What is Axios in React with Example

Would you like to learn how to fetch data in React, confusion-free? If you are a modern application developer, you know that working with APIs is important. This is where React Axios comes into play. It's one of the easiest and most popular ways to connect to external data in your React application.

In this post, I'm going to explain what React Axios is, including steps to install and use it, with some code examples. We will outline our post so that it can be helpful if you are new to React or have previous experience in React and just want a refresher.

What is React Axios?

React Axios is not a separate tool. It means you are using the Axios library in your React application.

Axios is a promise-based HTTP client that allows clients to perform requests on a server, like fetching data from an API. Axios can be used in both browser-based requests and also in Node.js. It is easy to use and simple to learn.

When we use Axios inside our React components, we usually call it React Axios.

Why Use Axios in React?

Here’s why Axios is a favorite among React developers:

• ✅ Easy syntax (especially for beginners)

• ✅ Works well with async/await

• ✅ Handles errors and timeouts neatly

• ✅ Allows request and response interceptors

• ✅ Can set default headers (like auth tokens)

How to Install Axios in a React Project

To use Axios in a React project, open your terminal and run:

npm install axios

Or if you are using Yarn:

yarn add axios

Then in the component where you are using Axios, import it:

import axios from 'axios';

React Axios Example: Fetching Data from an API

Let’s create a simple React component that fetches user data from a public API using Axios.

Following the Example Code

import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';

import axios from 'axios';

function UserList() {

  const [users, setUsers] = useState([]);

  useEffect(() => {

    axios.get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users')

      .then(response => {

        setUsers(response.data);

      })

      .catch(error => {

        console.error('Error fetching data:', error);

      });

  }, []);

  return (

    <div>

      <h2>User List</h2>

      <ul>

        {users.map(user => (

          <li key={user.id}>{user.name}</li>

        ))}

      </ul>

    </div>

  );

}

export default UserList;

What Is Happening Here?

• We use useState to store our user data.

• useEffect ensures our API call runs when the component mounts.

• axios.get() performs the request.

• On success, we store the data in state using setUsers.

• If an error occurs, we log it to the console.

Making a POST Request with React Axios

Here's how you can post data to an API:

axios.post('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts', {

  title: 'React Axios Post',

  body: 'This is a test post',

  userId: 1

})

.then(response => {

  console.log('Post success:', response.data);

})

.catch(error => {

  console.error('Error posting data:', error);

});

Conclusion

React Axios is an easy and powerful way to make HTTP requests with your React apps. It allows you to easily interface with APIs, extract data, and even post it back to a server.

Now that you know how to install Axios, how to make GET requests and POST requests, and how to handle errors, you are ready to use this in your own applications!

 Related Topics

• React useEffect Hook
• Axios documentation
• How to build a REST API