A Quick Way To Implement Infinite Scroll in React Native

In this tutorial, I will show you how you can set up infinite scroll in react native.

Infinite Scroll allows you to scroll down a page and see new content without having to click ‘next page.’ It’s like a never-ending magic carpet ride through the internet. You don’t have to click to see new content; it loads automatically as you scroll. It’s used in social media feeds, such as Facebook or Twitter, as well as shopping sites, such as Amazon.

While it’s convenient for users, it can also slow you down. If you’re scrolling down a page and there’s a lot of content to view, it can feel like you’re carrying a heavy bag. While there are other ways of displaying content, such as the ‘Load More’ button or splitting content into pages, the idea behind Infinite Scroll is to make your journey through the internet feel like a seamless, never-ending journey.

Ways to Implement Infinite Scrolling in React Using React Libraries

Install the Library

First things first, open your React project in a terminal or command prompt. Use npm or yarn to install the react-infinite-scroll-component library.

npm install react-infinite-scroll-component

yarn add react-infinite-scroll-component

Import the Necessary Components

In your React component where you want to implement Infinite Scroll, import the required components from the library.

import React, { useState } from 'react';

import InfiniteScroll from 'react-infinite-scroll-component';

Set Up State and Fetch Function

Define your state to hold the items you want to display and create a function to fetch more items when needed. For example:

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

3function YourComponent() 
{
  const [items, setItems] = useState([]);
 // State for items
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
 // State to track loading status
  const [page, setPage] = useState(1); 
// State to track current page

  // ... Rest of your component code
}

Integrate InfiniteScroll Component

Utilize the InfiniteScroll component from the library, passing in necessary props such as dataLength, next, hasMore, loader, and endMessage.

function YourComponent() 
{
  // Previous state and fetch function here
  return (
    <InfiniteScroll
      dataLength={items.length} 
// Current length of items
      next={fetchMoreData} 
// Function to call for loading more data
      hasMore={hasMore} 
// Boolean to indicate if more data is available
      loader={<h4>Loading...</h4>} 
// Loader displayed while fetching data
      endMessage={<p>No more items to load</p>} 
// Message displayed when all items are loaded
    >
      {/* Render your items here */}
      {items.map((item, index) => (
        <div key={index}>{/* Render individual item */}</div>
      ))}
    </InfiniteScroll>
  );
}

Customize and Test

Customize the fetchMoreData function to fetch data from your data source, and adjust the appearance or behavior of the Infinite Scroll as needed. Test your component to ensure proper functionality and styling.

This implementation provides a basic setup for Infinite Scrolling using the react-infinite-scroll-component library in React. Adjustments and enhancements can be made based on your specific requirements and data fetching logic.

I have written a more in-depth piece here where I showcase how you can make custom solutions and also do API integrations.