Mastering Date Handling: A Deep Dive into ReactJS DatePickers

Date handling is an integral aspect of web development, particularly while building applications that necessitate user input for dates. Effective date handling helps make sure that your application is reliable, accurate, and user friendly. In this guide, we will walk through how date handling works in React and compare the most useful ReactJS datepicker libraries, along with working code for each one.

What Is Date Handling in ReactJS?

Before diving deep into datepickers, it becomes highly important to get a good idea of how date handling functions in ReactJS. JavaScript offers native date objects, however, meticulous consideration is required to manage those within React components.

There are many challenges that one should focus on addressing to ensure a smooth user experience. Some of these entail formatting, time zones, and user input validation.

What Are ReactJS Datepickers?

Datepickers refer to UI components that are designed for the purpose of streamlining date selection for users. ReactJS is known for providing multiple components and libraries for the implementation of datepickers, and each of these possesses its own set of customisation alternatives and features. Let’s have a look at some of the well known ReactJS datepicker libraries, along with how to integrate each one into your project.

React Datepicker

React Datepicker is a versatile and lightweight datepicker library for React applications. It provides comprehensive support for different date formats, keyboard navigation, and localisation. Here is a basic example of using it in a React component:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import DatePicker from 'react-datepicker';
import 'react-datepicker/dist/react-datepicker.css';

const MyDatePicker = () => {
  const [selectedDate, setSelectedDate] = useState(null);

  return (
    <DatePicker
      selected={selectedDate}
      onChange={(date) => setSelectedDate(date)}
    />
  );
};

export default MyDatePicker;

The DatePicker component is imported from the react-datepicker library and rendered within a functional component, with React’s useState hook managing the chosen date state.

React Datepicker provides a diverse selection of customisation alternatives, including localisation, date formatting, and date range selection. You can effortlessly configure it to cater to the specific requirements of your app.

Material UI Datepicker

Material UI is a recognised React UI framework that offers a detailed set of components, including a datepicker. The MUI datepicker provides a contemporary design, broad customisation alternatives, and smooth integration with other Material UI components. Here is how to use it in a React component:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { DatePicker } from '@mui/x-date-pickers/DatePicker';
import { LocalizationProvider } from '@mui/x-date-pickers/LocalizationProvider';
import { AdapterDateFns } from '@mui/x-date-pickers/AdapterDateFns';

const MyDatePicker = () => {
  const [selectedDate, setSelectedDate] = useState(new Date());

  return (
    <LocalizationProvider dateAdapter={AdapterDateFns}>
      <DatePicker
        value={selectedDate}
        onChange={(date) => setSelectedDate(date)}
      />
    </LocalizationProvider>
  );
};

export default MyDatePicker;

The DatePicker component here is imported from the current @mui/x-date-pickers package, wrapped in a LocalizationProvider with a date adapter such as AdapterDateFns. The older @material-ui/pickers package belongs to Material UI v4 and is now outdated, so new projects should use MUI X instead.

MUI’s datepicker provides a vast array of customisation alternatives, including localisation, date formats, and date range selection, and it integrates smoothly into any MUI based application.

Ant Design Datepicker

Ant Design is another well known UI library for React. It provides a datepicker component with a sleek design and a lot of customisation options. Here is how to use Ant Design’s datepicker in a React component:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { DatePicker } from 'antd';
import 'antd/dist/reset.css';

const MyDatePicker = () => {
  const [selectedDate, setSelectedDate] = useState(null);

  return (
    <DatePicker
      value={selectedDate}
      onChange={(date) => setSelectedDate(date)}
    />
  );
};

export default MyDatePicker;

The DatePicker component is imported from the antd library and rendered within a functional component, with React’s useState hook managing the chosen date state.

With support for different date formats, date range selection, and localisation, Ant Design’s datepicker provides an intuitive and contemporary date selection experience, and it integrates smoothly with other Ant Design components.

React Datetime

React Datetime is a flexible, customisable datepicker library for React applications. It offers an intuitive interface for date selection, with support for different date formats, date range picking, and time selection. Here is how to use it in a React component:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import Datetime from 'react-datetime';
import 'react-datetime/css/react-datetime.css';

const MyDatePicker = () => {
  const [selectedDate, setSelectedDate] = useState(null);

  return (
    <Datetime
      value={selectedDate}
      onChange={(date) => setSelectedDate(date)}
    />
  );
};

export default MyDatePicker;

The Datetime component is imported from the react-datetime library and rendered within a functional component, with React’s useState hook managing the chosen date state.

