React-native-web: Better "Getting Started" instructions for webpack / babel?

[dsernst]

This is a really incredible library, but I found it had a surprisingly steep learning curve for setting everything up.

It took me a while to get everything working. In particular, the webpack / babel config was not intuitive.

Once I got it working, I created this simple little Hello world example: https://github.com/dsernst/react-native-web-hello-world

Are you looking for PRs to improve to Getting Started guides?

[necolas]

Hey, did you see the existing guides?

[necolas]

I pushed a change that hopefully clarifies some details

[dsernst]

Yes, I studied the existing guides, but didn't find them nearly as simple as react-native.

Anyway, renaming them to Getting-Started.md is good.

Hopefully other people will find it easier, or if they need a reference they can use the simple Hello World I put together.

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Great work overall with this project, it's super cool and let me relaunch a native app (6 months of work) on the web in under a day.

[necolas]

let me relaunch a native app (6 months of work) on the web in under a day.

Nice!

[necolas]

Was the barrier mainly setting up webpack/babel correctly?

[dsernst]

That's right

[necolas]

OK I'll see what I can do to provide a more complete introduction/suggestion for getting started from scratch with those. Thanks

[hzoo]

Mind writing what was difficult about setting up the Babel config?

[dsernst]

Thanks for asking, @hzoo.

I remember having trouble figuring out that I need to install a react-native-stage-0 preset, and to support JSX. And that I needed a .babelrc and what it needed to look like.

I also spent a while going through the webpack tutorials again, getting re-familiarized with webpack-dev-server etc.

These are all things I had done a long time ago, but hasn't messed with in a while since React Native ships with them already.

[hzoo]

Huh interesting, @skevy is that preset also a result of the issues with plugin ordering? Will be trying to solve that in https://github.com/babel/babel/issues/5623