Deploying a React App (created using create-react-app) to GitHub Pages
Deploying a React App* to GitHub Pages
\* created using create-react-app
Introduction
In this tutorial, I'll show you how you can create a React app and deploy it to GitHub Pages.
To create the React app, I'll be using create-react-app, which is a tool people can use to create a React app from scratch. To deploy the React app, I'll be using gh-pages, which is an npm package people can use to deploy things to GitHub Pages, a free web hosting service provided by GitHub.
If you follow along with this tutorial, you'll end up with a new React app—hosted on GitHub Pages—which you can then customize.
Translations
This tutorial has been translated from its original English into the following languages:
- Traditional Chinese (credit: @creaper9487)
Tutorial
Prerequisites
- Node and npm are installed. Here are the versions I'll be using while making this tutorial:
$ node --version
v16.13.2
$ npm --version 8.1.2
npm and npx—both of which I'll be using while making this tutorial.
- Git is installed. Here's the version I'll be using while making this tutorial:
$ git --version
git version 2.29.1.windows.1- A GitHub account. :octocat:
Procedure
1. Create an empty repository on GitHub
- Sign into your GitHub account.
- Visit the Create a new repository form.
- Fill in the form as follows:
> \* For a project site, you can enter any name you want. For a user site, GitHub requires that the repository's name have the following format: {username}.github.io (e.g. gitname.github.io) > The name you enter will show up in a few places: (a) in references to the repository throughout GitHub, (b) in the URL of the repository, and (c) in the URL of the deployed React app.
> In this tutorial, I'll be deploying the React app as a project site.
I'll enter: react-gh-pages - Repository privacy: Select Public (or Private\*).
> \* For GitHub Free users, the only type of repository that can be used with GitHub Pages is Public. For GitHub Pro users (and other paying users), both Public and Private repositories can be used with GitHub Pages.
I'll choose: Public
- Initialize repository: Leave all checkboxes empty.
> That will make it so GitHub creates an empty repository, instead of pre-populating the repository with a README.md, .gitignore, and/or LICENSE file.
- Submit the form.
2. Create a React app
- Create a React app named
my-app:
my-app (e.g. web-ui), you can accomplish that by replacing all occurrences of my-app in this tutorial, with that other name (i.e. my-app --> web-ui).
$ npx create-react-app my-app> That command will create a React app written in JavaScript. To create one written in TypeScript, you can issue this command instead: >
> $ npx create-react-app my-app --template typescript >That command will create a new folder named my-app, which will contain the source code of a React app.
> In addition to containing the source code of the React app, that folder is also a Git repository. That characteristic of the folder will come into play in Step 6.
> #### Branch names: master vs. main > > The Git repository will have one branch, which will be named either (a) master, the default for a fresh Git installation; or (b) the value of the Git configuration variable, init.defaultBranch, if your computer is running Git version 2.28 or later and you have set that variable in your Git configuration (e.g. via $ git config --global init.defaultBranch main). > > Since I have not set that variable in my Git installation, the branch in my repository will be named master. In case the branch in your repository has a different name (which you can check by running $ git branch), such as main; you can replace all occurrences of master throughout the remainder of this tutorial, with that other name (e.g. master → main).
- Enter the newly-created folder:
$ cd my-appAt this point, there is a React app on your computer and you are in the folder that contains its source code. All of the remaining commands shown in this tutorial can be run from that folder.
3. Install the gh-pages npm package
- Install the
gh-pagesnpm package and designate it as a development dependency:
$ npm install gh-pages --save-devAt this point, the gh-pages npm package is installed on your computer and the React app's dependence upon it is documented in the React app's package.json file.
4. Add a homepage property to the package.json file
- Open the
package.jsonfile in a text editor.
$ vi package.json> In this tutorial, the text editor I'll be using is vi. You can use any text editor you want; for example, Visual Studio Code.
