React formatting

React Code Formatting

Overview

Unifies CLI lint and save-time formatting for React (non-Next) projects using:

• ESLint flat config (eslint-plugin-react + TypeScript; eslint-config-prettier disables conflicting rules)
• Prettier (formatting via Prettier CLI / editor, not eslint-plugin-prettier)
• Husky + lint-staged + commitlint
• VSCode/Cursor extension and settings checks

For Next.js projects, use the next-formatting skill instead.

When to Use

Use when package.json has react but no next, and:

• npm run lint conflicts with editor save formatting
• the project needs standardized formatting and commit hooks
• commit messages are rejected or inconsistent
• VSCode/Cursor plugins may be missing or misconfigured

Workflow

1. Install and configure ESLint + Prettier (React-specific)
2. Configure Husky + lint-staged + commitlint
3. Verify VSCode/Cursor plugins and settings
4. Run verification commands and report gaps

1) ESLint + Prettier

Install

npm install -D prettier eslint-config-prettier \
  @eslint/js typescript-eslint eslint-plugin-react eslint-plugin-react-hooks \
  eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y globals

If Tailwind is used:

npm install -D prettier-plugin-tailwindcss

Prettier

Create prettier.config.mjs:

const config = {
  singleQuote: false,
  tabWidth: 2,
  trailingComma: "all",
  printWidth: 100,
  semi: true,
  arrowParens: "avoid",
  bracketSameLine: true,
  plugins: ["prettier-plugin-tailwindcss"],
};

export default config;

Create .prettierignore for generated artifacts (node_modules, dist, build, etc.).

ESLint (flat config)

Create eslint.config.mjs:

import js from "@eslint/js";
import globals from "globals";
import react from "eslint-plugin-react";
import reactHooks from "eslint-plugin-react-hooks";
import jsxA11y from "eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y";
import tseslint from "typescript-eslint";
import eslintConfigPrettier from "eslint-config-prettier/flat";

export default [
  js.configs.recommended,
  ...tseslint.configs.recommended,
  {
    files: ["**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}"],
    languageOptions: {
      globals: { ...globals.browser, ...globals.node },
      parserOptions: { ecmaFeatures: { jsx: true } },
    },
    plugins: { react, "react-hooks": reactHooks, "jsx-a11y": jsxA11y },
    settings: { react: { version: "detect" } },
    rules: {
      ...react.configs.recommended.rules,
      ...reactHooks.configs.recommended.rules,
      ...jsxA11y.configs.recommended.rules,
    },
  },
  eslintConfigPrettier,
];

Package roles:

• @eslint/js — base JavaScript recommended rules
• typescript-eslint — TypeScript parser and rules
• eslint-plugin-react / react-hooks / jsx-a11y — React, Hooks, and accessibility (similar coverage to what eslint-config-next bundles for Next)
• globals — browser/node global names for no-undef
• eslint-config-prettier — turns off ESLint rules that conflict with Prettier; formatting is handled by Prettier separately (not via eslint-plugin-prettier)

2) Scripts + Husky + lint-staged + commitlint

Scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "lint": "eslint .",
    "lint-fix": "eslint . --fix",
    "format-fix": "prettier --write .",
    "commitlint": "commitlint --edit",
    "prepare": "husky"
  }
}

Husky + lint-staged

npm install -D husky lint-staged
npx husky init

.husky/pre-commit:

#!/usr/bin/env sh
npx lint-staged

lint-staged.config.mjs:

const lintStagedConfig = {
  "*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}": ["npm run lint-fix"],
  "*.{json,css,md}": ["npm run format-fix"],
};

export default lintStagedConfig;

Commitlint

npm install -D @commitlint/cli @commitlint/config-conventional

commitlint.config.mjs:

/** @type {import("@commitlint/types").UserConfig} */
const config = {
  extends: ["@commitlint/config-conventional"],
};

export default config;

.husky/commit-msg:

#!/usr/bin/env sh
npx --no -- commitlint --edit "$1"

Hooks: pre-commit → lint-staged; commit-msg → commitlint.

Conventional Commits format: <type>(<scope>): <description> — types include feat, fix, docs, chore, etc.

3) VSCode/Cursor Checks (Required)

Required extensions

• esbenp.prettier-vscode
• dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
• rvest.vs-code-prettier-eslint

Check with cursor --list-extensions or code --list-extensions. If missing, tell the user which IDs to install.

Workspace settings

Verify .vscode/settings.json has:

• editor.formatOnSave: true
• language-specific formatters (Prettier ESLint for JS/TS/React when using that workflow)
• eslint.validate includes JS/TS/React variants
• "*.css": "tailwindcss" in files.associations when using Tailwind

Propose exact JSON edits if missing or conflicting.

4) Verification Before Completion

npm run lint
npm run lint-fix
npm run format-fix

Test hooks (run npm run prepare first if hooks do not fire):

echo "bad commit message" | npx commitlint          # fail
echo "chore: verify commitlint" | npx commitlint    # pass
git commit --allow-empty -m "invalid message"       # commit-msg hook fail
git commit --allow-empty -m "chore: verify hook"    # pass

Stage a file and commit to confirm pre-commit runs lint-staged.

Report what was configured, what was verified, and any unresolved gaps.