React Datetime provides several customisation alternatives, including time and date formatting, localisation, and disabling specific dates, offering a smooth date selection experience that integrates easily into your React applications.

React Date Range

React Date Range is a popular and versatile library that lets users choose date ranges. It provides an intuitive, modern interface for choosing start and end dates, with support for different customisation alternatives. Here is how to use it in a React component:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { DateRangePicker } from 'react-date-range';
import 'react-date-range/dist/styles.css';
import 'react-date-range/dist/theme/default.css';

const MyDatePicker = () => {
  const [selectedRange, setSelectedRange] = useState([
    {
      startDate: new Date(),
      endDate: null,
      key: 'selection'
    }
  ]);

  return (
    <DateRangePicker
      ranges={selectedRange}
      onChange={(ranges) => setSelectedRange([ranges.selection])}
    />
  );
};

export default MyDatePicker;

The DateRangePicker component is imported from the react-date-range library and rendered within a functional component, with React’s useState hook managing the chosen date range state.

React Date Range provides multiple customisation alternatives, including date formatting, custom date range presets, and styling, offering a streamlined date range selection experience for users.

React Day Picker

React Day Picker is a lightweight, highly configurable datepicker library built around accessibility and a simple, unopinionated markup structure. It offers a straightforward interface for date selection, with support for custom modifiers, localisation, and range selection. Here is how to use it in a React component:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { DayPicker } from 'react-day-picker';
import 'react-day-picker/dist/style.css';

const MyDatePicker = () => {
  const [selectedDate, setSelectedDate] = useState(null);

  return (
    <DayPicker
      mode="single"
      selected={selectedDate}
      onSelect={setSelectedDate}
    />
  );
};

export default MyDatePicker;

The DayPicker component is imported from the react-day-picker library and rendered within a functional component, with React’s useState hook managing the chosen date state.

React Day Picker gives you full control over markup and styling since it ships with minimal default CSS, which makes it a good fit for teams that want to design their own calendar UI on top of a solid accessible base.

Carbon Datepicker

Carbon Datepicker is a React component library developed by IBM that offers a sleek, contemporary datepicker component with support for different date formats, localisation, and accessibility features. Here is how to use it in a React component:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { DatePicker, DatePickerInput } from '@carbon/react';

const MyDatePicker = () => {
  const [selectedDate, setSelectedDate] = useState(null);

  return (
    <DatePicker
      datePickerType="single"
      onChange={(dates) => setSelectedDate(dates[0])}
    >
      <DatePickerInput
        id="date-picker-input"
        placeholder="mm/dd/yyyy"
        labelText="Select date"
      />
    </DatePicker>
  );
};

export default MyDatePicker;

The DatePicker and DatePickerInput components are imported from the current @carbon/react package and rendered within a functional component, with React’s useState hook managing the chosen date state.

With support for accessibility features like keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility, Carbon Datepicker provides an intuitive, modern date selection experience that integrates smoothly with other Carbon components.

Final Verdict

Each library suits a different need. Use react-datepicker for a lightweight standalone picker, MUI X or Ant Design if you already use those design systems, react-date-range for range selection, react-day-picker if you want full control over markup and styling, and Carbon for IBM design environments. Pick based on your existing UI stack, whether you need a range or time picker, and bundle size.

Irrespective of whether you are building a simple form or a complex scheduling application, it is important to understand the most effective date handling techniques and implement them well in order to deliver a reliable, user friendly experience. Experimenting with a couple of these libraries on a small component is the fastest way to see which fits your project. For hands on help wiring one of these into your stack, you can hire professional ReactJS developers.

FAQs

What is the best datepicker library for React?

react-datepicker and react-day-picker are the most popular standalone options. If you already use MUI or Ant Design, their built in date components are usually the better choice.

How do I format the date from a React datepicker?

Use the library’s format prop or a date library like date-fns or Day.js to format the selected value for display or for your API.

How do I make a React datepicker a controlled component?

Store the selected date in state with useState and pass it, plus an onChange handler, to the datepicker, so React owns the value.

How do I add a date range picker in React?

Most libraries offer a range mode or a dedicated range component, so you can select a start and end date in one control.