20/02/2025, 19:17 renderToString – React
v19
API REFERENCE SERVER APIS
renderToString
Pitfall
renderToString does not support streaming or waiting for data. See
the alternatives.
renderToString renders a React tree to an HTML string.
const html = renderToString(reactNode, options?)
Reference
renderToString(reactNode, options?)
Usage
Rendering a React tree as HTML to a string
Alternatives
Migrating from renderToString to a streaming render on the server
Migrating from renderToString to a static prerender on the server
Removing renderToString from the client code
Troubleshooting
When a component suspends, the HTML always contains a fallback
Reference
https://react.dev/reference/react-dom/server/renderToString 1/6
20/02/2025, 19:17 renderToString – React
renderToString(reactNode, options?)
On the server, call renderToString to render your app to HTML.
import { renderToString } from 'react-dom/server';
const html = renderToString(<App />);
On the client, call hydrateRoot to make the server-generated HTML
interactive.
See more examples below.
Parameters
reactNode : A React node you want to render to HTML. For example, a
JSX node like <App /> .
optional options : An object for server render.
optional identifierPrefix : A string prefix React uses for IDs
generated by useId . Useful to avoid conflicts when using multiple
roots on the same page. Must be the same prefix as passed to
hydrateRoot .
Returns
An HTML string.
Caveats
renderToString has limited Suspense support. If a component suspends,
renderToString immediately sends its fallback as HTML.
renderToString works in the browser, but using it in the client code is not
recommended.
Usage
https://react.dev/reference/react-dom/server/renderToString 2/6
20/02/2025, 19:17 renderToString – React
Rendering a React tree as HTML to a string
Call renderToString to render your app to an HTML string which you can
send with your server response:
import { renderToString } from 'react-dom/server';
// The route handler syntax depends on your backend framework
app.use('/', (request, response) => {
const html = renderToString(<App />);
response.send(html);
});
This will produce the initial non-interactive HTML output of your React
components. On the client, you will need to call hydrateRoot to hydrate that
server-generated HTML and make it interactive.
Pitfall
renderToString does not support streaming or waiting for data. See
the alternatives.
Alternatives
Migrating from renderToString to a streaming
render on the server
renderToString returns a string immediately, so it does not support
streaming content as it loads.
When possible, we recommend using these fully-featured alternatives:
https://react.dev/reference/react-dom/server/renderToString 3/6
20/02/2025, 19:17 renderToString – React
If you use Node.js, use renderToPipeableStream .
If you use Deno or a modern edge runtime with Web Streams, use
renderToReadableStream .
You can continue using renderToString if your server environment does not
support streams.
Migrating from renderToString to a static
prerender on the server
renderToString returns a string immediately, so it does not support waiting
for data to load for static HTML generation.
We recommend using these fully-featured alternatives:
If you use Node.js, use prerenderToNodeStream .
If you use Deno or a modern edge runtime with Web Streams, use
prerender .
You can continue using renderToString if your static site generation
environment does not support streams.
Removing renderToString from the client code
Sometimes, renderToString is used on the client to convert some
component to HTML.
// 🚩 Unnecessary: using renderToString on the client
import { renderToString } from 'react-dom/server';
const html = renderToString(<MyIcon />);
console.log(html); // For example, "<svg>...</svg>"
https://react.dev/reference/react-dom/server/renderToString 4/6
20/02/2025, 19:17 renderToString – React
Importing react-dom/server on the client unnecessarily increases your
bundle size and should be avoided. If you need to render some component to
HTML in the browser, use createRoot and read HTML from the DOM:
import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client';
import { flushSync } from 'react-dom';
const div = document.createElement('div');
const root = createRoot(div);
flushSync(() => {
root.render(<MyIcon />);
});
console.log(div.innerHTML); // For example, "<svg>...</svg>"
The flushSync call is necessary so that the DOM is updated before reading
its innerHTML property.
Troubleshooting
When a component suspends, the HTML always
contains a fallback
renderToString does not fully support Suspense.
If some component suspends (for example, because it’s defined with lazy
or fetches data), renderToString will not wait for its content to resolve.
Instead, renderToString will find the closest <Suspense> boundary above it
and render its fallback prop in the HTML. The content will not appear until
the client code loads.
To solve this, use one of the recommended streaming solutions. For server
side rendering, they can stream content in chunks as it resolves on the server
so that the user sees the page being progressively filled in before the client
code loads. For static site generation, they can wait for all the content to
resolve before generating the static HTML.
https://react.dev/reference/react-dom/server/renderToString 5/6
20/02/2025, 19:17 renderToString – React
PREVIOUS
renderToStaticMarkup
NEXT
Static APIs
Copyright © Meta Platforms, Inc
uwu?
Learn React API Reference
Quick Start React APIs
Installation React DOM APIs
Describing the UI
Adding Interactivity
Managing State
Escape Hatches
Community More
Code of Conduct Blog
Meet the Team React Native
Docs Contributors Privacy
Acknowledgements Terms
https://react.dev/reference/react-dom/server/renderToString 6/6
