Importing images in React

In this guide, we’ll learn how to import images in React. We’ll cover:

• Importing images from project folders
• Using images in components

Importing images from project folders

To import images from your project folders, you can use the import statement in JavaScript, just like we have done previously for modules and functions.

As with modules, you need to specify the path to the image file. You can call the image anything that makes sense to you.

Moving your image to the project folder

Firstly, you will need to move your logo to the app/assets/png folder. This is where we will store all PNG images in the Epic News project.

The easiest way to do this is to simply drag and drop the image file into the app/assets/png folder in your code editor:

Importing the image

Now that the image is in the correct folder, you can import it into your component:

app/components/organisms/HeaderWithSearch.tsx

import { useMatches, Link } from 'react-router'
import { SearchBar } from '#app/components/search-bar.tsx'
import { Button } from '#app/components/ui/button.tsx'
import { UserDropdown } from '#app/components/user-dropdown.tsx'
import { useOptionalUser } from '#app/utils/user.ts'
import logo from '~/assets/svg/epic-news-sample-logo.svg';

Caution

The above snippet assumes you have saved your logo with the name epic-news-logo.png, and placed this into the assets/png/ folder.

If you have saved your logo with a different filename, or placed it into a different location, you will need to modify the import statement accordingly.

Using the image

To actually use the image in your component, you can use the img tag and set the src attribute to the imported image.

You should also set an alt attribute to describe the image for users accessing the site with a screen reader.

Add the line of code below inside the div that you created in the previous tutorial:

app/components/organisms/HeaderWithSearch.tsx

import { useMatches, Link } from 'react-router'
import { SearchBar } from '#app/components/search-bar.tsx'
import { Button } from '#app/components/ui/button.tsx'
import { UserDropdown } from '#app/components/user-dropdown.tsx'
import { useOptionalUser } from '#app/utils/user.ts'
import logo from '~/assets/svg/epic-news-sample-logo.svg'

export default function HeaderWithSearch() {
  const matches = useMatches()
  const isOnSearchPage = matches.find((m) => m.id === 'routes/users+/index')
  const searchBar = isOnSearchPage ? null : <SearchBar status="idle" />
  const user = useOptionalUser()

  return (
    <header className="container py-6">
      <nav className="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-between gap-4 sm:flex-nowrap md:gap-8">
        <div>
          <img src={logo} alt="Epic News Logo" className="w-16" />
          <span className="text-foreground text-sm">Epic News</span>
        </div>
        <div className="ml-auto hidden max-w-sm flex-1 sm:block">
          {searchBar}
        </div>
        <div className="flex items-center gap-10">
          {user ? (
            <UserDropdown />
          ) : (
            <Button asChild variant="default" size="lg">
              <Link to="/login">Log In</Link>
            </Button>
          )}
        </div>
        <div className="block w-full sm:hidden">{searchBar}</div>
      </nav>
    </header>
  )
}

With this code saved, your logo should now appear just above the site title in the navigation bar:

Challenge

Use flexbox to position the logo and site title horizontally

Now that you have the logo and site title in the navigation bar, use flexbox to position them horizontally.

• The logo should be on the left, and the site title should be on the right.
• There should be a small gap between the two to separate them.
• The site title should be centred vertically with the logo.

Once you’ve had a go, check the your code against the solution below:

TIPS

You will need to use Tailwind’s flexbox utilities to achieve this.

Use the flexbox generator below to generate the code required for this layout:

Flexbox Generator

1

2

Parent

Apply flex?

Flex wrap?

Justify contentjustify-startjustify-endjustify-centerjustify-betweenjustify-aroundjustify-evenly

Align itemsitems-startitems-enditems-centeritems-baselineitems-stretch

Flex directionflex-rowflex-colflex-row-reverseflex-col-reverse

Children

Add Child

Remove Child

Using Tailwind?

CSS styles

Copy and paste the code below into your parent flex container to recreate the layout above 😎.

display: flex;

When you’re ready, compare your solution with the one below:

app/components/organisms/HeaderWithSearch.tsx

import { useMatches } from '@remix-run/react'
import { SearchBar } from '../molecules/SearchBar'
import LoginOrUserDropdown from './LoginOrUserDropdown'
import logo from '~/assets/svg/epic-news-sample-logo.svg'

export default function HeaderWithSearch() {
  const matches = useMatches()
  const isOnSearchPage = matches.find(m => m.id === 'routes/users+/index')
  const searchBar = isOnSearchPage ? null : <SearchBar status="idle" />

  return (
    <header className="dark:bg-dark-primary/10 bg-primary/10 py-6">
      <nav className="container flex flex-wrap items-center justify-between gap-4 sm:flex-nowrap md:gap-8">
        <div className="flex items-center gap-4">
          <img src={logo} alt="Epic News Logo" className="w-16" />
          <span className="text-sm text-foreground">Epic News</span>
        </div>
        <div className="ml-auto hidden max-w-sm flex-1 sm:block">
          {searchBar}
        </div>
        <div className="flex items-center gap-10">
          <LoginOrUserDropdown />
        </div>
        <div className="block w-full sm:hidden">{searchBar}</div>
      </nav>
    </header>
  )
}

With this code in place, your site logo and title should now be positioned correctly in the navigation bar:

Flexbox solution

Summary

In this tutorial, we have:

• Moved an image to the app/assets/png folder
• Imported the image into a component
• Used the image as the src attribute in an img tag
• Positioned the image and text in the navigation bar correctly using flexbox

What’s next?

In the next tutorial, we’ll customise the navigation bar and footer by adding links to different pages in the site.