* **Declarative:** React makes it painless to create interactive UIs. Design simple views for each state in your application, and React will efficiently update and render just the right components when your data changes. Declarative views make your code more predictable, simpler to understand, and easier to debug.
* **Component-Based:** Build encapsulated components that manage their own state, then compose them to make complex UIs. Since component logic is written in JavaScript instead of templates, you can easily pass rich data through your app and keep state out of the DOM.
* **Learn Once, Write Anywhere:** We don't make assumptions about the rest of your technology stack, so you can develop new features in React without rewriting existing code. React can also render on the server using Node and power mobile apps using [React Native](https://facebook.github.io/react-native/).
You'll notice that we used an HTML-like syntax; [we call it JSX](https://facebook.github.io/react/docs/introducing-jsx.html). JSX is not required to use React, but it makes code more readable, and writing it feels like writing HTML. We recommend using [Babel](https://babeljs.io/) with a [React preset](https://babeljs.io/docs/plugins/preset-react/) to convert JSX into native JavaScript for browsers to digest.
React is available as the `react` package on [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/). It is also available on a [CDN](https://facebook.github.io/react/docs/installation.html#using-a-cdn).
React is flexible and can be used in a variety of projects. You can create new apps with it, but you can also gradually introduce it into an existing codebase without doing a rewrite.
The main purpose of this repository is to continue to evolve React core, making it faster and easier to use. If you're interested in helping with that, check out our [contribution guide](https://facebook.github.io/react/contributing/how-to-contribute.html).
Facebook has adopted a Code of Conduct that we expect project participants to adhere to. Please read [the full text](https://code.facebook.com/codeofconduct) so that you can understand what actions will and will not be tolerated.
To help you get your feet wet and get you familiar with our contribution process, we have a list of [good first bugs](https://github.com/facebook/react/labels/good%20first%20bug) that contain bugs which are fairly easy to fix. This is a great place to get started.
