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CSS Custom Properties Not Updating Dynamically in React with Styled Components

👀 Views: 1494 💬 Answers: 1 📅 Created: 2025-06-03
css styled-components react JavaScript

I'm testing a new approach and Could someone explain I'm working on a project and hit a roadblock. I'm experiencing an issue where my CSS custom properties (CSS variables) are not updating dynamically as expected when used in a React component with Styled Components. I have a theme switcher that changes the primary color of my application, but the changes don't reflect immediately in the styled components. Here's a simplified version of what I have: ```javascript import styled, { createGlobalStyle } from 'styled-components'; const GlobalStyle = createGlobalStyle` :root { --primary-color: ${props => props.primaryColor}; } `; const Button = styled.button` background-color: var(--primary-color); color: white; padding: 10px 20px; `; const App = () => { const [primaryColor, setPrimaryColor] = React.useState('#007bff'); const handleChangeColor = () => { setPrimaryColor('#28a745'); // Attempting to change the primary color }; return ( <> <GlobalStyle primaryColor={primaryColor} /> <Button onClick={handleChangeColor}>Change Color</Button> </> ); }; export default App; ``` When I click the button to change the color, the `primaryColor` state updates, but the button background does not change immediately. I’ve checked the browser's developer tools, and the `--primary-color` variable updates in the `:root`, but it doesn’t seem to apply to the button’s background. Is there something I’m missing in the way Styled Components handles these CSS variables, or is there a best practice for ensuring they update correctly? I’m using Styled Components v5.3.0 and React v17.0.2. Any insights would be appreciated! Is there a better approach? This is part of a larger desktop app I'm building. Could this be a known issue? I'm working on a desktop app that needs to handle this. Has anyone else encountered this?