Data Binding

Connect UI components to your application data using JSON Pointer paths.

JSON Pointer Paths

json-render uses JSON Pointer (RFC 6901) for data paths:

// Given this data:
{
  "user": {
    "name": "Alice",
    "email": "alice@example.com"
  },
  "metrics": {
    "revenue": 125000,
    "growth": 0.15
  }
}

// These paths access:
"/user/name"        -> "Alice"
"/metrics/revenue"  -> 125000
"/metrics/growth"   -> 0.15

DataProvider

Wrap your app with DataProvider to enable data binding:

import { DataProvider } from '@json-render/react';

function App() {
  const initialData = {
    user: { name: 'Alice' },
    form: { email: '', message: '' },
  };

  return (
    <DataProvider initialData={initialData}>
      {/* Your UI */}
    </DataProvider>
  );
}

Reading Data

Use useDataValue for read-only access:

import { useDataValue } from '@json-render/react';

function UserGreeting() {
  const name = useDataValue('/user/name');
  return <h1>Hello, {name}!</h1>;
}

Two-Way Binding

Use useDataBinding for read-write access:

import { useDataBinding } from '@json-render/react';

function EmailInput() {
  const [email, setEmail] = useDataBinding('/form/email');
  
  return (
    <input
      type="email"
      value={email || ''}
      onChange={(e) => setEmail(e.target.value)}
    />
  );
}

Using the Data Context

Access the full data context for advanced use cases:

import { useData } from '@json-render/react';

function DataDebugger() {
  const { data, setData, getValue, setValue } = useData();
  
  // Read any path
  const revenue = getValue('/metrics/revenue');
  
  // Write any path
  const updateRevenue = () => setValue('/metrics/revenue', 150000);
  
  // Replace all data
  const resetData = () => setData({ user: {}, form: {} });
  
  return <pre>{JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)}</pre>;
}

In JSON UI Trees

AI can reference data paths in component props:

{
  "type": "Metric",
  "props": {
    "label": "Total Revenue",
    "valuePath": "/metrics/revenue",
    "format": "currency"
  }
}

Learn about actions for user interactions.