React Component Patterns

React Component Patterns

Purpose

Define React + TypeScript + Tailwind conventions for Cooper's renderer process. Ensure consistent, accessible, and maintainable UI components.

When to Use

• Creating new React components in src/renderer/
• Modifying existing UI components
• Adding hooks, context, or utilities

When NOT to Use

• Main process or preload changes
• Non-UI logic changes

Activation Rules

Step 1: Component Structure

// src/renderer/components/MyComponent.tsx
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react'

interface MyComponentProps {
  // All props explicitly typed — no `any`
  title: string
  onAction: (id: string) => void
  isDisabled?: boolean
}

export const MyComponent: React.FC<MyComponentProps> = ({ title, onAction, isDisabled = false }) => {
  // Hooks at top
  const [state, setState] = useState<string>('')

  // Effects after state
  useEffect(() => {
    // side effects
  }, [])

  // Event handlers
  const handleClick = () => {
    onAction(state)
  }

  // Render
  return (
    <div className="flex items-center gap-2 p-2">
      <span className="text-sm font-medium">{title}</span>
      <button
       
        disabled={isDisabled}
        className="px-3 py-1 rounded bg-blue-600 text-white hover:bg-blue-700 disabled:opacity-50"
      >
        Action
      </button>
    </div>
  )
}

Step 2: Styling Rules

• Tailwind utility classes — Primary styling method
• CSS modules — Only when Tailwind can't express it
• No inline styles — Use Tailwind or CSS modules
• Theme-aware — Use Cooper's ThemeContext for colors when applicable
• Dark mode — All components must work in dark theme (Cooper's default)

Step 3: State Management

• React Context + hooks — No Redux or external state libraries
• Custom hooks — Extract reusable logic into src/renderer/hooks/
• Interfaces — All types in src/renderer/types/

Hook pattern:

// src/renderer/hooks/useSessionManager.ts
export function useSessionManager() {
  const [sessions, setSessions] = useState<Session[]>([]);

  const createSession = async (model: string) => {
    const session = await window.electronAPI.copilot.createSession(model);
    setSessions((prev) => [...prev, session]);
    return session;
  };

  return { sessions, createSession };
}

Step 4: IPC Integration

When components need backend data:

// ✅ Good: use the typed preload bridge
const data = await window.electronAPI.copilot.getSession(sessionId)

// ❌ Bad: direct Node.js access
const data = require('electron').ipcRenderer.invoke(...)  // NEVER

Step 5: Accessibility

• Semantic HTML elements (button, nav, main, not div for everything)
• Keyboard navigation support
• ARIA labels for interactive elements
• Focus management for modals and dialogs

Cooper-Specific Conventions

• Components directory: src/renderer/components/
• Hooks directory: src/renderer/hooks/
• Types directory: src/renderer/types/
• Context directory: src/renderer/context/
• Themes directory: src/renderer/themes/
• Test files: tests/components/<Component>.test.tsx

Success Criteria

• Props interface defined (no any)
• Tailwind for styling (no inline styles)
• Dark mode compatible
• Keyboard accessible
• Custom hooks extracted for reusable logic

Related Skills

• electron-ipc-patterns — For IPC calls from components
• test-fixing — For component tests

Source: CooperAgent/cooper — distributed by TomeVault.