react-google-autocomplete

What is react-google-autocomplete?

The react-google-autocomplete package is a React component that provides an easy way to integrate Google Places Autocomplete into your React applications. It allows users to search for and select location-based suggestions, which can be used for various purposes such as filling out address forms, location-based searches, and more.

What are react-google-autocomplete's main functionalities?

Basic Autocomplete

This feature allows you to integrate a basic Google Places Autocomplete input field into your React application. When a user selects a place, the place details are logged to the console.

import React from 'react';
import ReactGoogleAutocomplete from 'react-google-autocomplete';

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Google Autocomplete Example</h1>
      <ReactGoogleAutocomplete
        apiKey="YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY"
        onPlaceSelected={(place) => {
          console.log(place);
        }}
      />
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

Restricting Search to Specific Types

This feature allows you to restrict the autocomplete suggestions to specific types, such as regions. This can be useful if you want to limit the search to certain categories of places.

import React from 'react';
import ReactGoogleAutocomplete from 'react-google-autocomplete';

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Google Autocomplete with Type Restriction</h1>
      <ReactGoogleAutocomplete
        apiKey="YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY"
        types={['(regions)']}
        onPlaceSelected={(place) => {
          console.log(place);
        }}
      />
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

Restricting Search to Specific Countries

This feature allows you to restrict the autocomplete suggestions to a specific country. This can be useful if your application is targeted towards users in a particular country.

import React from 'react';
import ReactGoogleAutocomplete from 'react-google-autocomplete';

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Google Autocomplete with Country Restriction</h1>
      <ReactGoogleAutocomplete
        apiKey="YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY"
        componentRestrictions={{ country: 'us' }}
        onPlaceSelected={(place) => {
          console.log(place);
        }}
      />
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

Other packages similar to react-google-autocomplete

react-places-autocomplete

The react-places-autocomplete package is another React component for integrating Google Places Autocomplete into your application. It offers similar functionality to react-google-autocomplete, including the ability to restrict search results by types and countries. However, it provides more customization options for rendering the autocomplete suggestions.

react-geosuggest

The react-geosuggest package is a React component for Google Maps Places Autocomplete. It provides similar functionality to react-google-autocomplete but also includes additional features such as custom styling and event handling. It is a good alternative if you need more control over the appearance and behavior of the autocomplete component.

README

The package provides 3 tools for working with google places services:

1. ReactGoogleAutocomplete is a simple html input component that provides functionality of the google places widgets.
2. usePlacesWidget is a react hook that provides the same functionality as ReactGoogleAutocomplete does but it does not create any dom elements. Instead, it gives you back a react ref which you can set to any input you want.
3. usePlacesAutocompleteService is a more complex react hook. It uses google places autocomplete service and it provides all the functionality to you as the returned value. In addition to that, you can set a debounce prop which will reduce the amount of requests users send to Google.

If you find this package helpful please give it a star because it hepls it grow and motivates us to build new features and support the old ones.

Install

npm i react-google-autocomplete --save

or

yarn add react-google-autocomplete

---

As of version 1.2.4, you can now pass an apiKey prop to automatically load the Google maps scripts. The api key can be found in your google cloud console.

<AutoComplete
  apiKey={YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY}
  onPlaceSelected={(place) => console.log(place)}
/>
or
const { ref } = usePlacesWidget({
  apiKey: YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY,
  onPlaceSelected: (place) => console.log(place)
})

<AnyInput ref={ref} />

Alternatively if not passing the apiKey prop, you can include google autocomplete link api in your app. Somewhere in index.html or somewhere else. More info here

<script
  type="text/javascript"
  src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=[YOUR_API_KEY]&libraries=places"
></script>

ReactGoogleAutocomplete

This is a simple react component for working with google autocomplete

import Autocomplete from "react-google-autocomplete";

<Autocomplete
  apiKey={YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY}
  onPlaceSelected={(place) => {
    console.log(place);
  }}
/>;

Props

• apiKey: pass to automatically load the Google maps scripts. The api key can be found in your google cloud console.

• ref: React ref to be assigned the underlying text input ref.

• onPlaceSelected: (place: PlaceResult, inputRef, autocompleteRef) => void: The function gets invoked every time a user chooses location.

• options: Google autocomplete options.

  • options.types: By default it uses (cities).
  • options.fields: By default it uses address_components, geometry.location, place_id, formatted_address.

• inputAutocompleteValue: Autocomplete value to be set to the underlying input.

• googleMapsScriptBaseUrl: Provide custom google maps url. By default https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js

• defaultValue prop is used for setting up the default value e.g defaultValue={'Amsterdam'}.

• language: Set language to be used for the results. If not specified, Google defaults to load the most appropriate language based on the users location or browser setting.

• libraries: prop is used for loading additional google libraries alongside the places api, defaultValue={["places"]}.

