Every time I start a new React project, I realize there are a few libraries I install almost by muscle memory. They make my workflow faster, my code cleaner, and my life a bit easier.
Here are the ones that, in my opinion, deserve a spot in your package.json in 2026.
1. 🪝 usehooks-ts
📦
npm install usehooks-ts
This one’s a small gem. It’s a collection of reusable hooks — useLocalStorage, useDarkMode, useMediaQuery, and many more.
Instead of re-writing the same logic over and over, I just grab what I need from this package. It keeps my components simple and predictable.
🧠 Great for: Developers who love clean and reusable code.
2. 📋 React Hook Form
📦
npm install react-hook-form
Still one of the best ways to handle forms in React. It’s lightweight, fast, and plays nicely with any UI library you prefer.
Validation, nested inputs, performance — it handles them all elegantly.
💡 Pro tip: Combine it with Zod for type-safe validation.
3. ⏰ Day.js
📦
npm install dayjs
Moment.js used to be the go-to for date manipulation, but it’s 2026 — and dayjs is the modern choice.
Same syntax, way smaller size, and just works.
🕒 Quick example:
import dayjs from "dayjs";
console.log(dayjs().format("DD MMM YYYY")); // 👉 04 Nov 2026
4. 🎨 Radix UI
📦
npm install @radix-ui/react-*
Radix gives you accessible, unstyled components that you can customize however you want — perfect if you’re using Tailwind or building your own design system.
It handles all the hard parts (focus, keyboard navigation, ARIA roles), so you can just focus on the visuals.
🧩 Examples: Dialog, Tooltip, Dropdown, Switch, and more.
5. ⚡ Socket.IO + socket.io-react-hook
📦 npm install socket.io-client socket.io-react-hook
When you need real-time features — like live chat, AI conversation streaming (LLM), notifications, or user presence — Socket.IO remains one of the most reliable tools out there.
Combine it with socket.io-react-hook to make your socket logic much cleaner and React-friendly.
🔥 Example:
import { useSocket } from "socket.io-react-hook";
const { socket, error } = useSocket("https://your-server.com");
// Example: sending user message to LLM or chat endpoint
socket.emit("user_message", { prompt: "Hello AI!", model: "gemini-1.5-pro" });
🧠 Perfect for: apps that use real-time AI chat, collaborative dashboards, or notification systems.
6. 🤔 Your Pick
Okay, I’ll leave the sixth one to you.
What’s a library you always install in every React project — the one you can’t live without?
💬 Drop it in the comments! I’d love to see what everyone else considers essential in 2026.
🧭 Closing Thoughts
These five (plus your favorite) are the backbone of almost every React app I’ve built lately.
They make the setup smoother, the code cleaner, and the development process just… nicer.
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