Import and use an Image in a React component

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Borislav Hadzhiev

Last updated: Apr 7, 2024
6 min

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# Table of Contents

  1. Import and use an Image in a React component
  2. Module not found: Can't resolve image in React

If you got the error 'Module not found: Can't resolve image', click on the second subheading.

# Import and use an Image in a React component

To import and use an image in a React component:

  1. Import the local image, e.g. import MyImage from './thumbnail.webp';.
  2. Pass the imported image to the src prop on the img element.
  3. For example, <img src={MyImage} alt="horse" />.
App.js
// 👇️ import the image
import MyImage from './thumbnail.webp';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src={MyImage} alt="horse" />

      {/* 👇️ external image */}
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}

react import image

The code for this article is available on GitHub

We used an ES6 default import to import an image in a React application.

The alt prop helps screen readers understand what the image is about.

Notice that the image that is self-closing <img />.

The example assumes that you have an image named thumbnail.webp in the same folder as the App component.

Make sure to specify the correct path to the image file (including the extension).

For example, if you are importing an image from one directory up, you would import as import MyImage from '../thumbnail.webp'.

The image has to be located in the src directory of your project.

It is usually best to colocate images right next to the components that use them to make sure you don't have dangling images if you end up deleting or changing the component.

# Importing an svg image in your React application

You can use this approach to import and use png, svg, webp, jpg, etc, images in your React app.

App.js
// 👇️ import SVG image
import MyImage from './logo.svg';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src={MyImage} alt="logo" />

      {/* 👇️ external image */}
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}

importing an svg image in your react application

The code for this article is available on GitHub
Want to learn more about working with images in React? Check out these resources: Display an image from a URL or Local Path in React,How to change the color of an SVG in React.

# Importing an image from the public directory

If your images are located in the public directory, use an absolute path when setting the src prop on the img element.

For example, if you have an image located at public/images/thumbnail.webp, you would set the src of the img element to "/images/thumbnail.webp".

App.js
export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src="/images/thumbnail.webp" alt="horse" />

      {/* 👇️ external image */}
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}

react use image from public directory

The code for this article is available on GitHub

# Import an image using the require() function

If you aren't able to use the ES6 import/export syntax in your setup, try using require().

App.js
export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src={require('./thumbnail.webp')} alt="horse" />
      <img src={require('./logo.svg').default} alt="horse" />
    </div>
  );
}

The example above uses the require() syntax to import 2 images located in the same directory as the App component.

# Rendering an externally-hosted image

If you need to display an image from an external URL, set the src prop on the img tag to the complete URL of the image.

App.js
export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}

rendering externally hosted image

The code for this article is available on GitHub

The example shows how to display an image from an external URL.

We used the img tag and set its src prop to the complete URL that points to the image.

# Module not found: Can't resolve image in React [Solved]

The React.js error Module not found: Can't resolve image occurs when we specify an incorrect path to the imported image.

To solve the error, import the image and make sure the path that points to the image is correct in your import statement.

react module not found error cant resolve image

shell
ERROR in ./src/App.js 4:0-43

Module not found: Error: Can't resolve './src/thumbnail.webp' in '/home/borislav/Desktop/bobbyhadz-rest/bobbyhadz-react/src'

Assuming there is a thumbnail.webp image in the same directory as your App.js file, you would import it and render it as follows.

App.js
// 👇️ import the image
import MyImage from './thumbnail.webp';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src={MyImage} alt="car" />

      {/* 👇️ external image */}
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}

react import image

The example assumes that you have an image named thumbnail.webp in the same folder as the App component.

Make sure to specify the correct path to the image file (including the extension).

For example, if you are importing an image from one directory up, you would import as import MyImage from '../thumbnail.webp'.

# Resolving imports from nested directories

If I move my App.js component to a nested directory and leave the image in the src directory, I would import the image from one directory up.

nested/App.js
// 👇️ import the image from one directory up
import MyImage from '../thumbnail.webp';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src={MyImage} alt="horse" />

      {/* 👇️ external image */}
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}
The code for this article is available on GitHub

NOTE: the image has to be located in the src directory of your project.

It is usually best to colocate images right next to the components that use them to make sure you don't have dangling images if you end up deleting or changing the component.

# Specify a relative path to the image

If the error persists when you use this approach, try to specify a relative path to the image, e.g. import MyImage from './../thumbnail.webp';.

nested/App.js
// 👇️ import the image from one directory up
import MyImage from './../thumbnail.webp';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src={MyImage} alt="horse" />

      {/* 👇️ external image */}
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}
If the error persists, restart your development server.

You can use this approach to import and use png, svg, webp, jpg, etc, images in your React app.

Here is an example that assumes there is a logo.svg image right in the same directory as my App.js file.

App.js
// 👇️ assumes logo.svg is in the same directory as App.js
import MyImage from './logo.svg';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src={MyImage} alt="horse" />

      {/* 👇️ external image */}
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}
The code for this article is available on GitHub

# Resolving images from the public directory

If your images are located in the public directory, use an absolute path when setting the src prop on the img element.

For example, if you have an image located at public/images/thumbnail.webp, you would set the src of the img element to "/images/thumbnail.webp".

App.js
export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src="/images/thumbnail.webp" alt="horse" />

      {/* 👇️ external image */}
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}

react use image from public directory

The example assumes that you have a thumbnail.webp image located under public/images/thumbnail.webp.

# Using the require() function

If you aren't able to use the ES6 import/export syntax in your setup, try using require().

App.js
export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* 👇️ local image */}
      <img src={require('./thumbnail.webp')} alt="horse" />
      <img src={require('./logo.svg').default} alt="horse" />
    </div>
  );
}

The example above uses the require() syntax to import 2 images located in the same directory as the App component.

I've also written a detailed guide on where you should store images in a React app.

# Using an image from an external URL

If you need to display an image from an external URL, set the src prop on the img tag to the complete URL of the image.

App.js
export default function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <img
        src="https://bobbyhadz.com/images/blog/react-prevent-multiple-button-clicks/thumbnail.webp"
        alt="car"
      />
    </div>
  );
}
The code for this article is available on GitHub

The example shows how to display an image from an external URL.

We used the img tag and set its src prop to the complete URL that points to the image.

# Additional Resources

You can learn more about the related topics by checking out the following tutorials:

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