Load Initial Data via AJAX

Fetch data in componentDidMount. When the response arrives, store the data in state, triggering a render to update your UI.

When fetching data asynchronously, use componentWillUnmount to cancel any outstanding requests before the component is unmounted.

This example fetches the desired Github user’s latest gist:

  1. var UserGist = React.createClass({
  2.   getInitialState: function() {
  3.     return {
  4.       username: '',
  5.       lastGistUrl: ''
  6.     };
  7.   },
  9.   componentDidMount: function() {
  10.     this.serverRequest = $.get(this.props.source, function (result) {
  11.       var lastGist = result[0];
  12.       this.setState({
  13.         username: lastGist.owner.login,
  14.         lastGistUrl: lastGist.html_url
  15.       });
  16.     }.bind(this));
  17.   },
  19.   componentWillUnmount: function() {
  20.     this.serverRequest.abort();
  21.   },
  23.   render: function() {
  24.     return (
  25.       <div>
  26.         {this.state.username}'s last gist is
  27.         <a href={this.state.lastGistUrl}>here</a>.
  28.       </div>
  29.     );
  30.   }
  31. });
  33. ReactDOM.render(
  34.   <UserGist source="https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists" />,
  35.   mountNode
  36. );