Context API
The Context API in React is a built-in feature that allows to share state or values across component tree without having to pass props manually at every level.
Get Danushanthi Konesalingam’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
It’s often used for:
- User authentication data (e.g: logged-in user info)
- Theme (dark/light)
- Language settings
- Global form or UI state
It follows three main steps
- Create the Context
import React, { createContext } from ‘react’;
export const UserContext = createContext();
2. Provide the Context
export const UserProvider = ({ children }) => {
const [user, setUser] = React.useState(null);return (
<UserContext.Provider value={{ user, setUser }}>
{children}
</UserContext.Provider>
);
};
Then wrap this in app.js or main.js
import { UserProvider } from ‘./UserContext’;
function App() {
return (
<UserProvider>
<HomePage/>
</UserProvider>
);
}
3. Use the Context
import { useContext } from ‘react’;
import { UserContext } from ‘./UserContext’;
const HomePage = () => {
const { user } = useContext(UserContext);
return <div>Welcome, {user?.name}</div>;
};




