Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions. If you have a question, you can ask it by opening an issue on the Storybook Repository.

Error: No angular.json file found

Storybook can be set up for both single-project and multi-project Angular workspaces. To set up Storybook for a project, run npx storybook@latest init at the root of the workspace where the angular.json file is located. During initialization, the .storybook folder will be created and the angular.json file will be edited to add the Storybook configuration for the selected project. It's important to run the command at the root level to ensure that Storybook detects all projects correctly.

How can I opt-out of Angular Ivy?

In case you are having trouble with Angular Ivy you can deactivate it in your main.js:

export default {
  stories: [
    /* ... */
  ],
  addons: [
    /* ... */
  ],
  framework: {
    name: '@storybook/angular',
    options: {
      enableIvy: false,
    },
  },
};

How can I opt-out of Angular ngcc?

In case you postinstall ngcc, you can disable it:

export default {
  stories: [
    /* ... */
  ],
  addons: [
    /* ... */
  ],
  framework: {
    name: '@storybook/angular',
    options: {
      enableNgcc: false,
    },
  },
};

Please report any issues related to Ivy in our GitHub Issue Tracker as the support for View Engine will be dropped in a future release of Angular.

How can I run coverage tests with Create React App and leave out stories?

Create React App does not allow providing options to Jest in your package.json, however you can run jest with commandline arguments:

npm test -- --coverage --collectCoverageFrom='["src/**/*.{js,jsx}","!src/**/stories/*"]'

I see ReferenceError: React is not defined when using Storybook with Next.js

Next automatically defines React for all of your files via a babel plugin. In Storybook, you can solve this either by:

1. Adding import React from 'react' to your component files.
2. Adding a .babelrc that includes babel-plugin-react-require

How do I setup Storybook to share Webpack configuration with Next.js?

You can generally reuse Webpack rules by placing them in a file that is require()-ed from both your next.config.js and your .storybook/main.js files. For example:

export default {
  webpackFinal: async (baseConfig) => {
    const nextConfig = require('/path/to/next.config.js');
 
    // merge whatever from nextConfig into the webpack config storybook will use
    return { ...baseConfig, ...nextConfig };
  },
};

How do I fix module resolution in special environments?

In case you are using Yarn Plug-n-Play or your project is set up within a mono repository environment, you might run into issues with module resolution similar to this when running Storybook:

WARN   Failed to load preset: "@storybook/react-webpack5/preset"
Required package: @storybook/react-webpack5 (via "@storybook/react-webpack5/preset")

To fix this, you can wrap the package name inside your Storybook configuration file (i.e., .storybook/main.js|ts) as follows:

// Replace your-framework with the framework you are using (e.g., react-webpack5, vue3-vite)
import type { StorybookConfig } from '@storybook/your-framework';
 
import path from 'path';
 
const getAbsolutePath = (packageName: string): any =>
  path.dirname(require.resolve(path.join(packageName, 'package.json')));
 
const config: StorybookConfig = {
  framework: {
    // Replace your-framework with the same one you've imported above.
    name: getAbsolutePath('@storybook/your-framework'),
    options: {},
  },
  stories: ['../src/**/*.mdx', '../src/**/*.stories.@(js|jsx|mjs|ts|tsx)'],
  addons: [
    //👇 Use getAbsolutePath when referencing Storybook's addons and frameworks
    getAbsolutePath('@storybook/addon-essentials'),
  ],
};
 
export default config;

How do I setup React Fast Refresh with Storybook?

Fast refresh is an opt-in feature that can be used in Storybook React. There are two ways that you can enable it, go ahead and pick one:

• You can set a FAST_REFRESH environment variable in your .env file:

FAST_REFRESH=true

• Or you can set the following properties in your .storybook/main.js files:

export default {
  framework: {
    name: '@storybook/react-webpack5',
    options: {
      fastRefresh: true,
    },
  },
};

How do I setup the new React Context Root API with Storybook?

If your installed React Version equals or is higher than 18.0.0, the new React Root API is automatically used and the newest React concurrent features can be used.

You can opt-out from the new React Root API by setting the following property in your .storybook/main.js file:

export default {
  framework: {
    name: '@storybook/react-webpack5',
    options: {
      legacyRootApi: true,
    },
  },
};

Why is there no addons channel?

