React Developer Tools

React Developer Tools (React DevTools) is a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that helps developers inspect, debug and analyze React applications. It provides real-time views of the component tree, props, state and performance.

Features of React Developer Tools

• Inspect Component Tree: See the structure of your React components and how they are connected.
• View and Edit Props & State: Check and modify the props and state of any component in real-time.
• Track Component Re-Renders: Identify which components are updating and optimize performance.
• Profiler Tool: Analyze how long components take to render and find performance bottlenecks.
• Time Travel Debugging: View past state changes and debug issues step by step (useful with Redux).

Installing React Developer Tools

Follow the link React Developer Tools to download.

Step 1: Click on Add to Chrome.

The tool has been added to your Chrome.

Step 2: Check the extension.

Go to the Extensions Tab at the right on the top, click on it. On the dropdown, one can see that the extension has been added.

How to Use The Extension

Here are the steps to use the React Developer Tools extension:

Detecting whether the application uses ReactJS

• Press F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I to open Developer Tools.
• Click on the "React" tab in the DevTools panel.
• If you don’t see the React tab, refresh the page or restart your browser.

Inspecting and Editing React Components

• Navigate to the "Components" tab to see the React component tree.
• Click on any component to view its props, state, and hooks.
• Clicking on the Components, the React Component tree will show up.
• one can inspect, edit the props, the state, understand the structure. Similarly, clicking on Profiler. 
• Clicking on profiler will allow you to record performance information.

Clicking on the Components, the React Component tree will show up.

Here, one can inspect, edit the props, the state, understand the structure. Similarly, clicking on Profiler.

Clicking on profiler will allow you to record performance information.

Best Practices for Using React DevTools

Here are some best practices to make the most out of React Developer Tools:

• Highlight Updates: Spot unnecessary re-renders to improve performance.
• Profiler Tab: Check for slow renders and identify performance bottlenecks.
• Inspect Props and State: Debug issues by viewing props and state and seeing real-time UI updates.
• Analyze Hooks: Troubleshoot state and side effects by inspecting React Hooks like useState and useEffect.
• Unused Components: Identify and remove components that aren’t frequently updating to optimize the app.