Technology
React
React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces from components. I use it for every interface I ship: product screens, admin panels, phone controllers for games and even videos rendered in code
- Type
- Technology
- Official site
- react.dev
- In my work
- Projects 1 · Tools 1 · Services 3
- Published
Where I use it
QRuma: party games on one big screen with phones as gamepads
QRuma runs party games on one big screen. Players scan a QR code and their phones become gamepads, with nothing to install. It grew out of VibeCatter
ToolsQuiz Pack Builder: your own questions for Quiz Battle
Write your own question packs for Quiz Battle and play them on a big screen while players answer from their phones. Use cases, steps and limits
ServicesFrom idea to a working MVP
MVP development for startups: scope, UX, design, frontend, backend, AI and launch, by one senior engineer who has been a founder and a CTO
ServicesA fractional CTO for your startup
Fractional CTO for startups: architecture, team, code review and delivery, from a CTO who also builds. Hours a week, part-time or full-time
ServicesAI agents and LLM apps that work in production
AI agent and LLM development: agents, chatbots on your data, AI features, voice and video pipelines built into a working product, not a demo
What is React and how do I use it?
I came to front-end work as a designer, with about 500 interface layouts behind me. React is where those layouts become working screens: each part of the design becomes a component that can be reused and tested
Key facts
How I use React
- Product interfaces. Dashboards, sign-in flows, forms and settings for the products I build as an engineer and as a CTO.
- Phone controllers. In my multiplayer platform each phone shows a React controller: a joystick, buttons or answer tiles, depending on the game. Read the case study.
- Admin panels. The CMS of this site, with its editor, media library and publishing, is a React application.
- Videos. With Remotion a video is a React component, so the same skills build explainers for VibeCatter.
When I choose React and its limits
React fits interfaces with a lot of state: screens that change as the user types, plays or waits for data. Its ecosystem means most problems already have a well-tested solution.
For a page that is mostly text, HTML rendered on the server is enough, and that is how this site reaches the reader: React renders the page on the server, and only the interactive parts load JavaScript in the browser. I keep that JavaScript small, because every kilobyte costs a phone user time.
Used together with
Sources
- React Documentation — Meta Open Source ·
