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Modern State Management in React: Beyond Redux

Majd Muhtaseb06/03/20257 minutes

Introduction

Redux has long been the go-to library for state management in React applications. However, its boilerplate and complexity can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially for smaller projects. Fortunately, the React ecosystem offers several excellent alternatives that provide simpler and more efficient ways to manage application state. This article explores three popular choices: Zustand, Jotai, and Recoil.

Zustand: Simple and Unopinionated

Zustand is a small, fast, and scalable bearbones state-management solution. It uses a simplified hook-based API, making it incredibly easy to learn and integrate into existing projects.

import create from 'zustand';

const useStore = create(set => ({
  count: 0,
  increment: () => set(state => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
  decrement: () => set(state => ({ count: state.count - 1 })),
}));

function Counter() {
  const { count, increment, decrement } = useStore();

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{count}</h1>
      <button onClick={increment}>Increment</button>
      <button onClick={decrement}>Decrement</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Zustand is a great choice when you need a straightforward and performant state management solution without unnecessary complexity.

Jotai: Atomic State Management

Jotai is an atomic state management library inspired by Recoil but with a simpler implementation and smaller bundle size. It's based on the concept of "atoms," which are independent state units that can be easily combined and derived.

import { atom, useAtom } from 'jotai';

const countAtom = atom(0);

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useAtom(countAtom);

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{count}</h1>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increment</button>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count - 1)}>Decrement</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Jotai shines when you need fine-grained control over state updates and want to avoid unnecessary re-renders.

Recoil: Facebook's Reactive State Management

Recoil is a state management library developed by Facebook specifically for React. It introduces the concepts of atoms (units of state) and selectors (derived state). Recoil offers efficient data fetching and fine-grained subscriptions, optimizing performance for complex applications.

import { atom, useRecoilState } from 'recoil';

const countState = atom({
  key: 'countState',
  default: 0,
});

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useRecoilState(countState);

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{count}</h1>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increment</button>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count - 1)}>Decrement</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Recoil is well-suited for large, complex applications where performance and scalability are paramount. However, it has a steeper learning curve compared to Zustand and Jotai.

Conclusion

Choosing the right state management solution depends on the specific needs of your project. While Redux remains a powerful option, Zustand, Jotai, and Recoil offer compelling alternatives that can simplify development and improve performance. Consider the complexity of your application, the learning curve of each library, and the desired level of control when making your decision.