javascriptreactjsreact-routerreact-router-v4

React Router with optional path parameter


I want to declare a path with an optional path parameter, hence when I add it the page to do something extra (e.g. fill some data):

http://localhost/app/path/to/page <= render the page http://localhost/app/path/to/page/pathParam <= render the page with some data according to the pathParam

In my react router I have the following paths, in order to support the two options (this is a simplified example):

<Router history={history}>    
   <Route path="/path" component={IndexPage}>
      <Route path="to/page" component={MyPage}/>
      <Route path="to/page/:pathParam" component={MyPage}/>
   </Route>    
</Router>

My question is, can we declare it in one route? If I add only the second row then the route without the parameter is not found.

EDIT#1:

The solution mentioned here about the following syntax did not work for me, is it a proper one? Does it exist in the documentation?

<Route path="/product/:productName/?:urlID?" handler={SomeHandler} />

My react-router version is: 1.0.3


Solution

  • The edit you posted was valid for an older version of React-router (v0.13) and doesn't work anymore.


    React Router v1, v2 and v3

    Since version 1.0.0 you define optional parameters with:

    <Route path="to/page(/:pathParam)" component={MyPage} />
    

    and for multiple optional parameters:

    <Route path="to/page(/:pathParam1)(/:pathParam2)" component={MyPage} />
    

    You use parenthesis ( ) to wrap the optional parts of route, including the leading slash (/). Check out the Route Matching Guide page of the official documentation.

    Note: The :paramName parameter matches a URL segment up to the next /, ?, or #. For more about paths and params specifically, read more here.


    React Router v4 and above

    Check the React Router v6 documentation for Optional Segments.

    React Router v4 is fundamentally different than v1-v3, and optional path parameters aren't explicitly defined in the official documentation either.

    You are instructed to define a path parameter that path-to-regexp understands. This allows for much greater flexibility in defining your paths, such as repeating patterns, wildcards, etc. So to define a parameter as optional you add a trailing question-mark (?).

    As such, to define an optional parameter, you do:

    <Route path="/to/page/:pathParam?" component={MyPage} />
    

    and for multiple optional parameters:

    <Route path="/to/page/:pathParam1?/:pathParam2?" component={MyPage} />
    

    Note: React Router v4 is incompatible with (read more here). Use version v3 or earlier (v2 recommended) instead.