Integrating HTMX with React and Next.js for Dynamic HTML Updates

React gives you a powerful foundation for building interactive, component-driven applications. Its virtual DOM, tooling ecosystem, and predictable component architecture make it a go-to choice for modern front-end development. However, as your app grows, client-side rendering can lead to larger JavaScript bundles and more complex state management than you actually need.

That’s where HTMX fits in. HTMX is a lightweight library that lets you update parts of the UI using simple HTML attributes instead of additional client-side JavaScript. When you combine HTMX with React and Next.js, you get a fast, flexible setup that delivers SEO‑friendly, server-driven UI updates without sacrificing component structure or developer experience.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to integrate HTMX into a Next.js project to streamline dynamic updates, reduce JavaScript overhead, and keep your UI performant.

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What is HTMX?

HTMX is a compact JavaScript library (~14KB) that brings dynamic functionality like AJAX, WebSockets, and CSS transitions, directly to HTML via declarative attributes. Instead of writing JavaScript for every interaction, you can add attributes like hx-get to trigger server requests and update the DOM.

Code example to achieve this:

<button 
  hx-get="/api/content" 
  hx-target="#output" 
  hx-swap="innerHTML">
  Load Data
</button>

<div id="output"></div>

 The key benefits of HTMX include,

• Server-driven updates: Fetch and inject HTML snippets from the server into specific DOM elements.
• Minimal JavaScript: Replace complex client-side logic with declarative attributes.
• Fast and lightweight: Avoid full page reloads for snappy, responsive UIs.
• SEO-friendly: Server-rendered HTML is easily crawlable by search engines.

Why combine HTMX with React and Next.js?

Next.js, paired with React 19, offers powerful features like server components, streaming, and improved hydration, making it ideal for modern web apps. HTMX complements this setup by:

• Simplifying dynamic updates: Fetch server-rendered HTML for content-heavy sections like dashboards or forms.
• Reducing JavaScript overhead: Minimize client-side rendering to boost performance and reduce bundle size.
• Enhancing SEO: Deliver crawler-friendly HTML for content-driven pages like blogs or e-commerce listings.
• Streamlining development: Combine React’s component model with HTMX’s simplicity for faster iteration.

This hybrid approach is particularly effective on interfaces where server-side rendering or partial updates outperform client-side rendering, such as data grids, search results, or real-time dashboards.

Setting up HTMX in a Next.js (React 19) app

You can integrate HTMX into any Next.js project with just a few steps. If you’re familiar with React and the Next.js App Router, you’ll find the workflow straightforward.

Prerequisites

Before you get started, make sure your environment meets the following requirements:

• Node.js: Version 20.0.0 or higher.
• Package manager: npm, pnpm, or yarn.
• Next.js: Version 15.1 or later (for full React 19 support).
• React/React-DOM: Version 19 (stable).
• Text editor: VSCode or similar, plus a terminal.

Once you have these in place, you’re ready to create the project.

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Step 1: Create a Next.js project

Start by creating a new Next.js project with TypeScript and the App Router. These options ensure compatibility with React 19, modern routing patterns, server components, and future-friendly development practices.

Run the following command in your terminal:

npx create-next-app@latest my-htmx-app --typescript --app

Once the project is created, navigate to the project folder and install dependencies:

cd my-htmx-app && npm install

Step 2: Add HTMX to Next.js layout

Include HTMX via a CDN in the root layout app/layout.tsx to ensure it loads early:

import Script from 'next/script';

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) 
{return 
  ( <html lang="en">
      <head>
        <Script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]" />
        <Script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/dist/ext/sse.js" />
      </head>
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  );
}

Step 3: Create a server endpoint for HTMX

Next, you need to set up an API route to serve HTML snippets for HTMX requests, as shown in the code below:

import { NextResponse } from 'next/server';

export async function GET() 
{ return new NextResponse
  ('<p class="text-green-600">Content loaded via HTMX!</p>',
    {
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/html' },
    }
  );
}

This endpoint returns a styled HTML snippet that HTMX can inject into the page.

Step 4: Integrate HTMX in a React component

Then, create a page app/page.tsx with a React component that uses HTMX for dynamic updates:

'use client';
import { useEffect } from 'react';

declare global 
{ interface Window 
  { // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
    htmx?: any;
  }
}

export default function Home()
  { useEffect(() => 
    { if (typeof window !== 'undefined' && window.htmx)
    { window.htmx.process(document.querySelector('#htmx-container'));
    }
  }, []);

  return 
  ( <div id="htmx-container" data-hx-preserve className="p-6 max-w-md mx-auto">
      <button
        className="bg-blue-500 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded hover:bg-blue-600 transition"
        hx-get="/api/message"
        hx-target="#output"
        hx-swap="innerHTML"
      >
        Load Content
      </button>
      <div id="output" className="mt-4 text-lg"></div>
    </div>
  );
}

Let’s understand how it works:

• HTMX initialization: The useEffect hook processes the #htmx-container element to enable HTMX functionality.
• Preserving DOM: The data-hx-preserve attribute prevents React from overwriting HTMX-managed DOM sections.
• Dynamic updates: Clicking the button triggers an hx-get request to /api/message, injecting the response into the `#output` div.
• Styling: Tailwind CSS ensures a polished, responsive UI.

As a result, a single button click updates the page with server-rendered content, keeping the UI fast and lightweight.

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Tips for using HTMX with React

Here are some best practices to help you use HTMX effectively alongside React:

• Isolate HTMX logic: Use data-hx-preserve on HTMX-managed DOM sections to prevent React from overwriting them.
• Prevent event conflicts: Use e.stopPropagation() and e.preventDefault() to avoid clashes between HTMX and React event handlers.
• Optimize server responses: Return minimal HTML snippets to reduce latency and improve performance.
• Leverage Tailwind CSS: Style components consistently for a professional, responsive UI.
• Monitor DOM changes: Use MutationObserver for dynamic components like grids to ensure HTMX processes new elements.
• SEO test: Verify that server-rendered HTML is crawler-friendly using tools like Google’s Lighthouse.

When to use HTMX in React

HTMX shines in scenarios where server-driven updates simplify development or improve performance:

• Content-heavy pages: Blogs, news feeds, or search results benefit from server-rendered HTML.
• SEO-critical apps: E-commerce or marketing sites needing crawler-friendly content.
• Simple interactions: Forms, notifications, or modals that don’t require complex React state.
• Hybrid apps: Combine React’s interactivity for dynamic UIs with HTMX for lightweight updates.

GitHub reference

For more details about integrating HTMX with React and Next.js, refer to the GitHub demo.

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Conclusion

Thank you for reading! Pairing HTMX with React and Next.js gives you a balanced, developer-friendly approach to building modern web apps. You keep React’s component structure while offloading dynamic updates to lightweight server-driven HTML. The result is a fast, SEO‑friendly, maintainable UI with less JavaScript and fewer moving parts. Whether you’re updating a small component or enhancing a complex grid, HTMX helps you keep your codebase efficient and responsive.

Try out the steps in your own Next.js project and let us know how it goes in the comments section. You can contact us through our feedback portal. We are always happy to assist you!

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