How to set activeClassName for wrapper element of Link or IndexLink in react-router?

Question

I am new to the ReactJS world, and would like to know how can I pass active class name to the

element instead of (Link) element

Answer 1

Using react 15.1.0, react-router 2.5.0 and bootstrap 3.3 (this is less important), I developed this solution for making the links active:

npm install --save classnames

npm install --save lodash

The component:

import React from 'react';
import { Link, IndexLink } from 'react-router';
import _ from 'lodash';
import classnames from 'classnames';

class NavItem extends React.Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);

    // The default state
    this.state = {
      isActive: false,
      unregisterRouteListener: false
    };

    // Binding for functions
    this.locationHasChanged = this.locationHasChanged.bind(this);
  }

  componentDidMount() {
    // Check if component is active on mount and add listener on route change
    this.setState({
      isActive: this.context.router.isActive(this.props.to, true),
      unregisterRouteListener: this.context.router.listen(this.locationHasChanged)
    });
  }

  componentWillUnmount() {
    if (this.state.unregisterRouteListener) {
      // Remove the listener
      this.state.unregisterRouteListener();
    }

    // Reset the state
    this.setState({
      isActive: false,
      unregisterRouteListener: false
    });
  }

  // Update the state of the component, based on the router path
  locationHasChanged() {
    this.setState({
      isActive: this.context.router.isActive(this.props.to, true)
    });
  }

  render () {
    let { index } = this.props;
    let LinkComponent = index ? Link : IndexLink;
    let newProps = _.omit(this.props, 'router');

    return (
      

        
          {this.props.children}
        
      
    );
  }
}

NavItem.contextTypes = {
  router: React.PropTypes.object
};

export default NavItem;

Usage:

List

I am a beginner with React, so the above solution surely needs improvements and might contain approach errors. However, it might also contain useful information or a starting point to those interested.

Any feedback or suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks! :)