Published: 17 May 2023
Introduction
Redux has long been the go-to solution for state management in React applications. However, as React has evolved, so have the tools available for managing state. More modern state management libraries like Zustand, Jotai, and Recoil have emerged, offering simpler and more flexible alternatives to Redux.
In this post, we’ll explore why many developers are migrating away from Redux, the challenges involved, and how to migrate to modern state management solutions. Specifically, we’ll take a look at Zustand, Jotai, and Recoil, comparing their features and providing a step-by-step guide to help you transition.
Why Many Developers Are Ditching Redux
While Redux has been a popular state management solution, its boilerplate code and complexity can be cumbersome, especially for smaller and simpler applications. Here are some of the common reasons developers are opting for modern state management solutions:
1. Too Much Boilerplate
Redux requires a lot of setup, including actions, reducers, action types, and often middleware like redux-thunk or redux-saga. This can quickly become overwhelming, especially for smaller projects or developers new to React.
2. Complexity for Simple State
For many use cases, Redux’s complexity is overkill. Many developers find that they only need to manage simple state, which Redux can make more complicated than necessary.
3. Learning Curve
Redux introduces concepts like reducers, actions, dispatch, and state normalization that can be difficult to understand at first. For developers who want to focus on building features rather than managing boilerplate, newer state management libraries provide a smoother experience.
4. Need for Simpler Solutions
Modern React features, such as React Context and useReducer, can often handle state management needs without needing a complex external library like Redux. This is especially true for applications that don’t require global state or advanced use cases like undo/redo functionality, complex side effects, or deep nested state.
Modern Alternatives to Redux: Zustand, Jotai, and Recoil
1. Zustand
Zustand is a minimalist state management library for React. It leverages React’s built-in hooks for state management and aims to provide a simple API for managing global state without the complexity of Redux.
Key Features
- Simple API: Zustand uses a hook-based API that doesn’t require reducers, actions, or types. It’s just a store that holds state and lets you access or update it directly.
- No Boilerplate: Zustand eliminates the need for complex setup or action creators, making it a great choice for smaller applications or when you want a more intuitive way to manage state.
- Built for Simplicity: It’s perfect for applications that need state management but don’t require advanced features like Redux’s middleware.
2. Jotai
Jotai is another minimalistic state management library for React. It’s inspired by Recoil and aims to be even simpler, allowing developers to manage atomic state directly.
Key Features
- Atomic State: With Jotai, you manage state at a granular level. It encourages breaking your state into smaller, reusable pieces (atoms), which makes it easier to scale.
- No Boilerplate: Like Zustand, Jotai eliminates the need for reducers, actions, or selectors, offering a clean, simple API for managing state.
- Built-in React Suspense Integration: Jotai works well with React Suspense, enabling state management with async data out of the box.
3. Recoil
Recoil is a state management library developed by Facebook and is designed to be more powerful than React’s built-in useState and useReducer but more flexible than Redux.
Key Features
- Atoms and Selectors: Recoil’s core concepts are atoms (units of state) and selectors (derived state). This system allows for more fine-grained control over state management and makes it easy to manage dependencies between states.
- Concurrent Mode: Recoil is designed to work seamlessly with React’s Concurrent Mode, making it a good choice for modern React applications with performance concerns.
- State Sharing: Recoil is great for applications that require global state sharing across components with minimal setup.
Step-by-Step Guide to Migrating from Redux to Modern State Management
Let’s break down the migration process into a step-by-step guide, using Zustand, Jotai, and Recoil as examples.
Step 1: Identify the Core Redux State
Start by analyzing your current Redux store. Identify which pieces of state are central to the app and which reducers or actions are in use. These will likely be your key candidates for migration.
- Global State: Identify the state that is shared across multiple components.
- Local State: Some Redux-managed state may be better handled locally using React’s
useStateoruseReducer.
Step 2: Choose the New State Management Solution
Depending on your app’s complexity, choose the new state management library that fits your needs.
- Zustand: If your application is relatively simple and you want to eliminate Redux boilerplate, Zustand will likely be the best fit. It’s easy to set up and has an intuitive API.
- Jotai: If you need atomic state management with a minimal API, Jotai is a great choice, especially if you plan to use React Suspense for async data.
- Recoil: If you need more advanced state management with dependencies, Recoil is the way to go. It’s particularly powerful for complex applications with a lot of interconnected state.
Step 3: Install the New Library
Install your chosen state management library via npm or yarn.
# For Zustand
npm install zustand
# For Jotai
npm install jotai
# For Recoil
npm install recoil
Step 4: Replace Redux Store with the New Library
Start by replacing your Redux store with the new state management solution. Below are examples of how you can do this for each library.
Using Zustand
import create from 'zustand';
// Define the store
const useStore = create(set => ({
count: 0,
increment: () => set(state => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
decrement: () => set(state => ({ count: state.count - 1 }))
}));
// In your component
const Counter = () => {
const { count, increment, decrement } = useStore();
return (
<div>
<p>{count}</p>
<button onClick={increment}>Increase</button>
<button onClick={decrement}>Decrease</button>
</div>
);
};
Using Jotai
import { atom, useAtom } from 'jotai';
// Define the atom
const countAtom = atom(0);
// In your component
const Counter = () => {
const [count, setCount] = useAtom(countAtom);
return (
<div>
<p>{count}</p>
<button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increase</button>
<button onClick={() => setCount(count - 1)}>Decrease</button>
</div>
);
};
Using Recoil
import { atom, useRecoilState } from 'recoil';
// Define the atom
const countState = atom({
key: 'countState',
default: 0,
});
// In your component
const Counter = () => {
const [count, setCount] = useRecoilState(countState);
return (
<div>
<p>{count}</p>
<button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increase</button>
<button onClick={() => setCount(count - 1)}>Decrease</button>
</div>
);
};
Step 5: Refactor Components and Remove Redux
As you migrate the state to your new store, refactor the components that rely on Redux state. Remove the Redux-specific code (such as useDispatch, useSelector, and connect), and replace it with the new store’s API.
Step 6: Test Your Application
Ensure that your application still behaves as expected. Test both the local and global state to verify that the state management works correctly.
Step 7: Clean Up Redux-related Code
Finally, once all your state has been migrated, remove Redux-related packages and files from your project.
npm uninstall redux react-redux
Conclusion
Migrating from Redux to modern state management libraries like Zustand, Jotai, or Recoil can simplify your application and improve developer experience. These modern libraries provide simpler APIs, more intuitive state management, and performance optimizations that are better suited for smaller to medium-sized applications.
By following the migration steps outlined in this post, you can smoothly transition your app from Redux to one of these newer, more efficient libraries.
