React Compound Pattern

Build multi-part components that share state implicitly via context

When to Use

• Building UI components with related sub-components (Select/Option, Tabs/Tab/TabPanel, Modal/Header/Body/Footer)
• You want consumers to control composition without prop-drilling
• The parent component needs to coordinate state shared across children
• You are replacing a heavily prop-loaded component with a more flexible API

Instructions

1. Create a parent component that owns shared state via

   useState

   or

   useReducer

   .
2. Create a Context to hold the shared state and expose it.
3. Attach child components as static properties of the parent (

   Parent.Child = Child

   ).
4. Child components read shared state from context — no explicit prop passing required.
5. Export the parent as the public API; children are accessed via dot notation.

const FlyOutContext = createContext<{ open: boolean; toggle: () => void } | null>(null);

function FlyOut({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
  return (
    <FlyOutContext.Provider value={{ open, toggle: () => setOpen((o) => !o) }}>
      <div className="flyout">{children}</div>
    </FlyOutContext.Provider>
  );
}

function Toggle() {
  const ctx = useContext(FlyOutContext)!;
  return <button onClick={ctx.toggle}>Toggle</button>;
}

function List({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const ctx = useContext(FlyOutContext)!;
  return ctx.open ? <ul>{children}</ul> : null;
}

FlyOut.Toggle = Toggle;
FlyOut.List = List;

Details

The compound pattern addresses a common pain point: component APIs that grow to have dozens of props as every variant is added. By inverting control to the consumer (they choose the composition), the parent component stays lean and the API stays readable.

Trade-offs:

• JSX.Element type inference for attached sub-components requires TypeScript declaration merging or explicit typing
• Deeply nested compound components may need context bridging if the sub-component is used far from the parent
• Over-using this pattern for simple cases adds unnecessary complexity

Common examples in the wild:

• HTML

  <select>

  /

  <option>

  is the canonical compound component
• Radix UI primitives (Dialog.Root / Dialog.Trigger / Dialog.Content)
• Headless UI (Tab / Tab.Group / Tab.Panel)

Source

https://patterns.dev/react/compound-pattern

Process

1. Read the instructions and examples in this document.
2. Apply the patterns to your implementation, adapting to your specific context.
3. Verify your implementation against the details and edge cases listed above.

Harness Integration

• Type: knowledge — this skill is a reference document, not a procedural workflow.
• No tools or state — consumed as context by other skills and agents.

Success Criteria

• The patterns described in this document are applied correctly in the implementation.
• Edge cases and anti-patterns listed in this document are avoided.