Hmm, I'm not sure if your approach is even possible. In React a component itself holds the state internally only (this is also why it is so cool also) and the r

Hmm, I'm not sure if your approach is even possible. In React a component itself holds the state internally only (this is also why it is so cool also) and the render function outputs everything to the browser. But once it is rendered there is no way back into the component. It's one way in React. You want to change deep internally react components and the react hotloader mentioned is the closest you can get. But I hope you will find a solution. And BTW: The React Hotloader also preserves state... so you can code and state will change.