Introducing Finder: A Flexible, Headless Data Management Solution for Non-Tabular Content

Managing complex data structures within web applications often revolves around tables—structured, grid-based layouts that cater specifically to tabular data. However, many real-world scenarios demand more flexible, customized interfaces that go beyond traditional tables. Recognizing this need, I developed Finder, a modular, headless data management library designed to handle diverse data-driven interfaces—such as in-game shops, inventory systems, dashboards, and more—without being confined to conventional table formats.

What is Finder?

Finder is an open-source, alpha-stage project aimed at simplifying client-side data interactions. Its primary goal is to provide developers with an intuitive, reusable interface to search, filter, sort, group, paginate, and select items within any dataset, all while maintaining an easy learning curve. Whether you’re building an in-game shop, inventory system, or dynamic dashboard, Finder offers a versatile backbone to manage your data seamlessly.

Why Choose Finder?

While powerful libraries like Tanstack Table or MUI’s DataGrid excel at tabular data, they often come with steep learning curves and are tightly coupled to grid layouts. Finder, by contrast, abstracts away the grid paradigm, allowing developers to craft customized user interfaces that fit the unique requirements of their applications. It’s designed to be simple at its core but flexible enough to accommodate sophisticated data interactions.

Core Concepts

At its foundation, Finder requires just two elements:

1. An array of items—the data set you wish to manipulate.
2. Static rules—a set of predefined filters, search parameters, or grouping instructions.

Here’s an example implementation illustrating how to leverage Finder with a list of fruits:

“`jsx
function FruitList(fruits) {
const rules = finderRuleset([
searchRule({
searchFn: (item, searchTerm) => item.name.includes(searchTerm),
}),
filterRule({
id: ‘mouthfeel’,
filterFn: (item, value) => item.mouthfeel === value,
}),
groupByRule({
id: ‘group_by_colour’,
groupFn: (item) => item.colour,
}),
]);

return (

{/ Custom input components for search, filters, etc. /}

  {/* Content rendering based on current data state */}
  <FinderContent>
    {({