Scaffolding a New React APP

In this lesson we’ll scaffold a new React frontend inside the same Cursor workspace where the ImageOptimizer Python service is already running. Instead of the older Create React App toolchain, we’ll use Vite — a modern, fast build tool that yields a snappy developer experience and out-of-the-box hot module reload (HMR). Cursor (a fork of Visual Studio Code) can guide you interactively to create projects and offers an integrated workflow for rapid development. If you prefer, you can also run a single CLI command to create the project.

Cursor is built on the VS Code codebase, so the environment and editor experience will feel familiar. It also provides an interactive, immersive workflow for scaffolding projects and interacting with AI assistants.

Overview

We’ll create a Vite + React project named image-optimizer-web.
Install dependencies, run the dev server, and confirm the default Vite + React app loads.
Inspect the scaffolded src/App.jsx and use it as the basis for integrating the ImageOptimizer Python endpoint.

Workspace snapshot Here’s a quick look at the workspace directory I had open in Cursor before scaffolding the new app:

• jeremy@Jeremys-Mac-Studio imageoptimizer % ls
LICENSE  README.md  imageoptimizer.app  imageoptimizer.web  samples
○ jeremy@Jeremys-Mac-Studio imageoptimizer %

Create a new Vite + React project Use one of these two flows depending on whether you want a one-line command or an interactive prompt.

One-line CLI (recommended for speed):

# create a new Vite + React project (single command)
npm create vite@latest image-optimizer-web -- --template react

Interactive flow:

npm create vite@latest
# then follow the interactive prompts:
# - project name: image-optimizer-web
# - framework: React
# - variant: JavaScript or TypeScript

Install dependencies and start the dev server After creating the project, change into the project folder and install dependencies:

cd image-optimizer-web
npm install

If you encounter npm permission / cache ownership issues, reclaim the cache ownership and rerun install.

If you see an EPERM or root-owned files error related to ~/.npm, run sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/.npm to restore ownership, then retry npm install.

Start the development server:

npm run dev

Typical Vite dev-server output:

VITE v5.4.11  ready in 105 ms

  Local:    http://localhost:5173/
  Network:  use --host to expose
  press h + enter to show help

Open http://localhost:5173/ in your browser. You should see the Vite + React welcome page with the counter example demonstrating hot module reload. Quick reference: common commands

Purpose	Command / Example
Scaffold Vite + React (one-liner)	`npm create vite@latest image-optimizer-web -- --template react`
Interactive scaffold	`npm create vite@latest`
Install dependencies	`cd image-optimizer-web` then `npm install`
Start dev server	`npm run dev`
Fix npm cache ownership	`sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/.npm`

Examine the scaffolded app The Vite React template includes a minimal src/App.jsx, a stylesheet, and assets. Here is the default src/App.jsx from the template (corrected and ready to use):

// src/App.jsx
import { useState } from "react";
import reactLogo from "./assets/react.svg";
import viteLogo from "/vite.svg";
import "./App.css";

function App() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

  return (
    <>
      <div>
        <a href="https://vite.dev" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">
          <img src={viteLogo} className="logo" alt="Vite logo" />
        </a>
        <a href="https://react.dev" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">
          <img src={reactLogo} className="logo react" alt="React logo" />
        </a>
      </div>

      <div className="card">
        <button onClick={() => setCount((c) => c + 1)}>count is {count}</button>
        <p>
          Edit <code>src/App.jsx</code> and save to test HMR
        </p>
      </div>

      <p className="read-the-docs">
        Click on the Vite and React logos to learn more
      </p>
    </>
  );
}

export default App;

This template shows:

Basic asset imports (/vite.svg and ./assets/react.svg).
A simple counter implemented with useState.
A demonstration of HMR (edit the file, save, and the browser updates instantly).

Next steps: connect to your ImageOptimizer API With the React scaffold running, you can:

Add new components under src/components.
Create an API utility (src/lib/api.js or src/services/imageApi.js) to call your ImageOptimizer Python endpoint (likely running on a different port).
Use fetch or Axios to POST images or URLs, receive optimized output, and render results in the UI.
Configure a proxy during development (Vite server.proxy) if you want to avoid CORS while calling a local backend.

Links and references

Vite — Next Generation Frontend Tooling
React — Main Documentation
Cursor IDE (reference for the Cursor environment)

Now that the React scaffold is up and running, you can begin implementing UI components, wiring API calls to your ImageOptimizer endpoint, and refining the developer workflow inside Cursor.

Course Introduction

Introduction to AI-Assisted Development

Planning Phase

Development Phase - Backend

Development Phase - Frontend

Project Completion

Scaffolding a New React APP

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