React images load locally but not on AWS Amplify

ONLINECAST

2 min read

·

06-10-2024

12

0

Share

Why Your React Images Load Locally But Not on AWS Amplify

Have you ever encountered a frustrating situation where your React application displays images perfectly in your local development environment but refuses to load them once deployed on AWS Amplify? This common issue can be a real head-scratcher, but it's usually caused by a mismatch in how your application handles image paths.

The Scenario: Images Disappear After Deployment

Imagine you have a React component that displays an image using the following code:

import React from 'react';
import myImage from './myImage.jpg';

const MyComponent = () => {
  return (
    <img src={myImage} alt="My Image" />
  );
};

export default MyComponent;

This code works flawlessly in your local development environment, displaying the image as expected. However, once you deploy your application to AWS Amplify, the image mysteriously disappears.

The Root Cause: Path Mismatch

The root of this issue lies in the different ways your application treats image paths during local development versus deployment.

• Local Development: When you run your React application locally, the image path (./myImage.jpg) is relative to the location of your MyComponent.js file. Since both the image and the component reside in the same directory, the image is loaded without problems.
• AWS Amplify Deployment: During deployment, your application's build process bundles all your components into a single directory. The ./myImage.jpg path is no longer valid as the image is now located in a different directory within the deployed bundle. This mismatch between the expected image path and its actual location leads to the image not being displayed.

Solutions to Fix the Image Path Issue

Here are two common approaches to fix this problem:

1. Use Absolute Paths:

You can resolve this by using absolute paths instead of relative paths. You can achieve this in several ways:

• Using Environment Variables: Define an environment variable like IMAGE_BASE_URL in your .env file and update your image path accordingly:

  import React from 'react';
  
  const MyComponent = () => {
    const imageBaseURL = process.env.REACT_APP_IMAGE_BASE_URL; // Access environment variable
    return (
      <img src={`${imageBaseURL}/myImage.jpg`} alt="My Image" />
    );
  };
  
  export default MyComponent;
  

• Using a Public URL: Access the public URL of your deployed application using process.env.PUBLIC_URL and construct the absolute path:

  import React from 'react';
  
  const MyComponent = () => {
    const publicUrl = process.env.PUBLIC_URL; // Access public URL
    return (
      <img src={`${publicUrl}/myImage.jpg`} alt="My Image" />
    );
  };
  
  export default MyComponent;
  

2. Store Images in a Separate Folder:

Create a dedicated folder (e.g., public/images) to store all your images within your React project. Make sure to configure Amplify to include this folder in your deployment. Then, you can use relative paths to access images from this folder:

import React from 'react';
import myImage from '../public/images/myImage.jpg';

const MyComponent = () => {
  return (
    <img src={myImage} alt="My Image" />
  );
};

export default MyComponent;

Additional Considerations

• Image Optimization: Use tools like imagemin to optimize your images for faster loading times and reduced bandwidth usage.
• Image Placeholder: Display a placeholder image while your main image is loading to improve user experience.
• Error Handling: Implement error handling for situations where the image fails to load, such as displaying an alternative image or a message to the user.

By understanding the difference in path handling between local development and AWS Amplify deployment, you can effectively resolve image loading issues and ensure a smooth user experience on your deployed application.