDevTools({ host: 'localhost', port: 8097 });

Custom Integration

This code snippet shows how to start a React DevTools server. This can be used to integrate React DevTools into an environment where you have control over the server, such as an Electron app or a custom browser.

const { Server } = require('react-devtools-core');
const server = new Server({ port: 8097 });
server.on('ready', () => console.log('DevTools server started on port 8097.'));
server.start();

Other packages similar to react-devtools-core

redux-devtools-extension

This package provides tools for debugging application's state changes. While react-devtools-core is focused on React component hierarchies, redux-devtools-extension is focused on Redux state management.

mobx-react-devtools

Similar to react-devtools-core, this package is used for debugging React applications. However, it is specifically tailored for applications using MobX for state management, as opposed to React's context or Redux.

vue-devtools

Vue Devtools is for Vue.js applications what react-devtools-core is for React applications. It allows developers to inspect and debug Vue component hierarchies.

README

react-devtools-core

A standalone React DevTools implementation.

This is a low-level package. If you're looking for the Electron app you can run, use react-devtools package instead.

API

react-devtools-core

This is similar requiring the react-devtools package, but provides several configurable options. Unlike react-devtools, requiring react-devtools-core doesn't connect immediately but instead exports a function:

const { connectToDevTools } = require("react-devtools-core");
connectToDevTools(config);

Run connectToDevTools() in the same context as React to set up a connection to DevTools.
Be sure to run this function before importing e.g. react, react-dom, react-native.

The config object may contain:

• host: string (defaults to "localhost") - Websocket will connect to this host.
• port: number (defaults to 8097) - Websocket will connect to this port.
• useHttps: boolean (defaults to false) - Websocket should use a secure protocol (wss).
• websocket: Websocket - Custom websocket to use. Overrides host and port settings if provided.
• resolveRNStyle: (style: number) => ?Object - Used by the React Native style plug-in.
• retryConnectionDelay: number (defaults to 2000) - Milliseconds delay to wait between retrying a failed Websocket connection.
• isAppActive: () => boolean - If provided, DevTools will poll this method and wait until it returns true before connecting to React.

react-devtools-core/standalone

Renders the DevTools interface into a DOM node.

require("react-devtools-core/standalone")
  .setContentDOMNode(document.getElementById("container"))
  .setStatusListener(status => {
    // This callback is optional...
  })
  .startServer(port);

Renders DevTools interface into a DOM node over SSL using a custom host name (Default is localhost).

const host = 'dev.server.com';
const options = {
  key: fs.readFileSync('test/fixtures/keys/agent2-key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('test/fixtures/keys/agent2-cert.pem')
};


require("react-devtools-core/standalone")
  .setContentDOMNode(document.getElementById("container"))
  .setStatusListener(status => {
    // This callback is optional...
  })
  .startServer(port, host, options);

Reference the react-devtools package for a complete integration example.

Development

Watch for changes made to the backend entry point and rebuild:

yarn start:backend

Watch for changes made to the standalone UI entry point and rebuild:

yarn start:standalone