React Permission Toolkit

A package for managing and enforcing permissions in React applications.

Getting Started

To install this package use npm:

npm install react-permission-toolkit

Usage

Wrapping the React Application

To provide the necessary permissions context throughout the application, wrap the root component with PermissionProvider:

// index.tsx
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import { PermissionProvider } from 'react-permission-toolkit';
import App from './App';

// Define the user's permissions
const permissions = ['read', 'write'];

// Optional: Define a callback function to handle permission errors
const onPermissionError = (permission: string) => {
    console.error(`Permission error: ${permission} is not granted.`);
};

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root') as HTMLElement);
root.render(
    <PermissionProvider permissions={permissions} onPermissionError={onPermissionError}>
        <App />
    </PermissionProvider>,
    document.getElementById('root')
);

Using the Higher-Order Component (HOC)

The withPermission HOC conditionally renders components based on user permissions:

// App.tsx
import React from 'react';
import { withPermission } from 'react-permission-toolkit';

function SecretComponent() {
    return <div>Secret Information</div>;
}

function NoAccessComponent() {
    return <div>You do not have access to this information</div>;
}

const SecretComponentWithPermission = withPermission('read', NoAccessComponent)(SecretComponent);

function App() {
    return (
        <div>
            <h1>My Application</h1>
            <SecretComponentWithPermission />
        </div>
    );
}

export default App;

In this example, SecretComponent is only rendered if the user has the read permission. If the read permission is not granted, NoAccessComponent is displayed instead.

Using the Hook

The useHasPermission hook checks for specific permissions within components:

// App.tsx
import React from 'react';
import { useHasPermission } from 'react-permission-toolkit';

function PermissionBasedComponent() {
    const hasReadPermission = useHasPermission('read');

    return (
        <div>
            {hasReadPermission ? (
                <div>You have read permission</div>
            ) : (
                <div>You do not have read permission</div>
            )}
        </div>
    );
}

function App() {
    return (
        <div>
            <h1>My Application</h1>
            <PermissionBasedComponent />
        </div>
    );
}

export default App;

Here, PermissionBasedComponent uses the useHasPermission hook to check if the read permission is granted, rendering different content based on the result.

Combining the HOC and Hook

For more complex scenarios, combine the withPermission HOC and useHasPermission hook. This allows wrapping a component with the HOC for initial permission checks, while still using the hook for further permission-based logic within the component:

// App.tsx
import React from 'react';
import { useHasPermission, withPermission } from 'react-permission-toolkit';

function SecretComponent() {
    const hasWritePermission = useHasPermission('write');

    return (
        <div>
            <div>Secret Information</div>
            {hasWritePermission && <div>You have write access</div>}
        </div>
    );
}

function NoAccessComponent() {
    return <div>You do not have access to this information</div>;
}

const SecretComponentWithPermission = withPermission('read', NoAccessComponent)(SecretComponent);

function App() {
    return (
        <div>
            <h1>My Application</h1>
            <SecretComponentWithPermission />
        </div>
    );
}

export default App;

In this example, SecretComponent is first wrapped with withPermission to ensure the user has the read permission. Inside the component, the useHasPermission hook checks for the write permission to conditionally render additional content.

Local Development

For local development, use Yalc to install this package in your project.

Yalc is a tool for managing local development of npm packages. It allows you to work on this package locally and test it in other projects without publishing to the npm registry.

To use yalc, you need to install it globally on your machine. You can do this using npm:

npm install yalc -g

Installing the Package with Yalc

First, navigate to the project directory where you want to use this package and run:

yalc add react-permission-toolkit

This will install the package from the local Yalc store. You can now use it in the project as you would with any other npm package.

Updating the Package with Yalc

After publishing changes to this package to the local Yalc store, navigate to the project directory and run:

yalc update react-permission-toolkit

This will update the installed version of this package in the project.

Available Scripts

In the project directory, you can run:

npm run build

Builds production files in your dist/ folder. It generates CommonJS, ES Modules, as well as TypeScript declaration files.

npm run build:cjs

Builds CommonJS (CJS) modules for the project.

npm run build:esm

Builds ES Modules (ESM) for the project.

npm run build:types

Generates TypeScript declaration files.

npm run clean

Removes the dist/ folder to ensure a clean build.

npm run format

Formats the code using Prettier according to the rules defined in package.json.

npm run test

Runs the test suite for the project using Jest.

npm run test:watch

Runs the test suite in watch mode, re-running tests when files change.

npm run test:coverage

Runs the test suite and generates a coverage report.

npm run yalc:publish

Publishes the package to the local Yalc store for local development.

npm run yalc:push

Publishes updates to the package in the local Yalc store and pushes the changes to linked projects.

Publishing

This repository is configured to publish the package to npm, every time you publish a new release, using GitHub Actions.

Creating and Using an npm Token

To publish the package, you need an npm token:

1. Log in to your npm account.
2. Navigate to Access Tokens in your npm account settings.
3. Generate a new token with the Automation option, especially if you have 2FA enabled.
4. Add the token to your GitHub repository secrets:
   • Go to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions.
   • Add a new secret named NPM_TOKEN and paste your npm token.