There's a lot of discussion online about whether or not prop spreading in React is an anti-pattern. Prop spreading is the use of the JavaScript spread operator 

function MyComponent() {
  const props = {
    count: 5,
    label: 'Count',
  }

  return (
    <ChildComponent {...props} />
  )
}

The obvious pros of this pattern are that it can massively reduce the amount of code needed to pass the props object into the child component. The downsides can be a little less obvious and less clear. In fact, it's quite common to completely disallow prop spreading with 

 I think this is a bit overkill, but I can see why some choose this option.

First of all, some of the problems with prop spreading are non-existent if you use TypeScript. Without TypeScript, it's difficult to see at a glance what is getting passed into a component with prop spreading. With TypeScript it's as easy as hovering over 

Another criticism of prop spreading is it can cause unnecessary re-renders. If you pass in unnecessary stateful values your component will re-render whenever they change, even if the component doesn't use those variables. In my opinion, this issue is easy to avoid unless you're being careless, and with TypeScript this issue is even less likely to happen.

There are also times when prop spreading is the only good option, which is another reason why I disagree with the eslint rule. For example, when building a design system in React, if you care about web semantics and accessibility, most of your components should be built around standard HTML elements. HTML elements can have an enormous number of attributes, such as ARIA attributes, and writing semantic, accessible code requires using them. Let's say you want to have a 

 element. Generally, you should strive to have your custom component's API have feature parity with the built-in component at the very least. In React, your options are limited to passing dozens of props manually, making your code less readable, more rigid and generally harder to maintain or prop spreading.

If you've ever taken this approach when building a React design system, you'll find that it's extremely useful, but has some limits. Let's go back to our button example. Our 

 component right now is essentially a thin wrapper around the HTML 

 element. You can pass in all the same attributes as the HTML 

 element, but our component has some styles applied to it. Here is the code:

type Props = JSX.IntrinsicElements['button']


function Button(props: Props) {
  return <button {...props} className="btn" />
}

You might be wondering, what's the issue with this? Well, any classes that we pass into 

. A quick and dirty solution to this is as follows:

type Props = JSX.IntrinsicElements['button']


function Button({ className, ...props }: Props) {
  return <button {...props} className={`btn ${className}`} />
}

 from our props and combining it with our own 

. This will work, but it isn't the best solution. For one, when 

 as a class. But more importantly than that, what happens when I want 

 to have other default props such as inline styles, refs, event handlers, etc. Should we handle these "merges" manually each time, or could there be a better solution?

I'm not the first to build a library for merging react props. There are several on 

, is designed to tackle this problem by intelligently merging Tailwind class names, removing duplicate class names, merging styles, combining refs, and chaining event handlers. I plan to continue updating this library as I find more edge cases, and as I hear feedback from other developers.

Is prop spreading really an anti-pattern? My answer is no. Yes, you can make big mistakes with it, but if you use TypeScript and a prop merging library it can be a really powerful and beneficial pattern, especially for design system code. That said, I think you should always consider if prop spreading is necessary before using it, and should generally avoid it for app-level code.

There's a lot of discussion online about whether or not prop spreading in React is an anti-pattern. Prop spreading is the use of the JavaScript spread operator ... with React props. 

Is Prop Spreading in React Really an Anti-Pattern?

, the NPM package that revolutionizes the way you merge React component props using TailwindCSS classes.

As developers, we know how important it is to keep our code clean and organized, especially when working on a large project. With merge-tw-props, you can intelligently merge as many props objects as you need, making it the perfect tool for building your design system.

Built on top of tailwind-merge and react-merge-refs, merge-tw-props combines TailwindCSS classes seamlessly, allowing you to easily merge refs, chain event handlers, and merge styles. This package is the perfect solution for teams that are looking to streamline their development process while maintaining a consistent design system.

