Why Use Build Tools in React? What Do Vite and CRA Do?

When writing vanilla JS or C++ we don’t need any build tools or bundlers because browser (for JS ) and compilers (for C++) directly understand and execute the code.

We could write React code without using Vite, CRA or similar tools, but it would require a lot of manual work i.e

• we need to set up Babel to transpile JSX and ES6+ syntax into browser compatible JS code.

• Need to configure webpack or Rollup to bundle your files together

• Have to Handling hot module reloading (HMR), CSS imports, environment variables, and more

Tools like Vite or CRA acts as a bridge between moder react features (JSX, modular components, ES6+ syntax) and the browser’s ability to execute code.

They save us from the hassle of manual configuration while providing a development-friendly environment.