- Add a
homepageproperty in this format\*:https://{username}.github.io/{repo-name}
https://{username}.github.io. You can read more about the homepage property in the "GitHub Pages" section of the create-react-app documentation.
{
"name": "my-app",
"version": "0.1.0",
+ "homepage": "https://gitname.github.io/react-gh-pages",
"private": true,package.json file includes a property named homepage.
5. Add deployment scripts to the package.json file
- Open the
package.jsonfile in a text editor (if it isn't already open in one).
$ vi package.json- Add a
predeployproperty and adeployproperty to thescriptsobject:
"scripts": {
+ "predeploy": "npm run build",
+ "deploy": "gh-pages -d build",
"start": "react-scripts start",
"build": "react-scripts build",At this point, the React app's package.json file includes deployment scripts.
6. Add a "remote" that points to the GitHub repository
- Add a "remote" to the local Git repository.
$ git remote add origin https://github.com/{username}/{repo-name}.git{username} with your GitHub username and replace {repo-name} with the name of the GitHub repository you created in Step 1.
In my case, I'll run:
$ git remote add origin https://github.com/gitname/react-gh-pages.git> That command tells Git where I want it to push things whenever I—or the gh-pages npm package acting on my behalf—issue the $ git push command from within this local Git repository.
At this point, the local repository has a "remote" whose URL points to the GitHub repository you created in Step 1.
7. Push the React app to the GitHub repository
- Push the React app to the GitHub repository
$ npm run deploy> That will cause the predeploy and deploy scripts defined in package.json to run. > > Under the hood, the predeploy script will build a distributable version of the React app and store it in a folder named build. Then, the deploy script will push the contents of that folder to a new commit on the gh-pages branch of the GitHub repository, creating that branch if it doesn't already exist.
> By default, the new commit on the gh-pages branch will have a commit message of "Updates". You can specify a custom commit message via the -m option, like this: >
> $ npm run deploy -- -m "Deploy React app to GitHub Pages" >At this point, the GitHub repository contains a branch named gh-pages, which contains the files that make up the distributable version of the React app. However, we haven't configured GitHub Pages to serve those files yet.
8. Configure GitHub Pages
- Navigate to the GitHub Pages settings page
- Configure the "Build and deployment" settings like this:
gh-pages
- Folder: / (root)
- Click on the "Save" button
At this point, the React app is accessible to anyone who visits the homepage URL you specified in Step 4. For example, the React app I deployed is accessible at https://gitname.github.io/react-gh-pages.
9. (Optional) Store the React app's source code on GitHub
In a previous step, the gh-pages npm package pushed the distributable version of the React app to a branch named gh-pages in the GitHub repository. However, the source code of the React app is not yet stored on GitHub.
In this step, I'll show you how you can store the source code of the React app on GitHub.
- Commit the changes you made while you were following this tutorial, to the
masterbranch of the local Git repository; then, push that branch up to themasterbranch of the GitHub repository.
$ git add .
$ git commit -m "Configure React app for deployment to GitHub Pages"
$ git push origin master> I recommend exploring the GitHub repository at this point. It will have two branches: master and gh-pages. The master branch will contain the React app's source code, while the gh-pages branch will contain the distributable version of the React app.
References
- The official
create-react-appdeployment guide - GitHub blog: Build and deploy GitHub Pages from any branch
- Preserving the
CNAMEfile when using a custom domain
Notes
- Special thanks to GitHub (the company) for providing us with the GitHub Pages hosting service for free.
- And now, time to turn the default React app generated by
create-react-appinto something unique! - This repository consists of two branches:
master - the source code of the React app
- gh-pages - the React app built from that source code
# Contributors
Thanks to these people for contributing to the maintenance of this tutorial.
This list is maintained manually—for now—and includes (a) each person who submitted a pull request that was eventually merged into master, and (b) each person who contributed in a different way (e.g. providing constructive feedback) and who approved of me including them in this list.
