rescript-lang / rescript-lang/rescript-react

Allow arbitrary data-* attributes on DOM elements in JSX

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Dominant language
ReScript
Stars
517
Forks
45
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

Problem

Currently data-* attributes cannot be used directly on HTML elements in ReScript JSX.

Example:

<input data-component="true" />

This produces the compiler error:

The field data-component does not belong to type JsxDOM.domProps

To use data-* attributes developers currently need to:

  • extend JsxDOM.domProps
  • implement a custom JSX module
  • bypass JSX with React.createElement

This introduces unnecessary complexity for a very common HTML pattern and reduces JSX ergonomics.

Context

data-* attributes are part of the HTML standard and are widely used across the React ecosystem for:

  • CSS state selectors
  • design-system variants
  • testing hooks (data-testid)
  • UI libraries such as Radix UI, Headless UI, and similar component systems

Example commonly used in modern component libraries:

<button data-state="open" data-variant="primary" />

CSS:

button[data-state="open"] {
  background: green;
}

This pattern is heavily used in modern design systems and utility-CSS ecosystems because it allows component state to be expressed declaratively and consumed by CSS.

Proposal

Allow arbitrary attributes matching the pattern:

data-*

on lowercase DOM elements in JSX without requiring them to be explicitly declared in JsxDOM.domProps.

This could be implemented as a special case in JSX attribute validation.

Benefits

  • better interoperability with the React ecosystem
  • easier migration of existing React / TypeScript codebases
  • simpler implementation of design systems
  • avoids the need for custom JSX infrastructure for a standard HTML feature

Expected developer experience

Developers should be able to write JSX like this without additional configuration:

<button data-state="open" data-variant="primary" />

In real-world usage these attributes often contain values coming from ReScript variables, component props, or state:

@react.component
let make = (~variant: string, ~isOpen: bool, ~count: int) => {
  <button
    data-state={isOpen ? "open" : "closed"}
    data-variant={variant}
    data-count={count}
  >
    {React.string("Click")}
  </button>
}

This pattern is widely used in React codebases and design systems, where data-* attributes act as a bridge between component state and CSS.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by examining JsxDOM.domProps and the JSX attribute-validation logic, which the proposal identifies as the relevant areas. Verify the expected behavior with lowercase DOM elements using static and variable data-* values; done means arbitrary data-* attributes compile without extending JsxDOM.domProps or using a custom JSX module.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
react
Domain
frontend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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