At Simply Seated, we have been using mergeProps from react-aria, but we found that we weren't using react-aria for anything else, so we wanted to get rid of the dependency. We also wanted a version of mergeProps that would nicely combine tailwindcss classes, and that's exactly what merge-tw-props does.

So, if you're looking for a powerful and easy-to-use tool to merge React component props using TailwindCSS classes, look no further than merge-tw-props. Try it out today and see the difference it can make in your development process.

Introducing merge-tw-props, the NPM package that revolutionizes the way you merge React component props using TailwindCSS classes.

Merge TW Props

As we enter the new year, it's time to reflect on the amazing music that has been released in the past 12 months. Here are some of my favourite albums of the year, in no particular order:

Hellfire by Black Midi is an avant-garde, art-rock masterpiece. Through the album's 10 songs, Black Midi tell a bunch of bizarre stories over the most complex and chaotic instrumentals imaginable. My favourite track of the year is on this album, Sugar/Tzu. The horn arpeggios on this track are nothing short of ecstatic, and the crazy story of a psychopath at a boxing match is made only more exciting by the energetic and unpredictable drum rhythms. My other favourite tracks on this album are Eat Men Eat, Welcome To Hell, The Race is About to Begin and 27 Questions.

Blue Rev by Alvvays manages to make me feel nostalgic and sentimental and just puts me in such a cozy headspace. Highlights for me are After the Earthquake, which just feels like it was ripped straight out of the 1980s, and Very Online Guy, which I feel is pretty apt for me.

Cave World by Viagra Boys is just a really fun punk rock album. The album manages to weave 3 completely unrelated concepts together and finds connections that just shouldn't be there. These topics are ADD, conspiracy theorists and, hilariously, the "return to monke" meme. I find the album's political message to be completely on point, and if the punk rock instrumentals weren't entertaining enough the hilarious lyrics will have you sorted. My favourite tracks on this album are Troglodyte, Punk Rock Loser, The Cognitive Trade-Off Hypothesis, Ain't No Thief, Big Boy, ADD and Return To Monke.

Melt My Eyez See Your Future by Denzel Curry might be Denzel's best album to date. Denzel fuses old-school boom-bap rap with modern trap bangers over the most luscious jazz rap beats. The deluxe "Cold Blooded Soul" version takes this to another level by including a live jazz band in the mix. Walkin is probably my second favourite song of the year, after Sugar/Tzu. Other favourites from this album include Troubles, X-Wing, Angelz, Zatoichi, and The Ills.

I've been following DOMi & JD BECK on YouTube for a few years now, and I've always been transfixed by how talented they are, especially for their ages. NOT TiGHT solidifies them for me as staples in the world of modern jazz. My favourite tracks on this album are TWO SHRiMPS featuring Mac DeMarco and TAKE A CHANCE featuring Anderson .Paak.

I only recently became a fan of Everything Everything after discovering their 2016 album Get To Heaven, which quickly became one of my favourites of all time. While Raw Data Feel isn't quite on the same level, it is still extremely good. In Raw Data Feel, Everything Everything covers a range of topics relating to computing, data, robots and the future, and even features some AI-written lyrics. My favourite tracks are HEX, My Computer, Jennifer and Leviathan.

One Twice Melody by Beach House really puts the "dream" in dream pop. When I listen to this album I'm transported into another plane of existence. Despite running for 18 tracks this album never gets boring. My favourites from this album are Pink Funeral, Once Twice Melody, The Bells and Superstar.

The Forever Story by JID is just jam-packed with soul-infused banger after banger after banger. JID's rapping on this album is some of the most interesting and entertaining I've heard for a long while. It honestly reminds me of the first time I listened to Kendrick - and that's about the best compliment I could possibly give. My favourite tracks on this album are Can't Punk Me featuring EARTHGANG, Raydar, Surround Sound featuring 21 Savage and Baby Tate, and Dance Now featuring Kenny Mason.

