Type Route

Type Route is a Type Hero Project  ·  Quick Start  ·  Documentation

Getting Started

Type Route is a flexible, type safe routing library built on top of the same core library that powers React Router.

Type Route was designed with excellent React integration in mind but isn't coupled to a specific UI framework. Most code examples in the documentation use React, but the general principles covered apply regardless of framework.

Continue reading this introduction for a quick overview of how to start using Type Route in your project. Find a full runnable version of the below examples on the Simple React Example page.

Install

Type Route's primary distribution channel is the NPM registry.

npm install type-route

Step 1: Create a Router

router.ts

import { createRouter, defineRoute, param } from "type-route";

export const { routes, listen, session } = createRouter({
  home: defineRoute("/"),
  userList: defineRoute(
    {
      page: param.query.optional.number
    },
    () => "/user"
  ),
  user: defineRoute(
    {
      userId: param.path.string
    },
    p => `/user/${p.userId}`
  )
});

Best practice is to immediately destructure the result of createRouter into the properties you'll be using in your application. The createRouter function accepts an object with route names and route definitions created via defineRoute and returns a new router.

Step 2: Connect to Application State

App.tsx

import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import { listen, session } from "./router";
import { Page } from "./Page";
import { Navigation } from "./Navigation";

function App() {
  const [route, setRoute] = useState(session.getInitialRoute());

  useEffect(() => listen(nextRoute => setRoute(nextRoute)), []);

  return (
    <>
      <Navigation />
      <Page route={route} />
    </>
  );
}

Retrieve the initial route via session.getInitialRoute() then subscribe to route updates with listen.

Step 3: Display Current Route

Page.tsx

import React from "react";
import { Route } from "type-route";
import { routes } from "./router";

type Props = {
  route: Route<typeof routes>;
};

export function Page(props: Props) {
  const { route } = props;

  if (route.name === "home") {
    return <div>Home</div>;
  }

  if (route.name === "userList") {
    return (
      <div>
        User List
        <br />
        Page: {route.params.page || "-"}
      </div>
    );
  }

  if (route.name === "user") {
    return <div>User {route.params.userId}</div>;
  }

  return <div>Not Found</div>;
}

Pass the route object from your application's state to your view and check the route's name to determine which component to display. Inside the code blocks above the TypeScript compiler (and your editor) should be able to correctly infer the type of route.params. This allows you, for instance, to access the userId param with confidence in code blocks where it will definitely exist and warn you when accessing it in code blocks where it may not exist.

Type Route is written in TypeScript and designed for TypeScript users. Any editor, however, whose JavaScript experience is powered by TypeScript (VSCode for instance) will provide many of the same benefits described here when using regular JavaScript.

Step 4: Navigate Between Routes

Navigation.tsx

import React from "react";
import { routes } from "./router";

export function Navigation() {
  return (
    <nav>
      <a {...routes.home().link}>Home</a>
      <a {...routes.userList().link}>User List</a>
      <a
        {...routes.userList({
          page: 2
        }).link}
      >
        User List Page 2
      </a>
      <a
        {...routes.user({
          userId: "abc"
        }).link}
      >
        User "abc"
      </a>
    </nav>
  );
}

The link property is an object with an href property and an onClick function. You need both to properly render a link for a single page application. Immediately destructing these into the properties of the <a> tag allows for ergonomic use. Programmatic navigation is possible with the push and replace functions of a specific route.

Next Steps

Hopefully that was enough to point you in the right direction!

If you need more guidance there is a full runnable version of the above example on the React page. The "Guides" section of the documentation has detailed overviews and examples for most use cases. Additionally, the "API Reference" section has descriptions and examples for each part of the API.