A common error is that an addon tries to access the "channel", but the channel is not set. It can happen in a few different cases:

1. You're trying to access addon channel (e.g., by calling setOptions) in a non-browser environment like Jest. You may need to add a channel mock:

   import { addons, mockChannel } from '@storybook/preview-api';
    
   addons.setChannel(mockChannel());

2. In React Native, it's a special case documented in #1192

Why aren't Controls visible in the Canvas panel but visible in Docs?

If you're adding Storybook's dependencies manually, make sure you include the @storybook/addon-controls dependency in your project and reference it in your .storybook/main.js as follows:

// .storybook/main.js
 
export default {
  addons: ['@storybook/addon-controls'],
};

Why aren't the addons working in a composed Storybook?

Composition is a new feature that we released with version 6.0, and there are still some limitations to it.

For now, the addons you're using in a composed Storybook will not work.

We're working on overcoming this limitation, and soon you'll be able to use them as if you are working with a non-composed Storybook.

Can I have a Storybook with no local stories?

Storybook does not work unless you have at least one local story (or docs page) defined in your project. In this context, local means a .stories.* or .mdx file that is referenced in your project's .storybook/main.js config.

If you're in a Storybook composition scenario, where you have multiple Storybooks, and want to have an extra Storybook with no stories of its own, that serves as a "glue" for all the other Storybooks in a project for demo/documentation purposes, you can do the following steps:

Introduce a single .mdx docs page (addon-essentials or addon-docs required), that serves as an Introduction page, like so:

{/* Introduction.mdx */}
 
# Welcome
 
Some description here

And then refer to it in your Storybook config file:

// .storybook/main.js
const config = {
  // define at least one local story/page here
  stories: ['../Introduction.mdx'],
  // define composed Storybooks here
  refs: {
    firstProject: { title: 'First', url: 'some-url' },
    secondProject: { title: 'Second', url: 'other-url' },
  },
  // ...
};
export default config;

Which community addons are compatible with the latest version of Storybook?

Starting with Storybook version 6.0, we've introduced some great features aimed at streamlining your development workflow.

With this, we would like to point out that if you plan on using addons created by our fantastic community, you need to consider that some of those addons might be working with an outdated version of Storybook.

We're actively working to provide a better way to address this situation, but in the meantime, we would ask for a bit of caution on your end so that you don't run into unexpected problems. Let us know by creating an issue in the Storybook repo so that we can gather information and create a curated list with those addons to help not only you but the rest of the community.

Is it possible to browse the documentation for past versions of Storybook?

With the release of version 6.0, we updated our documentation as well. That doesn't mean that the old documentation was removed. We kept it to help you with your Storybook migration process. Use the content from the table below in conjunction with our migration guide.

We're only covering versions 5.3 and 5.0 as they were important milestones for Storybook. If you want to go back in time a little more, you'll have to check the specific release in the monorepo.

What icons are available for my toolbar or my addon?

With the @storybook/components package, you get a set of icons that you can use to customize your UI. Use the table below as a reference while writing your addon or defining your Storybook global types. Go through this story to see how the icons look.

I see a "No Preview" error with a Storybook production build

If you're using the serve package to verify your production build of Storybook, you'll get that error. It relates to how serve handles rewrites. For instance, /iframe.html is rewritten into /iframe, and you'll get that error.

We recommend that you use http-server instead and use the following command to preview Storybook:

npx http-server storybook-static

Can I use Storybook with Vue 3?

Yes, with the release of version 6.2, Storybook now includes support for Vue 3. See the install page for instructions.

Why aren't my code blocks highlighted with Storybook MDX

Out of the box, Storybook provides syntax highlighting for a set of languages (e.g., Javascript, Markdown, CSS, HTML, Typescript, GraphQL) you can use with your code blocks. Currently, there's a known limitation when you try and register a custom language to get syntax highlighting. We're working on a fix for this And will update this section once it's available.

Why aren't my MDX 2 stories working in Storybook?

MDX 2 introduced some changes to how the code is rendered. For example, if you enabled it in your Storybook and you have the following code block:

<style>{`
  .class1 {
    ...
  }

  .class2 {
    ...
  }
`}</style>

You'll need to update it to make it compatible with MDX 2.

<style>
  {`
    .class1 {
      ...
    }

    .class2 {
      ...
    }
  `}
</style>

See the following issue for more information.

Why are my mocked GraphQL queries failing with Storybook's MSW addon?

