Building a Real-Time Chat Application with React Server Components

[Lomanu4]

React Server Components (RSC) offer a powerful way to improve performance by allowing server-side rendering and reducing client-side JavaScript. In this tutorial, we will build a real-time chat application that leverages React Server Components to dynamically render messages without unnecessary re-renders.

Step 1 - Setting Up the Project


First, let's create a new React project and install the necessary dependencies:


npx create-react-app real-time-chat
cd real-time-chat
npm install express react-server-dom socket.io

We will also set up a basic Express server to handle the chat messages and establish a WebSocket connection for real-time communication.


// server.js
const express = require('express');
const http = require('http');
const socketIo = require('socket.io');
const React = require('react');
const ReactDOMServer = require('react-dom/server');
const App = require('./src/App');

const app = express();
const server = http.createServer(app);
const io = socketIo(server);

let messages = [];

io.on('connection', (socket) => {
console.log('User connected');

socket.emit('init', messages);

socket.on('message', (msg) => {
messages.push(msg);
io.emit('message', msg); // broadcast the message to all clients
});

socket.on('disconnect', () => {
console.log('User disconnected');
});
});

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
const appString = ReactDOMServer.renderToString();
res.send(`


Real-Time Chat

${appString}



`);
});

server.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server running on http://localhost:3000'));
Step 2 - Creating the Chat Component


Next, we’ll create the Chat component to display and send messages in the chat app.


// Chat.js
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import io from 'socket.io-client';

const socket = io();

const Chat = () => {
const [messages, setMessages] = useState([]);
const [newMessage, setNewMessage] = useState('');

useEffect(() => {
socket.on('init', (initialMessages) => {
setMessages(initialMessages);
});

socket.on('message', (message) => {
setMessages((prevMessages) => [...prevMessages, message]);
});

return () => {
socket.off('init');
socket.off('message');
};
}, []);

const handleSubmit = (e) => {
e.preventDefault();
if (newMessage.trim()) {
socket.emit('message', newMessage);
setNewMessage('');
}
};

return (

<h2>Real-Time Chat</h2>

{messages.map((msg, index) =&gt; (
<p>{msg}</p>
))}


setNewMessage(e.target.value)}
placeholder="Type a message"
/&gt;
Send


);
};

export default Chat;
Step 3 - Integrating the Chat Component with React Server Components


We’ll now update the App.js file to use our Chat component.


// App.js
import React from 'react';
import Chat from './Chat';

const App = () =&gt; {
return (

<h1>Real-Time Chat Application</h1>


);
};

export default App;
Step 4 - Server-Side Rendering with React Server Components


To leverage React Server Components for rendering, we’ll modify our server.js to include React Server Components.


// server.js (updated)
const express = require('express');
const http = require('http');
const socketIo = require('socket.io');
const React = require('react');
const ReactDOMServer = require('react-dom/server');
const App = require('./src/App');

const app = express();
const server = http.createServer(app);
const io = socketIo(server);

let messages = [];

io.on('connection', (socket) =&gt; {
console.log('User connected');

socket.emit('init', messages);

socket.on('message', (msg) =&gt; {
messages.push(msg);
io.emit('message', msg); // broadcast the message to all clients
});

socket.on('disconnect', () =&gt; {
console.log('User disconnected');
});
});

app.get('/', async (req, res) =&gt; {
const appString = ReactDOMServer.renderToString();
res.send(`


Real-Time Chat

${appString}



`);
});

server.listen(3000, () =&gt; console.log('Server running on http://localhost:3000'));
Use Case Scenario


Real-time chat applications are a common feature in modern websites, from customer support to community forums. By using React Server Components, we can streamline the server-side data fetching and rendering while keeping the client-side minimal. This approach ensures that real-time updates, like new messages, are efficiently pushed to all users without unnecessary re-renders on the client.

Pros and Cons


Pros:

• Fast, server-side rendered chat experience.
• ? Real-time updates using WebSocket and React Server Components.
• ?‍? Simple integration with Express and Socket.io.

Cons:

• ? More complex architecture requiring both server-side and client-side logic.
• WebSocket server must be maintained for real-time communication.
• ? Handling of user sessions and message persistence can add complexity.

Summary


In this article, we built a real-time chat application using React Server Components and WebSockets with Socket.io. By leveraging server-side rendering, we created a fast and scalable application that handles dynamic updates efficiently. This technique is particularly useful for apps that require real-time communication, such as chat apps, live notifications, and collaborative platforms.

To learn more about React Server Components and how to master them for full-stack development, check out my guide:

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