Which is Better React Refresh Plugins for Webpack and Rspack?
@pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin vs @rspack/plugin-react-refresh
1 Year
@pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin@rspack/plugin-react-refreshSimilar Packages:
What's React Refresh Plugins for Webpack and Rspack?

React Refresh plugins are essential tools for improving the development experience in React applications by enabling fast refresh capabilities. They allow developers to see changes in their components without losing the current state, significantly speeding up the development process. The '@pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin' is specifically designed for Webpack, while '@rspack/plugin-react-refresh' is tailored for Rspack, a newer bundler that aims to provide faster builds and better performance. Both plugins enhance the hot reloading experience, but they cater to different build systems, making the choice dependent on the developer's existing setup.

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@pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin6,262,3533,132133 kB624 months agoMIT
@rspack/plugin-react-refresh115,5681183.3 kB22 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin vs @rspack/plugin-react-refresh

Integration

  • @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin: This plugin integrates directly with Webpack's development server, making it easy to set up and use in existing Webpack projects. It leverages Webpack's hot module replacement (HMR) feature to provide a smooth development experience.
  • @rspack/plugin-react-refresh: Designed for Rspack, this plugin offers a straightforward integration process, allowing developers to quickly enable fast refresh capabilities in their Rspack-based projects without extensive configuration.

Performance

  • @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin: Utilizes Webpack's efficient build process to minimize the time taken for updates. It ensures that only the modified components are reloaded, which can significantly reduce the time spent waiting for changes to reflect in the browser.
  • @rspack/plugin-react-refresh: Rspack is built with performance in mind, and this plugin takes advantage of Rspack's faster build times and optimized bundling strategies, resulting in an even quicker refresh experience compared to traditional Webpack setups.

State Preservation

  • @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin: Maintains the component state during hot reloads, allowing developers to see changes without losing their current application state. This feature is crucial for a smooth development workflow, especially when working on complex components.
  • @rspack/plugin-react-refresh: Also preserves component state during updates, providing a similar developer experience to the Webpack plugin. This ensures that developers can iterate quickly without the frustration of losing their progress.

Community Support

  • @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin: Being a popular choice among Webpack users, this plugin has a large community and extensive documentation, making it easier to find support and resources when needed.
  • @rspack/plugin-react-refresh: As Rspack is relatively new, the community is smaller but growing rapidly. This plugin is gaining traction, and while resources may be limited compared to Webpack, the Rspack community is actively contributing to its development.

Configuration Complexity

  • @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin: Requires some configuration within the Webpack setup, which may involve additional steps for developers unfamiliar with Webpack's configuration options. However, once set up, it provides a powerful development tool.
  • @rspack/plugin-react-refresh: Offers a simpler configuration process, aligning with Rspack's goal of reducing complexity in build setups. This makes it easier for developers to get started with fast refresh capabilities.
How to Choose: @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin vs @rspack/plugin-react-refresh
  • @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin: Choose this plugin if you are using Webpack as your module bundler. It integrates seamlessly with Webpack's development server and leverages its capabilities to provide a robust hot reloading experience for React applications.
  • @rspack/plugin-react-refresh: Opt for this plugin if you are using Rspack, which is designed for speed and efficiency. Rspack is a newer alternative to Webpack, and this plugin will help you take advantage of Rspack's performance optimizations while still benefiting from React's fast refresh capabilities.
README for @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin

React Refresh Webpack Plugin

CircleCI License Latest Version Next Version

An EXPERIMENTAL Webpack plugin to enable "Fast Refresh" (also known as Hot Reloading) for React components.

This plugin is not 100% stable. We're hoping to land a v1 release soon - please help us by reporting any issues you've encountered!

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Ensure that you are using at least the minimum supported versions of this plugin's peer dependencies - older versions unfortunately do not contain code to orchestrate "Fast Refresh", and thus cannot be made compatible.

We recommend using the following versions:

| Dependency | Version | | --------------- | ---------------------------- | | react | 16.13.0+, 17.x or 18.x | | react-dom | 16.13.0+, 17.x or 18.x | | react-refresh | 0.10.0+ | | webpack | 4.46.0+ or 5.2.0+ |

Minimum requirements

| Dependency | Version | | --------------- | -------- | | react | 16.9.0 | | react-dom | 16.9.0 | | react-refresh | 0.10.0 | | webpack | 4.43.0 |

Using custom renderers (e.g. react-three-fiber, react-pdf, ink)

To ensure full support of "Fast Refresh" with components rendered by custom renderers, you should ensure the renderer you're using depends on a recent version of react-reconciler.

We recommend version 0.25.0 or above, but any versions above 0.22.0 should work.

If the renderer is not compatible, please file them an issue instead.

Installation

With all prerequisites met, you can install this plugin using your package manager of choice:

# if you prefer npm
npm install -D @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin react-refresh

# if you prefer yarn
yarn add -D @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin react-refresh

# if you prefer pnpm
pnpm add -D @pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin react-refresh

The react-refresh package (from the React team) is a required peer dependency of this plugin. We recommend using version 0.10.0 or above.

Support for TypeScript

TypeScript support is available out-of-the-box for those who use webpack.config.ts.

