Effortlessly Elevate Your Workflow with Build Redux for Any Project

By Peter H | Last Upload on May 2nd 2023 | Home → Guides → Build Redux for Any Project

Dear fellow developers, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably heard the word “Build Redux” mentioned in conversations or read about it in articles. When I heard about it for the first time, I thought it was a coffee blend! But no, Redux is a powerful tool for managing state in web applications, and once you get the hang of it, it can become a game-changer. So, let’s take a look at Redux together and find out how it simplifies your workflow.

What is the purpose of Redux?

Before diving into details, let’s discuss why you might want to use Redux in your projects. Think of Redux as the Marie Kondo of app state management. As your application grows, managing its state can become a mess.
Redux helps you tidy up by centralizing everything in one place. It ensures a predictable app state, which means fewer bugs and easier debugging. Plus, once you’ve set it up, changing is easy.

First, make sure you have Node.js and npm installed on your computer. These are essential tools for setting up JavaScript projects. Next, open your terminal and create a folder for your project:

mkdir my-redux-app
cd my-redux-app
Next, you’ll want to initialize a new Node project with:
npm init -y

By using this command, you will create a package.json file, which is the blueprint for your project.

Step 1: Configuring Your Environment

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Step 2: Redux installation

Now, let’s bring Redux into the mix. You can do this with a simple npm command:

npm install redux

If you’re using Redux with React (which I highly recommend), you’ll also want to install react-redux:

npm install react-redux

Step 3: Demystifying Redux

We’ll begin coding by discussing Redux basics. When I first learned Redux, I found it helpful to think of it as a magic notebook that keeps track of everything your app knows.

Store: This is the notebook. It holds the entire state of your app in one place.

Actions: These are like the sticky notes you put in the notebook, indicating what needs to be updated.

Reducers: Think of these as the rules that govern how sticky notes are applied to the notebook.

Dispatch: This is how you send a sticky note to the notebook.

Step 4: Build a simple Redux store

Let’s create a simple Redux store. In your project, create a file called store.js:

import { createStore } from ‘redux’;

const initialState = {
  count: 0
};

const reducer = (state = initialState, action) => {
  switch (action.type) {
  case ‘INCREMENT’:
  return { count: state.count + 1 };
  case ‘DECREMENT’:
  return { count: state.count – 1 };
  default:
  return state;
  }
};

const store = createStore(reducer);

export default store;

Here, we’re setting up a basic counter. Our reducer listens for ‘INCREMENT’ and ‘DECREMENT’ actions and adjusts the count accordingly.

Step 5: Connect Redux to Your App

If you’re using React, you’ll need to connect Redux to your components. In your main index.js, wrap your app with the Provider component:

import React from ‘react’;
import ReactDOM from ‘react-dom’;
import { Provider } from ‘react-redux’;
import App from ‘./App’;
import store from ‘./store’;

ReactDOM.render(
  <Provider store={store}>
  <App />
  </Provider>,
  document.getElementById(‘root’)
);

The Provider component makes the Redux store available throughout your app, kind of like handing out copies of the magic notebook to all your components.

Step 6: Implement Redux in your components

Let’s see Redux in action within a React component. Create a simple counter component:

import React from ‘react’;
import { useSelector, useDispatch } from ‘react-redux’;

function Counter() {
  const count = useSelector(state => state.count);
  const dispatch = useDispatch();

  return (
  <div>
  <h1>Count: {count}</h1>
  <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: ‘INCREMENT’ })}>+</button>
  <button onClick={() => dispatch({ type: ‘DECREMENT’ })}>-</button>
  </div>
  );
}

export default Counter;

UseSelector displays the current count in the notebook, while UseDispatch sends actions when buttons are clicked.

Step 7: Experimenting and testing

Now
it’s time to test your app. Fire it up, click around, and watch Redux handle state changes effortlessly. You’ll see how it makes managing complex states feel less overwhelming.

Conclusion

Congratulations on your first Redux steps! With these easy steps, you can easily integrate Redux into any project, thereby streamlining your development process. As you become more proficient in Redux, it will become second nature. Keep experimenting, and enjoy the journey into state management. Happy coding!