A look at React hydration and pre-rendered HTML

The article explores the concept of React hydration, a process for converting pre-rendered HTML to add interactivity, and addresses the common "Expected server HTML to contain a matching <tag> in <tag>" error. It delves into how React hydration bridges server-side and client-side rendering, enhancing initial rendering speed and SEO, with an emphasis on using the hydrateRoot API. It illustrates the process with examples, showing how pre-rendered HTML is made interactive by attaching event listeners, and discusses the importance of matching server-rendered and client-rendered HTML to avoid errors. The article also offers troubleshooting strategies for hydration errors, such as using the suppressHydrationWarning prop for simple mismatches and the useEffect Hook for more complex scenarios, to ensure that server and client contents align, thereby mitigating errors that could slow down applications or misapply event handlers. Overall, it emphasizes understanding the mechanics of React hydration and its associated APIs to effectively manage and troubleshoot errors, ensuring a seamless integration of server-generated HTML with client-side interactivity.