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Import an external NPM library

This topic explains how to incorporate external React component libraries from NPM into your project. You'll learn how to install and import UI components from popular React libraries.

Install the library

Install the library locally

Use npm to install the external library. For example, to install React Icons, use the following command:

npm install react-icons

Install the library in Reunite

If you are working in Reunite, you can install the library by adding it to the package.json file.

{
  // ...
  "dependencies": {
    // existing dependencies
    "react-icons": "^4.11.0"
  }
}

Follow the steps in Run a specific version in Reunite to create a package.json file if you don't have one already.

Configure private registries

If you need to install libraries from private NPM registries (such as Artifactory, AWS CodeArtifact, or GitHub Packages), you can configure registry access using either .npmrc or bunfig.toml files.

Use .npmrc

Create a .npmrc file in your project root:

@myorg:registry=https://registry.myorg.com/
//registry.myorg.com/:_authToken=${NPM_TOKEN}

For enhanced flexibility, create a bunfig.toml file in your project root:

[install.scopes]
# Using environment variables for credentials
"@myorg" = { token = "$NPM_TOKEN", url = "https://registry.myorg.com/" }

# Alternative with username/password
"@mycompany" = {
  username = "$NPM_USERNAME",
  password = "$NPM_PASSWORD",
  url = "https://registry.mycompany.com/"
}

Secure credential management

Never commit registry credentials directly to your repository. Always use environment variables for sensitive information like tokens, usernames, and passwords.

Store your registry credentials as environment variables:

  • For local development, add them to your .env file (do not commit secrets to Git):

    NPM_TOKEN=your-private-token-here
NPM_USERNAME=your-username
NPM_PASSWORD=your-password

  • For Reunite projects, add them through the Settings > Environment variables page and mark them as secrets. Reunite supports environment variable names that start with NPM_ for private package registries.

For more information about managing environment variables, see Environment variables.

Import and use components

After installation, you can import components directly in your React files, as in the following example:

import * as React from 'react';
import { FaHeart, FaThumbsUp } from 'react-icons/fa';

export function MyComponent() {
  return (
    <div>
      <FaHeart color="red" size={24} />
      <FaThumbsUp color="blue" size={24} />
    </div>
  );
}

Usage with Markdoc

See Build markdoc tags for more information about how to register and use custom Markdoc tags.

To use external components within Markdoc, you'll need to register them in your schema, as in the following example:

@theme/markdoc/schema.ts
// @theme/markdoc/schema.ts
import type { Schema } from '@markdoc/markdoc';

export const tags: Record<string, Schema> = {
  // ... existing tags ...
  reactIcon: {
    render: 'ReactIcon',
    attributes: {
      name: {
        type: 'string',
        required: true,
      },
      size: {
        type: 'number',
        default: 24,
      },
      color: {
        type: 'string',
        default: 'currentColor',
      },
    },
  },
};

You also need to export your components as in the following example:

@theme/markdoc/components.ts
import * as React from 'react';
import { FaHeart, FaThumbsUp } from 'react-icons/fa';

export function ReactIcon({ name, size = 24, color = 'currentColor' }) {
  const icons = {
    heart: FaHeart,
    thumbsUp: FaThumbsUp,
  };

  const IconComponent = icons[name];
  return <IconComponent size={size} color={color} />;
}

You can use the icon component in your Markdoc files, as in the following example:

{% reactIcon name="heart" color="red" /%}
{% reactIcon name="thumbsUp" color="blue" size=32 /%}

Resources

  • Environment variables - Configure secure credentials for private registry access using environment variables
  • Build custom Markdoc tags - Create reusable Markdoc components using imported NPM libraries for enhanced functionality
  • Built-in icon components - Use Redocly's built-in icon system and learn patterns for extending it with external icon libraries
 
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