It's Almost Dry by Pusha T has some of the highest quality production of any rap album this year, and that shouldn't be surprising, since it was produced by both Pharrell Williams and Kanye West. Pusha T also delivers on this album, as should be expected. My favourite tracks on this album are Brambleton, Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes, Dreaming Of The Past, Diet Coke, Rock N Roll and Call My Bluff.

This year I discovered Jockstrap through their song Robert with Injury Reserve. Pretty quickly I got addicted to their EP Wicked City due to the completely unorthodox way it combines beautiful, acoustic, singer-songwriter music with insane electronic glitch pop. When I Love You Jennifer B came out I was not disappointed. It takes this idea and goes further with it, mixing the two clashing worlds together into something greater than the sum of its parts. My favourite tracks from this album are Jennifer B, Greatest Hits, Concrete over Water, Debra and Glasgow.

This collab album by Black Thought and Danger Mouse is such a warm, pleasant listen. Black Thought manages to bring the best of 90s rap out with his performance, and Danger Mouse's beats are beautifully luscious and rich. The album also has some amazing features, including Raekwon, Joey Bada$$, MF DOOM, A$AP Rocky, Run The Jewels and Conway the Machine. My favourite tracks are Cheat Codes, The Darkest Part, Because, Belize, Strangers and Salt Water.

Nas has been on an unstoppable run for the last few years, ever since started working with Hit-Boy. Hit-Boy and Nas go together like peanut butter and jelly, coffee and cream, or spaghetti and meatballs. What I'm trying to say is they are such a perfect pairing. On the opening track, Nas says "They argue KD1, KD2, and Magic, what's harder? When KD3 goes harder than all of them.". He isn't wrong, KD3 goes hard, all while having the most buttery, warm production courtesy of Hit-Boy. My favourite tracks are Ghetto Reporter, Legit, Reminisce, I'm on Fire, Get Light and First Time.

Ants From Up There - Black Country New Road

I did a lot of travelling this year, and in the months I was away I had this album on repeat. Nothing will ever feel as special as listening to Concorde while drinking champagne on the London Eye, or Chaos Space Marine early in the morning while on the train, watching the European countryside roll by, dreaming about what sorts of things you might get up to next. This album has already cemented itself as one of the most nostalgic pieces of music in my life. My favourite tracks are Chaos Space Marine, Concorde and The Place Where He Inserted the Blade.

Mr Morale and the Big Steppers - Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar was the first rapper I got into. Before Kendrick, I didn't get it. Good kid, m.A.A.d city changed everything. It was a dark and empty time in between DAMN and Mr Morale, but when it dropped it was like coming home again. As much as I enjoyed Mr Morale on my first few listens, I didn't fully appreciate its brilliance until I saw Kendrick live in December. Just like when I was younger and I listened to good kid m.A.A.d city for the first time, something clicked, and I was able to see so much more depth than I ever expected. My favourite tracks are N95, Die Hard, Father Time, Rich Spirit, Purple Hearts, Count Me Out, Savior, Auntie Diaries, Mr Morale and Mirror.

This year I also discovered Animal Collective and fell in love with their deeply weird, surreal almost psychedelic music. Time Skiffs continues this trend. I love the use of bespoke instruments in Animal Collective's music. My favourite songs from Time Skiffs include Prestor John, Dragon Slayer, Strung With Everything and We Go Back.

Albums that could have made this list but didn't quite include $oul $old $eparately - Freddie Gibbs, Drill Music In Zion - Lupe Fiasco, LOUIE - Kenny Beats, Aethiopes - Billy Woods, The Ruby Cord - Richard Dawson, SOS - SZA, Man Plays The Horn - Cities Aviv, The Elephant Man's Bones - Roc Marciano, and NO THANK YOU - Little Simz.

As we enter the new year, it's time to reflect on the amazing music that has been released in the past 12 months. Here are some of my favorite albums of the year, in no particular order:

Edward Jones

Is Prop Spreading in React Really an Anti-Pattern?

Merge TW Props

My Favourite Albums of 2022

Work