I’m pretty new to React development so maybe I’m overthinking this whole thing. I have a React app that needs to talk to different backend services depending on where it gets deployed. Sometimes I’m working locally and the APIs are running on localhost. Other times I need to point to staging servers or production endpoints. The tricky part is that my React app gets built as static files and deployed to services like AWS S3 or similar hosting platforms. How can I make the API endpoints configurable so I don’t have to hardcode URLs? I want something flexible that works across different environments without rebuilding the entire app each time.
Been there multiple times. Here’s what works: use a two-tier setup. Set your main environments (dev, staging, prod) with REACT_APP_ variables in .env files at build time. But since you want flexibility without rebuilds, drop a config.json in your public folder and fetch it at runtime. You can change API endpoints after deployment without rebuilding anything. Runtime config overrides the build defaults. With S3, just update that config.json directly in the bucket when switching environments. Saved me tons of rebuild headaches with last-minute changes and client-specific stuff.
yep, a config file is the best option! just have your api urls in there and change em when you need to switch environments. saves a ton of hassle instead of doing a full rebuild!
Oh interesting! Are you thinking build-time environment variables or somthing more dynamic? What happens when you deploy to S3 - got any server-side logic or is it purely static? Have you considered runtime vs build-time configs?