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23-react-use-the-key-prop-when-rendering-a-list-with-react-12564a86.md

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23. Use the key prop when Rendering a List with React

Notes

  • It doesn’t take long working with React before you want to render a list of items and when you do, you’ll inevitably encounter this console warning: “Warning: Each child in a list should have a unique key prop.”
  • This warning is pretty simple to silence by providing the bespoke key prop, but it is really useful to understand what that warning is about and the bugs that can happen if you do not address the warning properly.
  • Keys help React identify which items have changed, are added, or are removed. Keys should be given to the elements inside the array to give the elements a stable identity:
<body>
  <div id="root"></div>
  <script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/umd/react.development.js"></script>
  <script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/umd/react-dom.development.js"></script>
  <script src="https://unpkg.com/@babel/[email protected]/babel.js"></script>
  <script type="text/babel">
    const allItems = [
      { id: 'a', value: 'apple' },
      { id: 'o', value: 'orange' },
      { id: 'g', value: 'grape' },
      { id: 'p', value: 'pear' }
    ];

    function App() {
      const [items, setItems] = React.useState(allItems);

      function addItem() {
        setItems([...items, allItems.find(i => !items.includes(i))]);
      }

      function removeItem(item) {
        setItems(items.filter(i => i !== item));
      }

      return (
        <div>
          <button disabled={items.length >= allItems.length} onClick={addItem}>
            add item
          </button>
          <ul style={{ listStyle: 'none', paddingLeft: 0 }}>
            {items.map(item => (
              // each iteam needs to have a key prop
              // We’re using inputs in this example
              // but the same thing can happen for your own components that maintain state.
              <li>
                <button onClick={() => removeItem(item)}>remove</button>{' '}
                <label htmlFor={`${item.value}-input`}>{item.value}</label>{' '}
                <input id={`${item.value}-input`} defaultValue={item.value} />
              </li>
              // The best way to pick a key is to use a string that uniquely
              // identifies a list item among its siblings
            ))}
          </ul>
        </div>
      );
    }

    ReactDOM.render(<App />, document.getElementById('root'));
  </script>

  <script type="text/babel">
    function FocusDemo() {
      const [items, setItems] = React.useState([
        { id: 'a', value: 'apple' },
        { id: 'o', value: 'orange' },
        { id: 'g', value: 'grape' },
        { id: 'p', value: 'pear' }
      ]);

      React.useEffect(() => {
        const interval = setInterval(() => {
          setItems(shuffle(items));
        }, 1000);
        return () => clearInterval(interval);
      }, []);

      return (
        <div>
          <div>
            <h1>Without Key</h1>
            {items.map(item => (
              <input value={item.value} />
            ))}
          </div>
          <div>
            <h1>With Key as Index</h1>
            {items.map((item, index) => (
              <input key={index} value={item.value} />
            ))}
          </div>
          <div>
            <h1>With Key</h1>
            {items.map(item => (
              <input key={item.id} value={item.value} />
            ))}
          </div>
        </div>
      );
    }

    function shuffle(originalArray) {
      const array = [...originalArray];
      let currentIndex = array.length;
      let temporaryValue;
      let randomIndex;
      // While there remain elements to shuffle...
      while (0 !== currentIndex) {
        // Pick a remaining element...
        randomIndex = Math.floor(Math.random() * currentIndex);
        currentIndex -= 1;
        // And swap it with the current element.
        temporaryValue = array[currentIndex];
        array[currentIndex] = array[randomIndex];
        array[randomIndex] = temporaryValue;
      }
      return array;
    }
    // uncomment this line to demo:
    // ReactDOM.render(<FocusDemo />, document.getElementById('root'))
  </script>
</body>
  • You definitely do not want to ignore this warning.
  • It's not recommend using indexes for keys if the order of items may change. This can negatively impact performance and may cause issues with component state.

Additional resource