Customize SVGs in React

I tried a few ways to display SVG images in React and I want to share my choice.

• Packages with SVG icon collections
• img tag: <img src="someSvg" alt="some text" />
• Copy/paste svg tag into JSX: <svg>...</svg>
• Import SVG as React component <– my choice

Advantages of using SVGs as a React component

Why did I choose to use SVGs as a React component?

• No need to install icon collections;
• I can do customization through props: width, height, fill, stroke, strokeWith, etc.;
• I can define other styles with CSS through className prop;
• No need to copy/paste the SVG file;

Usage with Create React App

If you use CRA you can import SVG files and use them as React component right away.

App.js

- import logo from "./logo.svg";
+ import { ReactComponent as Logo } from "./logo.svg";
import "./App.css";

function App() {
  return (
    <div className="App">
      <header className="App-header">
-       <img src={logo} alt="logo" />
+       <Logo stroke="#f60" strokeWidth={10} width={500} />
        <p>
          Edit <code>src/App.js</code> and save to reload.
        </p>
        <a
          className="App-link"
          href="https://reactjs.org"
          target="_blank"
          rel="noopener noreferrer"
        >
          Learn React
        </a>
      </header>
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

Stroke changed logo

Usage without Create React App

Create React App uses SVGR behind the scenes to import SVG files as a React component, so let’s do the same now.

1 - Install the Webpack loader called @svgr/webpack

yarn add --dev @svgr/webpack

2 - Update your webpack.config.js

 ...
  module: {
    rules: [
      ...
      // SVG loader
      {
        test: /\.svg$/,
        use: [
          {
            loader: '@svgr/webpack',
            options: {
              titleProp: true,
            },
          },
          'file-loader',
        ],
      },
    ],
  },
  ...

NOTE: I use it in conjunction with file-loader, in case I want to import SVG files normally.

3 - Import SVG files as React component

import { ReactComponent as SomeImage } from 'path/to/image.svg'

...

<SomeImage width={100} height={50} fill="pink" stroke="#0066ff" />

Credits

• Transform SVGs into React components — SVGR
• File Loader — file-loader
• Cover photo by Harpal Singh on Unsplash

Conclusion

Summing it up, using SVGs as a React component allows me to easily customize my SVG icons in a snap. That’s what I want.