Mastering API Calls in React — Why axios npm is Trending in 2025

<h1>Axios in React - Comprehensive 2025 GuideMaking API Calls in React with Axios (2025 Guide)</h1><p>Making API calls is a fundamental part of modern React applications. Whether you're fetching user data, submitting forms, or integrating with third-party services, handling HTTP requests efficiently is crucial for building robust applications.</p><h2>Table of Contents</h2><ol><li><a href="#why-axios-is-still-relevant-in-2025" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Why Axios is Still Relevant in 2025</a></li><li><a href="#axios-vs-fetch-api" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Axios vs Fetch API — The Complete Comparison</a></li><li><a href="#installing-and-setting-up-axios" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Installing and Setting Up Axios</a></li><li><a href="#basic-api-calls-with-axios" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Basic API Calls with Axios</a></li><li><a href="#advanced-axios-configuration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Advanced Axios Configuration</a></li><li><a href="#interceptors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Request and Response Interceptors</a></li><li><a href="#error-handling" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Error Handling Best Practices</a></li></ol><h2>1. Why Axios is Still Relevant in 2025</h2><h3>The Numbers Don’t Lie</h3><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">Weekly npm downloads 2025 axios: 45 million downloads/week Still growing year over year! </pre><h3>Key Reasons for Axios Popularity</h3><ol><li><strong>Better Developer Experience</strong></li><li>With Fetch - More verbose:</li></ol><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">fetch(api/users) .then(response =&gt; { if (!response.ok) throw new Error("Network response was not ok"); return response.json(); }) .then(data =&gt; console.log(data)) .catch(error =&gt; console.error(error)); </pre><ol><li>With Axios - Cleaner and simpler:</li></ol><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">axios.get('api/users') .then(response =&gt; console.log(response.data)) .catch(error =&gt; console.error(error)); </pre><ol><li><strong>Automatic JSON Transformation</strong></li><li>Fetch requires manual JSON parsing:</li></ol><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">const response = await fetch(api/data); const data = await response.json(); // extra step </pre><ol><li>Axios does it automatically:</li></ol><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">const response = await axios.get(api/data); const data = response.data; // already parsed </pre><ol><li><strong>Built-in Request/Response Interceptors</strong></li><li>Easily add auth tokens or logging to every request:</li></ol><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">axios.interceptors.request.use(config =&gt; { config.headers.Authorization = `Bearer ${token}`; return config; }); </pre><ol><li><strong>Better Error Handling</strong></li><li>Axios throws errors for bad status codes automatically:</li></ol><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">try { const response = await axios.get(api/data); } catch (error) { if (error.response) { console.log(error.response.status); console.log(error.response.data); } } </pre><ol><li><strong>Request Cancellation Made Easy</strong></li></ol><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">const controller = new AbortController(); axios.get(api/data, { signal: controller.signal }); controller.abort(); // Cancel the request </pre><h2>2. Axios vs Fetch API — The Complete Comparison</h2><p><strong>Feature Comparison Table</strong></p><h3>FeatureAxiosFetch APIBrowser SupportAll modern + IE11 with polyfillModern browsers onlyJSON ParsingAutomaticManualRequest InterceptorsBuilt-inManual implementationResponse InterceptorsBuilt-inManual implementationTimeoutEasy to configureComplex with AbortControllerProgress Events (Upload/Download)SupportedLimited supportError HandlingThrows on HTTP errorsOnly network errorsRequest CancellationSimple APIRequires AbortControllerBundle Size~13KB minified0KB (native)TypeScript SupportExcellentGood Side-by-Side Examples</h3><h4>GET Request</h4><p><em>Fetch API</em></p><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">async function fetchUsers() { try { const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/users'); if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP error! status: ${response.status}`); const data = await response.json(); return data; } catch(error) { console.error('Error:', error); throw error; } } </pre><p><em>Axios</em></p><pre class="ql-syntax" spellcheck="false">async function fetchUsers() { try { const response = await axios.get('https://api.example.com/users'); return response.data; } catch(error) { console.error('Error:', error); throw error; } } </pre>