'Nothing was returned from render' React error

The following React error may appear in different situations, possibly when using React Testing Library:

Nothing was returned from render. This usually means a return statement is missing. Or, to render nothing, return null.

The face value explanation

In this case the error tells the story: a component simply isn’t rendering anything. Here’s an SO post with an example.

The react-scripts case

Described in this GH issues discussion, a problem with react-scripts v3.4.1 was causing this error for multiple users, and downgrading to v3.4.0 solved it.

Invalid formatting

In this post, the source of the problem was the formatting of the return statement. The opening parenthesis should be on the same line as the statement.

Wrapup

More than likely the first case applies to most people encountering the error. Components should be checked carefully to ensure that something is actually being returned and rendered.