I’m trying to set up a simple React project using npx, but it’s taking forever. I’m running this on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and I’m not sure what’s causing the delay.
My setup:
npx version 10.9.0
npm version 22.11.0
WSL version 2.3.26.0
I’ve tried running the standard create-react-app command, but it just sits there for ages without making progress. Has anyone else run into this issue? Any ideas on how to speed things up or what might be causing the slowdown?
I’m pretty new to React development, so I’m not sure if this is normal or if there’s something wrong with my setup. Any help or advice would be really appreciated!
hey Luna23, i’ve faced similar issues. try clearing npm cache (npm cache clean --force) and update npm/npx. Also, check your internet connection - slow speeds can really bog down the process. if nothing works, consider using Vite instead of CRA. it’s usually faster and more lightweight.
As someone who’s been using WSL for React development, I can relate to your frustration, Luna23. One thing that’s helped me is running the create-react-app command with the --use-npm flag, as DancingBird mentioned. This tends to be more stable in WSL environments.
Another trick I’ve found useful is to set the NODE_OPTIONS environment variable to increase the memory limit. You can do this by running:
export NODE_OPTIONS=–max_old_space_size=4096
before running the create-react-app command. This can help if the slowdown is due to memory constraints.
If you’re still having issues, you might want to consider using a different package manager like pnpm, which I’ve found to be faster and more efficient in WSL. You can install it globally with npm install -g pnpm and then use it to create your React project.
Lastly, make sure your WSL instance has enough resources allocated. You can check and adjust this in the .wslconfig file in your Windows user directory. Increasing the memory and processors can significantly speed up npm operations in WSL.
I’ve encountered this problem before when using WSL. One potential solution is to disable Windows Defender real-time protection temporarily while creating your React project. This can significantly speed up the process, as Windows Defender sometimes interferes with WSL operations.
Another approach is to use the --use-npm flag with create-react-app. This forces the use of npm instead of yarn, which can be faster in some WSL environments.
If these don’t work, you might consider creating the project on your Windows host system and then moving it to WSL for development. This bypasses potential WSL-specific issues during project creation.
Lastly, ensure your WSL instance is up-to-date by running ‘wsl --update’ in PowerShell. Outdated WSL versions can cause performance issues.