React TypeScript

Type-safe React = compile-time guarantees = confident refactoring.

<when_to_use>

• Building typed React components
• Implementing generic components
• Typing event handlers, forms, refs
• Using React 19 features (Actions, Server Components, use())
• Router integration (TanStack Router, React Router)
• Custom hooks with proper typing

NOT for: non-React TypeScript, vanilla JS React

</when_to_use>

<react_19_changes>

React 19 breaking changes require migration. Key patterns:

ref as prop - forwardRef deprecated:

// React 19 - ref as regular prop
type ButtonProps = {
  ref?: React.Ref<HTMLButtonElement>;
} & React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<'button'>;

function Button({ ref, children, ...props }: ButtonProps) {
  return <button ref={ref} {...props}>{children}</button>;
}

useActionState - replaces useFormState:

import { useActionState } from 'react';

type FormState = { errors?: string[]; success?: boolean };

function Form() {
  const [state, formAction, isPending] = useActionState(submitAction, {});
  return <form action={formAction}>...</form>;
}

use() - unwraps promises/context:

function UserProfile({ userPromise }: { userPromise: Promise<User> }) {
  const user = use(userPromise); // Suspends until resolved
  return <div>{user.name}</div>;
}

See react-19-patterns.md for useOptimistic, useTransition, migration checklist.

</react_19_changes>

<component_patterns>

Props - extend native elements:

type ButtonProps = {
  variant: 'primary' | 'secondary';
} & React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<'button'>;

function Button({ variant, children, ...props }: ButtonProps) {
  return <button className={variant} {...props}>{children}</button>;
}

Children typing:

type Props = {
  children: React.ReactNode;          // Anything renderable
  icon: React.ReactElement;           // Single element
  render: (data: T) => React.ReactNode;  // Render prop
};

Discriminated unions for variant props:

type ButtonProps =
  | { variant: 'link'; href: string }
  | { variant: 'button'; onClick: () => void };

function Button(props: ButtonProps) {
  if (props.variant === 'link') {
    return <a href={props.href}>Link</a>;
  }
  return <button onClick={props.onClick}>Button</button>;
}

</component_patterns>

<event_handlers>

Use specific event types for accurate target typing:

// Mouse
function handleClick(e: React.MouseEvent<HTMLButtonElement>) {
  e.currentTarget.disabled = true;
}

// Form
function handleSubmit(e: React.FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>) {
  e.preventDefault();
  const formData = new FormData(e.currentTarget);
}

// Input
function handleChange(e: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) {
  console.log(e.target.value);
}

// Keyboard
function handleKeyDown(e: React.KeyboardEvent<HTMLInputElement>) {
  if (e.key === 'Enter') e.currentTarget.blur();
}

See event-handlers.md for focus, drag, clipboard, touch, wheel events.

</event_handlers>

<hooks_typing>

useState - explicit for unions/null:

const [user, setUser] = useState<User | null>(null);
const [status, setStatus] = useState<'idle' | 'loading'>('idle');

useRef - null for DOM, value for mutable:

const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);  // DOM - use ?.
const countRef = useRef<number>(0);               // Mutable - direct access

useReducer - discriminated unions for actions:

type Action =
  | { type: 'increment' }
  | { type: 'set'; payload: number };

function reducer(state: State, action: Action): State {
  switch (action.type) {
    case 'set': return { ...state, count: action.payload };
how to use react-dev
CursorClaude CodeClineCodexWindsurfGooseGitHub CopilotVS CodeGemini CLIKiloOpencodeKimi CLIRoo ClineAiderContinueZedBolt.newLovablev0Replit AgentSweepSmol DeveloperDevinCavemanAmpAntigravity
How to use react-dev on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add react-dev
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/softaworks/agent-toolkit --skill react-devcopy
The skills CLI fetches react-dev from GitHub repository softaworks/agent-toolkit and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│   • Amp
│   • Antigravity
│   • Cline
│   • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│   • Cursor
│   • Windsurf
4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/react-dev
Reload or restart Cursor to activate react-dev. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /react-dev) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?