Our exported types however depends on type-fest, so you'll have to add it as a devDependency:

# if you prefer npm
npm install -D type-fest

# if you prefer yarn
yarn add -D type-fest

# if you prefer pnpm
pnpm add -D type-fest

:memo: Note:

type-fest@4.x only supports Node.js v16 or above, type-fest@3.x only supports Node.js v14.16 or above, and type-fest@2.x only supports Node.js v12.20 or above. If you're using an older version of Node.js, please install type-fest@1.x.

Usage

For most setups, we recommend integrating with babel-loader. It covers the most use cases and is officially supported by the React team.

The example below will assume you're using webpack-dev-server.

If you haven't done so, set up your development Webpack configuration for Hot Module Replacement (HMR).

const isDevelopment = process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production';

module.exports = {
  mode: isDevelopment ? 'development' : 'production',
  devServer: {
    hot: true,
  },
};
Using webpack-hot-middleware
const webpack = require('webpack');

const isDevelopment = process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production';

module.exports = {
  mode: isDevelopment ? 'development' : 'production',
  plugins: [isDevelopment && new webpack.HotModuleReplacementPlugin()].filter(Boolean),
};
Using webpack-plugin-serve
const { WebpackPluginServe } = require('webpack-plugin-serve');

const isDevelopment = process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production';

module.exports = {
  mode: isDevelopment ? 'development' : 'production',
  plugins: [isDevelopment && new WebpackPluginServe()].filter(Boolean),
};

Then, add the react-refresh/babel plugin to your Babel configuration and this plugin to your Webpack configuration.

const ReactRefreshWebpackPlugin = require('@pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin');

const isDevelopment = process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production';

module.exports = {
  mode: isDevelopment ? 'development' : 'production',
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.[jt]sx?$/,
        exclude: /node_modules/,
        use: [
          {
            loader: require.resolve('babel-loader'),
            options: {
              plugins: [isDevelopment && require.resolve('react-refresh/babel')].filter(Boolean),
            },
          },
        ],
      },
    ],
  },
  plugins: [isDevelopment && new ReactRefreshWebpackPlugin()].filter(Boolean),
};

:memo: Note:

Ensure both the Babel transform (react-refresh/babel) and this plugin are enabled only in development mode!

Using ts-loader

:warning: Warning: This is an un-official integration maintained by the community.

Install react-refresh-typescript. Ensure your TypeScript version is at least 4.0.

# if you prefer npm
npm install -D react-refresh-typescript

# if you prefer yarn
yarn add -D react-refresh-typescript

# if you prefer pnpm
pnpm add -D react-refresh-typescript

Then, instead of wiring up react-refresh/babel via babel-loader, you can wire-up react-refresh-typescript with ts-loader:

const ReactRefreshWebpackPlugin = require('@pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin');
const ReactRefreshTypeScript = require('react-refresh-typescript');

const isDevelopment = process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production';

module.exports = {
  mode: isDevelopment ? 'development' : 'production',
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.[jt]sx?$/,
        exclude: /node_modules/,
        use: [
          {
            loader: require.resolve('ts-loader'),
            options: {
              getCustomTransformers: () => ({
                before: [isDevelopment && ReactRefreshTypeScript()].filter(Boolean),
              }),
              transpileOnly: isDevelopment,
            },
          },
        ],
      },
    ],
  },
  plugins: [isDevelopment && new ReactRefreshWebpackPlugin()].filter(Boolean),
};

It is recommended to run ts-loader with transpileOnly is set to true. You can use ForkTsCheckerWebpackPlugin as an alternative if you need typechecking during development.

Using swc-loader

:warning: Warning: This is an un-official integration maintained by the community.

Ensure your @swc/core version is at least 1.2.86. It is also recommended to use swc-loader version 0.1.13 or above.

Then, instead of wiring up react-refresh/babel via babel-loader, you can wire-up swc-loader and use the refresh transform:

const ReactRefreshWebpackPlugin = require('@pmmmwh/react-refresh-webpack-plugin');

const isDevelopment = process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production';

module.exports = {
  mode: isDevelopment ? 'development' : 'production',
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.[jt]sx?$/,
        exclude: /node_modules/,
        use: [
          {
            loader: require.resolve('swc-loader'),
            options: {
              jsc: {
                transform: {
                  react: {
                    development: isDevelopment,
                    refresh: isDevelopment,
                  },
                },
              },
            },
          },
        ],
      },
    ],
  },
  plugins: [isDevelopment && new ReactRefreshWebpackPlugin()].filter(Boolean),
};

Starting from version 0.1.13, swc-loader will set the development option based on Webpack's mode option. swc won't enable fast refresh when development is false.

For more information on how to set up "Fast Refresh" with different integrations, please check out our examples.

Overlay Integration

This plugin integrates with the most common Webpack HMR solutions to surface errors during development - in the form of an error overlay.

By default, webpack-dev-server is used, but you can set the overlay.sockIntegration option to match what you're using.

The supported versions are as follows:

| Dependency | Version | | ------------------------ | -------------------------- | | webpack-dev-server | 3.6.0+ or 4.x or 5.x | | webpack-hot-middleware | 2.x | | webpack-plugin-serve | 0.x or 1.x |

API

Please refer to the API docs for all available options.

FAQs and Troubleshooting

Please refer to the Troubleshooting guide for FAQs and resolutions to common issues.

License

This project is licensed under the terms of the MIT License.

Special Thanks

JetBrains Logo