rescript-lang / rescript-lang/rescript-react
Allow arbitrary data-* attributes on DOM elements in JSX
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- 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
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- 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