What is CORS and how do I handle it in a React application?

What is CORS and how do I handle it in a React application?

CORS stands for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing. It's a security feature that restricts web pages from making requests to a different domain than the one that served the web page. In a React application, you can handle CORS by configuring your server to include the appropriate headers.

What headers do I need to set on the server?

You typically need to set the 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header to specify which domains are allowed to access your resources. You can also set 'Access-Control-Allow-Methods' to specify which HTTP methods are permitted.

Can I handle CORS issues directly in my React app?

While you can't directly handle CORS in your React app, you can use a proxy during development. For example, you can set up a proxy in your package.json file to redirect API calls to the correct server.

What if I don't control the server?

If you don't control the server, you can use a CORS proxy service or request the server owner to enable CORS for your domain.