Skip to main content

Directory Structure

The directory structure of a software project often plays a vital role in the project's maintainability and developer experience. It is an aspect that is sometimes undervalued but holds significant importance. A well-organized directory structure can greatly facilitate the onboarding of new developers and contribute to the long-term success of the project.

The Undervalued Importance​

Many software projects become non-maintainable over time due to a lack of a proper directory structure. Without clear organization, it becomes challenging to locate and understand the various components of the project. This can result in wasted time, increased complexity, and a higher likelihood of introducing bugs or breaking existing functionality during development.

Feature-Based Directory Structure with Type-Based Substructure​

In React projects, you can adopt a hierarchical directory structure that combines both feature-based and type-based organization.

Feature-Based Directory Structure​

Feature-Based directory structure is based on organizing your project by various features, each with its dedicated directory. This approach promotes cohesion, making it easier to locate and work with related components, services, and assets.

Here are some common feature directory names examples and brief explanations:

  • Authentication (auth): Components, services, and logic related to user authentication and authorization.

  • User Profile (profile): Components and logic for managing and displaying user profiles.

  • Settings (settings): Components and services for configuring user-specific settings.

  • Notifications (notifications): Components and logic related to notifications.

  • Search (search): Handling search-related components and functionality.

  • Messaging (messaging): Components and services for real-time messaging.

  • Product Catalog (catalog): Components and logic for displaying product listings.

  • Dashboard (dashboard): Components and services for creating data-rich dashboards and reports.

Type-Based Substructure​

Within each feature directory, you can further organize your files using a Type-Based substructure. Here are some common type-based subdirectories and their purposes:

  • Components (components): React components specific to the feature.

  • Containers (containers): Container components for managing state and data fetching.

  • Services (services): Modules for handling data fetching, API calls, or other business logic.

  • Styles (styles): Stylesheets and styling-related files.

  • Tests (tests): Test files related to components, containers, or services.

  • Assets (assets): Feature-specific assets like images, fonts, or static resources.

  • Helpers (helpers): Utility functions or helper modules.

  • Constants (constants): Constants, configuration settings, or enums.

Benefits of This Hybrid Approach​

The combination of Feature-Based and Type-Based directory structures offers several advantages:

  • Clarity and Cohesion: Developers can quickly locate and work with components and logic related to a specific area of the application.

  • Scalability: The structure scales gracefully as your project grows.

  • Maintainability: Changes related to a specific feature are confined to its dedicated directory.

  • Developer Onboarding: Onboarding new developers becomes more straightforward.

In summary, adopting a hierarchical directory structure that combines Feature-Based organization with Type-Based substructure is a practical way to enhance the organization, maintainability, and collaboration within your React project. It promotes a holistic approach to code organization, enabling developers to work more efficiently and contribute to a project's long-term success.

Pre-Configured Directory Structure and Features​

In React dApp Template, you'll find a well-structured and pre-configured directory layout that serves as the foundation for your dapp development. These pre-configured features and directories have been thoughtfully integrated into the project to save you time and effort when setting up essential functionalities. Let's delve into these pre-configured features and their corresponding directory structure:

Directory Structure Overview​

├── public
└── src
    ├── services
    ├── hooks
    ├── pages
    ├── store
    └── features
        ├── i18n
        ├── ui
            ├── components
                ├── Layout
                ├── ...
        └── wallet
        └── ...

  • src/services: This directory houses external service clients, providing a dedicated location to interact with external APIs or services. It streamlines the integration of external data sources into your dapp.

  • src/store: The redux store resides here, offering a centralized state management solution. Redux is a robust state management library, and this pre-configured directory simplifies the setup and organization of your application's global state.

  • src/hooks: In the hooks directory, you'll discover shared custom hooks that can be utilized throughout your dapp. Custom hooks encapsulate reusable logic, promoting code modularity and reusability.

  • src/pages: The pages directory contains web pages or views for your dapp. These pages are essential for rendering different views to users and creating a seamless navigation experience.

Feature-Based Directories​

In addition to the core directory structure, React dApp Template includes feature-based directories that align with various aspects of dapp development:

  • src/features/i18n (Internationalization): This directory is dedicated to internationalization, a crucial aspect of making your dapp accessible to a global audience. It simplifies the process of adding and managing translations, ensuring your dapp can be used in multiple languages and regions.