If you're working with Vue 3, you'll need to install @vue/apollo-composable. With Svelte, you'll need to install @rollup/plugin-replace and update your rollup.config file to the following:

// rollup.config
 
// Boilerplate imports
 
import replace from '@rollup/plugin-replace';
const production = !process.env.ROLLUP_WATCH;
 
// Remainder rollup.config implementation
 
export default {
  input: 'src/main.js',
  output: {
    sourcemap: true,
    format: 'iife',
    name: 'app',
    file: 'public/build/bundle.js',
  },
  plugins: [
    // Other plugins
 
    // Configures the replace plugin to allow GraphQL Queries to work properly
    replace({
      'process.env.NODE_ENV': JSON.stringify('development'),
    }),
  ]
};

With Angular, the most common issue is the placement of the mockServiceWorker.js file. Use this example as a point of reference.

Can I use other GraphQL providers with Storybook's MSW addon?

Yes, check the addon's examples to learn how to integrate different providers.

Can I mock GraphQL mutations with Storybook's MSW addon?

No, currently, the MSW addon only has support for GraphQL queries. If you're interested in including this feature, open an issue in the MSW addon repository and follow up with the maintainer.

How can my code detect if it is running in Storybook?

You can do this by checking for the IS_STORYBOOK global variable, which will equal true when running in Storybook. The environment variable process.env.STORYBOOK is also set to true.

Why are my stories not showing up correctly when using certain characters?

Storybook allows you to use most characters while naming your stories. Still, specific characters (e.g., #) can lead to issues when Storybook generates the internal identifier for the story, leading to collisions and incorrectly outputting the correct story. We recommend using such characters sparsely.

Why are the TypeScript examples and documentation using as for type safety?

We are aware that the default Typescript story construct might seem outdated and could potentially introduce a less than ideal way of handling type safety and strictness and could be rewritten as such:

// Button.stories.ts|tsx
 
import React from 'react';
import type { ComponentStory, ComponentMeta } from '@storybook/react';
 
const StoryMeta: ComponentMeta<typeof Button> = {
  /* 👇 The title prop is optional.
   * See https://storybook.js.org/docs/configure/#configure-story-loading
   * to learn how to generate automatic titles
   */
  title: 'Button',
  component: Button,
};
 
export default meta;

Although valid, it introduces additional boilerplate code to the story definition. Instead, we are working towards implementing a safer mechanism based on what is currently being discussed in the following issue. Once the feature is released, we'll migrate our existing examples and documentation accordingly.

Why is Storybook's source loader returning undefined with curried functions?

This is a known issue with Storybook. If you're interested in getting it fixed, open an issue with a working reproduction so that it can be triaged and fixed in future releases.

Why are my args no longer displaying the default values?

Before version 6.3, unset args were set to the argTypes.defaultValue if specified or inferred from the component's properties (e.g., React's prop types, Angular inputs, Vue props). Starting with version 6.3, Storybook no longer infers default values but instead defines the arg's value as undefined when unset, allowing the framework to supply its default value.

If you are using argTypes.defaultValue to fix the above, you no longer need to, and you can safely remove it from your stories.

Additionally, suppose you were using argTypes.defaultValue or relying on inference to set a default value for an arg. In that case, you should define the arg's value at the component level instead:

// MyComponent.stories.js
 
export default {
  component: MyComponent,
  args: {
    //👇 Defining the arg's value at the component level.
    text: 'Something',
  },
};

For Storybook's Docs, you can manually configure the displayed value by configuring the table.defaultValue setting:

// MyComponent.stories.js
 
export default {
  component: MyComponent,
  argTypes: {
    //👇 Defining the arg's display value in docs.
    text: {
      table: { defaultValue: { summary: 'SomeType<T>' } },
    },
  },
};

Why isn't Storybook's test runner working?

There's an issue with Storybook's test runner and the latest version of Jest (i.e., version 28), which prevents it from running effectively. As a workaround, you can downgrade Jest to the previous stable version (i.e., version 27), and you'll be able to run it. See the following issue for more information.

How does Storybook handle environment variables?

Storybook has built-in support for environment variables. By default, environment variables are only available in Node.js code and are not available in the browser as some variables should be kept secret (e.g., API keys) and not exposed to anyone visiting the published Storybook.

To expose a variable, you must preface its name with STORYBOOK_. So STORYBOOK_API_URL will be available in browser code but API_KEY will not. Additionally you can also customize which variables are exposed by setting the env field in the .storybook/main.js file.

Variables are set when JavaScript is compiled so when the development server is started or you build your Storybook. Environment variable files should not be committed to Git as they often contain secrets which are not safe to add to Git. Instead, add .env.* to your .gitignore file and set up the environment variables manually on your hosting provider (e.g., GitHub).