recipes/routing.md
React Router can be used for routing in Ink apps via its MemoryRouter. Unlike BrowserRouter, MemoryRouter doesn't rely on the browser's history API, storing the navigation stack in memory instead — which is exactly what a terminal app needs.
import React from 'react';
import {MemoryRouter, Routes, Route, useNavigate} from 'react-router';
import {render, useInput, Text} from 'ink';
function Home() {
const navigate = useNavigate();
useInput((input, key) => {
if (key.return) {
navigate('/about');
}
});
return <Text>Home. Press Enter to go to About.</Text>;
}
function About() {
const navigate = useNavigate();
useInput((input, key) => {
if (key.return) {
navigate('/');
}
});
return <Text>About. Press Enter to go back Home.</Text>;
}
function App() {
return (
<MemoryRouter>
<Routes>
<Route path="/" element={<Home />} />
<Route path="/about" element={<About />} />
</Routes>
</MemoryRouter>
);
}
render(<App />);
Things to keep in mind:
<Link> can't be used in Ink since it renders an <a> tag. Use the useNavigate hook for all navigation instead.MemoryRouter starts at "/" by default. Set the initialEntries prop to start at a different route.See examples/router for a working example.