This book will be a guide on how to effectively use Create React App 2 (CRA) to create a new React project and build the web project of your dreams! We will cover many topics, including how to install Create React App, the project structure you get by default, and how to add code and libraries to your project. We will explore everything you'll need to be able to build complex, modern web applications using the latest and greatest of the most common React project configurations and compilations.

To be able to do this however, we first need to take a little time to talk about the project itself, its humble beginnings, and what problems it is ultimately attempting to solve. By understanding the history and the intention, we can better understand how to take full advantage of the toolset we are provided and also understand where and why limitations exist.

In this chapter, we'll discuss what Create React App is and what it brings to the table. By the time you're done with this chapter, you'll understand why Create React App is so important and how it helps the developer get more done in less time overall. We'll also discuss what topics the book will cover, the format itself, and how to best follow along.

In this chapter we will be looking at the following topics:

• Starting a new Create React App project
• The commands for starting and stopping your server
• The commands for running tests
• The commands for creating production-ready builds
• The commands for exiting the Create React App confines to further tune and configure your project