Creating routes in Remix - Try It Yourself

Creating Routes in Remix

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple website using Remix. You want to create different pages that users can visit by typing URLs in their browser.

🎯 Goal: Create basic routes in Remix by adding files in the app/routes folder. Each route will show a simple message on the page.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a route file for the home page that shows 'Welcome to the Home Page!'

Create a route file for the about page that shows 'About Us'

Create a route file for the contact page that shows 'Contact Information'

Use Remix's default export function to return JSX for each route

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Creating routes is how websites show different pages when users visit different URLs. Remix uses file-based routing to make this easy.

💼 Career

Understanding routing is essential for web developers to build multi-page applications and improve user navigation.

1

Create the Home Page Route

Create a file called app/routes/index.tsx. Inside it, write a default export function called Index that returns a <div> with the text 'Welcome to the Home Page!'.

Remix

// Your code here

Hint

Remember, the home page route in Remix is the index.tsx file inside app/routes.

2

Create the About Page Route

Create a file called app/routes/about.tsx. Inside it, write a default export function called About that returns a <div> with the text 'About Us'.

Remix

export default function Index() {
  return Welcome to the Home Page!;
}

// Your code here

Hint

Each route is a separate file inside app/routes. The file name becomes the URL path.

3

Create the Contact Page Route

Create a file called app/routes/contact.tsx. Inside it, write a default export function called Contact that returns a <div> with the text 'Contact Information'.

Remix

export default function Index() {
  return Welcome to the Home Page!;
}

export default function About() {
  return About Us;
}

// Your code here

Hint

Remember to name the function and file to match the route path.

4

Add Links to Navigate Between Routes

In the app/routes/index.tsx file, import Link from @remix-run/react. Inside the Index function, add three <Link> components that link to '/', '/about', and '/contact' with the texts 'Home', 'About', and 'Contact' respectively. Wrap them in a <nav> element above the welcome message.

Remix

import { Link } from '@remix-run/react';

export default function Index() {
  // Your code here
}

export default function About() {
  return About Us;
}

export default function Contact() {
  return Contact Information;
}

Hint

Use the Link component from Remix to create navigation links.

Practice

1. In Remix, how do you create a new route that matches the URL path /about?

easy

A. Create a file named about.jsx inside the app/routes folder.

B. Add a function named about() in app/root.jsx.

C. Create a folder named about inside app/components.

D. Add a route entry in a routes configuration file.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Remix routing structure

   Remix creates routes based on files inside the app/routes folder.

2. Step 2: Match file name to URL path

   To create a route for /about, create about.jsx inside app/routes.

3. Final Answer:

   Create a file named about.jsx inside the app/routes folder. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Route file name = URL path [OK]

Hint: Route files in app/routes match URL paths directly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to add routes in root.jsx instead of app/routes folder
• Creating route files in app/components folder
• Expecting a config file for routes

2. Which of the following is the correct way to define a dynamic route parameter for a user ID in Remix?

easy

A. Create a file named user-$id.jsx inside app/routes.

B. Create a file named user/[id].jsx inside app/routes.

C. Create a file named user/:id.jsx inside app/routes.

D. Create a file named user/{id}.jsx inside app/routes.

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall Remix dynamic route syntax

   Remix uses square brackets [param] in file names to define dynamic route parts.

2. Step 2: Match dynamic user ID route

   For a user ID parameter, the file should be named user/[id].jsx.

3. Final Answer:

   Create a file named user/[id].jsx inside app/routes. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Dynamic route uses [param] syntax [OK]

Hint: Use square brackets [param] for dynamic route files [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using $id or :id instead of [id]
• Using curly braces {id} which is invalid
• Placing dynamic routes outside app/routes

3. Given the file app/routes/blog/[slug].jsx exporting a React component that renders <h1>{params.slug}</h1>, what will be rendered when visiting /blog/hello-world?

medium

A. Nothing, route not found

B. [slug]

C. blog/hello-world

D. hello-world

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand dynamic route parameter usage

   The file [slug].jsx captures the URL part after /blog/ as slug.

2. Step 2: Rendered output for /blog/hello-world

   The component renders <h1>{params.slug}</h1>, so params.slug is hello-world.

3. Final Answer:

   <h1>hello-world</h1> -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Dynamic param value = hello-world [OK]

Hint: Dynamic route param matches URL segment inside [brackets] [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting literal [slug] text to render
• Confusing full path with param value
• Assuming route does not exist

4. You created a file app/routes/profile.jsx but visiting /profile shows a 404 error. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The file does not export a React component as default.

B. The file name should be profile.js instead of profile.jsx.

C. You need to add a route entry in a config file.

D. The route path should be /profiles to match the file.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check route file export requirements

   Remix requires route files to export a React component as the default export.

2. Step 2: Identify cause of 404 error

   If the file exists but does not export a default React component, Remix treats it as no route, causing 404.

3. Final Answer:

   The file does not export a React component as default. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Default export React component required [OK]

Hint: Always export a default React component in route files [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using named exports only without default export
• Wrong file extension causing import issues
• Expecting config file for routes

5. You want to create nested routes for a blog: /blog shows a list, and /blog/[postId] shows a post detail. How should you organize files in app/routes?

hard

A. Create blog.jsx and blog/[postId].jsx inside app/routes.

B. Create blog/index.jsx and blog-postId.jsx inside app/routes.

C. Create a folder blog with index.jsx and [postId].jsx inside it.

D. Create blog-list.jsx and blog-post.jsx inside app/routes.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand nested route folder structure

   Remix supports nested routes by creating folders with an index.jsx file for the base path.

2. Step 2: Organize blog routes

   Put index.jsx inside blog folder for /blog, and [postId].jsx for dynamic post detail.

3. Final Answer:

   Create a folder blog with index.jsx and [postId].jsx inside it. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Nested routes use folders with index.jsx [OK]

Hint: Use folder with index.jsx for base route, dynamic files for params [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Placing all files flat without folders for nested routes
• Using dash instead of brackets for dynamic routes
• Naming files incorrectly for nested paths