You can pass any prop specified for the hmtl input tag. You can also set options.fields prop if you need extra information, now it defaults to basic data in order to control expenses.

usePlacesWidget

Is a hook that has a single config argument. It has exactly the same interface as ReactGoogleAutocomplete props. This hook is actually used in the ReactGoogleAutocomplete component.

import { usePlacesWidget } from "react-google-autocomplete";

export default () => {
  const { ref, autocompleteRef } = usePlacesWidget({
    apiKey:YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY,
    onPlaceSelected: (place) => {
      console.log(place);
    }
  });

  return <AnyInput ref={ref} {...anyOtherProp}>
}

Arguments

It has only one config argument which has propperties: apiKey, ref, onPlaceSelected, options, inputAutocompleteValue, googleMapsScriptBaseUrl. The same props described here

Returned value

This hook returns object with only two properties:

• ref - is a react ref which you can assign to any input you would like.
• autocompleteRef - is the autocomplete instance

usePlacesAutocompleteService

This is an initial implementation of debounced google places autocomplete service. It gives you an option to reduce the amount of requests sent to google which reduce your costs. For the time being we decided to use lodash.debounce to save time and in the later versions we might write our own implementation of debounce with hooks. Because it uses lodash we also decided to not put it into the index library file so it lives in its own file and could be only imported by it.

import usePlacesService from "react-google-autocomplete/lib/usePlacesAutocompleteService";

export default () => {
  const {
    placesService,
    placePredictions,
    getPlacePredictions,
    isPlacePredictionsLoading,
  } = usePlacesService({
    apiKey: process.env.REACT_APP_GOOGLE,
  });

  useEffect(() => {
    // fetch place details for the first element in placePredictions array
    if (placePredictions.length)
      placesService?.getDetails(
        {
          placeId: placePredictions[0].place_id,
        },
        (placeDetails) => savePlaceDetailsToState(placeDetails)
      );
  }, [placePredictions]);

  return (
    <>
      <Input
        placeholder="Debounce 500 ms"
        onChange={(evt) => {
          getPlacePredictions({ input: evt.target.value });
        }}
        loading={isPlacePredictionsLoading}
      />
      {placePredictions.map((item) => renderItem(item))}
    </>
  );
};

example

Arguments

The hook has only one config argument.

• config:
  • apiKey: Google api key, otherwise google api has to be loaded manually.
  • googleMapsScriptBaseUrl: Provide custom google maps url. By default https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js.
  • debounce: Number of milliseconds to accumulate responses for.
  • options: Default options which will be passed to every request.
  • sessionToken: If true then a session token will be attached to every request.
  • language: If the language code is set, the results will be returned in the specificed language
  • libraries: prop is used for loading additional google libraries alongside the places api, defaultValue={["places"]}.

Returned value

The hook returns an object with properties:

• placesAutocompleteService: Instance of AutocompleteService
• placesService: Instance of PlacesService
• autocompleteSessionToken: Instance of AutocompleteSessionToken. You can use this to group several requests into a single session
• refreshSessionToken: call this function if you need to refresh the session token
• placePredictions: an array of AutocompletePrediction
• isPlacePredictionsLoading: sets to true when a getPlacePredictions request is being sent and not yet resolved.
• getPlacePredictions: (opt: Options): void: a function which you call whenever you want to request places predictions. Takes one argument.
• queryPredictions: an array of QueryAutocompletePrediction
• isQueryPredictionsLoading: sets to true when getQueryPredictions request is being sent and not yet resolved.
• getQueryPredictions: (opt: Options): void: a function which you call whenever you want to request query predictions. Takes one argument.

Examples

Simple autocomplete with options

import Autocomplete from "react-google-autocomplete";

<Autocomplete
  apiKey={YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY}
  style={{ width: "90%" }}
  onPlaceSelected={(place) => {
    console.log(place);
  }}
  options={{
    types: ["(regions)"],
    componentRestrictions: { country: "ru" },
  }}
  defaultValue="Amsterdam"
/>;

or

import { usePlacesWidget } from "react-google-autocomplete";

export default () => {
  const { ref } = usePlacesWidget({
    apiKey: YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY,
    onPlaceSelected: (place) => {
      console.log(place);
    },
    options: {
      types: ["(regions)"],
      componentRestrictions: { country: "ru" },
    },
  });

  return <input ref={ref} style={{ width: "90%" }} defaultValue="Amsterdam" />;
};

Getting access to the google autocomplete instance

<Autocomplete
  onPlaceSelected={(place, inputRef, autocomplete) => {
    console.log(autocomplete);
  }}
/>

or

const { ref, autocompleteRef } = usePlacesWidget({
  apiKey: YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY,
  onPlaceSelected: (place) => {
    console.log(place);
  },
});

More examples(dynamic props, MaterialUI, Ant, Bootstrap) could be found in docs/examples.js

Formik example lives here

Debounce example lives here

Typescript

We are planning on rewriting the library with TS/Flow in the later releases but you can already use it with TypeScript because we use declaration files.

TODO

• Check that it fully works with SSR Fully works with SSR: tested with: Next.js, Gatsby.js and custom SSR based on Express.js.
• Add more UI libraries examples/supports
• Add eslint config(base-airbnb)
• Rewrite the lib to TS and add flow support
• Remove lodash and use own built-in solution for debouncing

Troubleshooting

• You have included the Google Maps JavaScript API multiple times on this page. Solution

Contribution

If you would like to see something in this library please create an issue and I will implement it as soon as possible.