  • src/features/ui (User Interface): The user interface directory provides pre-configured UI components and styling using Chakra-UI. Chakra-UI is a modern and customizable UI framework for React, offering a rich collection of components that adhere to accessibility and responsiveness best practices.

  • src/features/wallet (Metamask Wallet Integration): Wallet integration is a fundamental feature for dapp interactions with blockchain networks. This directory offers seamless integration with Metamask, a widely used Ethereum wallet extension for web browsers. Users can easily connect their wallets, sign transactions, and perform blockchain-related operations within your dapp.

These pre-configured features and directories establish a solid foundation for your dapp development, allowing you to efficiently build, scale, and maintain your application while benefiting from established best practices in state management, UI design, internationalization, and wallet integration.

Feature Examples​

As you embark on your dapp development journey using React dApp Template and its pre-configured directory structure, you may be wondering which features to include in your project. Below, we've outlined some feature examples that can serve as inspiration for various types of dapps. Feel free to mix and match these features based on your project's unique requirements:

NFT Marketplace​

  • Marketplace: Create a feature that enables users to browse, buy, and sell NFTs within your dapp. Implement functionalities for listing NFTs, setting prices, and handling transactions.

  • Minting: Offer a minting feature that allows users to create new NFTs. Users can upload digital assets, set attributes, and mint their unique NFTs directly within your dapp.

  • Pre-Minting: Implement a pre-minting functionality where users can reserve or purchase limited edition NFTs before they are minted. This feature can create excitement and anticipation among your user base.

DeFi Dashboard​

  • Portfolio Tracking: Create a dashboard that allows users to track their DeFi investments, including holdings, yields, and historical performance. Integrate with DeFi protocols to fetch real-time data.

  • Liquidity Pools: Implement features for providing liquidity to decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and earning rewards. Users can stake tokens in liquidity pools and participate in yield farming.

  • Loan Management: Offer a feature for borrowing and lending digital assets within DeFi lending protocols. Users can manage loans, view interest rates, and liquidate positions if needed.

Social Network​

  • Profiles: Enable users to create profiles, set avatars, and personalize their profiles. Users can follow other users, view their activity feeds, and interact with posts.

  • Messaging: Implement real-time messaging and chat functionalities to facilitate communication between users. Consider incorporating end-to-end encryption for enhanced security.

  • Content Creation: Allow users to create and share content such as text posts, images, videos, and links. Implement features for liking, commenting, and sharing content within the social network.

Decentralized Governance​

  • Proposal Voting: Create a governance system where users can propose and vote on changes to the protocol or ecosystem. Implement voting mechanisms and governance token management.

  • Governance Dashboard: Develop a dashboard that displays proposals, voting results, and overall governance statistics. Ensure transparency and accessibility for all stakeholders.

Gaming Platform​

  • Leaderboards: Include leaderboards to showcase the top players or users in various games or activities. Implement scoring systems and reward mechanisms.

  • In-Game Assets: Enable the creation and trade of in-game assets such as skins, items, or collectibles as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

  • Multiplayer Features: Implement multiplayer game modes or collaborative features to enhance the gaming experience.

These are just a few examples of the diverse range of features you can incorporate into your dapp project. Depending on your project's goals and target audience, you can tailor your dapp's functionality to provide a unique and engaging user experience. Remember to consider the scalability, security, and user-friendliness of your chosen features as you bring your dapp to life.

Closing Thoughts​

Congratulations on exploring the directory structure and features available in React dApp Template! As you embark on your dapp development journey, we encourage you to continue expanding your knowledge and skills to create robust and well-structured decentralized applications.

Explore Domain-Driven Design (DDD)​

To further enhance your ability to design and develop dapps effectively, consider delving into Domain-Driven Design (DDD). DDD is a software development methodology that focuses on aligning your codebase with the business domain it represents. By understanding and modeling the domain, you can create more intuitive and maintainable dapps.

DDD emphasizes the importance of domain experts collaborating closely with developers to create a shared understanding of the problem space. It provides a framework for defining domain entities, aggregates, value objects, and repositories, which can greatly improve the organization of your code.

To get started with Domain-Driven Design, we recommend reading the book:

This book serves as an excellent introduction to DDD principles and practices. It offers valuable insights into designing software that accurately reflects the real-world problem domain.

We encourage you to explore DDD and incorporate its principles into your dapp development process. Doing so can lead to more robust, maintainable, and domain-aligned decentralized applications.