5 Fun React Projects for Beginners (That You Can Actually Use!)

React.js has quickly become one of the most popular JavaScript libraries for building user interfaces. Its component-based structure, flexibility, and active community make it a great choice for both beginners and advanced developers. But one of the best ways to learn React effectively is by building small, fun, and practical projects.

In this article, I’ll share 5 beginner-friendly React projects you can try right now. Each project will help you practice core React skills while also building something useful.

1、To-Do List App

The classic beginner project.
A to-do list app teaches you how to manage state in React — adding, deleting, and marking tasks as completed.

💡 Enhancements you can try:

Add task filtering (e.g., show completed or active tasks).

Store tasks in local storage so they persist after a page reload.

Add a simple deadline feature.

2、Weather Dashboard

A weather dashboard is a great way to practice fetching and displaying API data. You can use APIs like OpenWeatherMap
to display current weather conditions.

💡 What you’ll learn:

Using fetch or axios to call APIs.

Conditional rendering based on API responses.

Building responsive UI components.

3、Recipe Finder

This project is both fun and practical. You’ll fetch recipes from an API (like Spoonacular or Edamam) and display them in a clean layout. Users can search by ingredient or dietary preference.

💡 Features to add:

Search filters by cuisine, allergens, or meal type.

Pagination for browsing lots of recipes.

A “save recipe” option using local storage.

4、Movie Explorer

Want to practice routing and complex UI? A movie explorer app is perfect. You can use TMDb
or OMDb
to get movie data.

💡 Features to add:

Search movies by title.

Show details on a separate page using React Router.

Add pagination or infinite scrolling.

5、Minecraft Circle Generator 🎮

This one is especially fun if you like gaming! A Minecraft Circle Generator lets users input a radius (and optionally block type) to generate pixel-perfect circles they can build in Minecraft.

Instead of guessing block placements, the generator creates a ready-made blueprint for you.

👉 Here’s a working example I built:
🔗 Minecraft Circle Generator

💡 What you’ll practice:

Building input forms with React.

Implementing a simple circle-drawing algorithm (like Bresenham’s Circle Algorithm).

Dynamically rendering visual output in React.

It’s not only a great React learning exercise, but also a real tool that Minecraft players actually use!