The Death of Create React App: Why Vite is the New Standard

Published: 15 Februar 2023

Introduction

For years, Create React App (CRA) was the default tool for bootstrapping new React projects. However, in recent years, CRA has fallen out of favor due to slow builds, large bundle sizes, and outdated tooling.

Now, Vite has emerged as the new standard, offering a faster, more efficient development experience.

This article will cover:

• Why Create React App became outdated
• Why Vite is the best alternative
• How to migrate from CRA to Vite

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1. Why Create React App is No Longer Recommended

Create React App was designed to simplify setting up a new React project without manual configuration. However, its Webpack-based build system has struggled to keep up with modern development needs.

Key Problems with CRA

🚫 Slow startup time – CRA bundles everything upfront, making development sluggish.
🚫 Large bundle sizes – Webpack isn’t optimized for modern JavaScript bundling.
🚫 Poor support for modern JavaScript – No native ES modules, slow HMR (Hot Module Replacement).
🚫 Outdated dependencies – Many CRA projects depend on old versions of Webpack and Babel.
🚫 Difficult configuration – While CRA provides a “zero-config” setup, ejecting it to customize settings breaks maintainability.

Developers Have Moved On

Because of these issues, major React projects have stopped recommending CRA, and developers have shifted towards Vite, Next.js, and Remix.

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2. Why Vite is the Best Alternative to CRA

Vite (French for “fast”) is a modern build tool for React, Vue, and other JavaScript frameworks. It was built to fix the shortcomings of Webpack-based tools like CRA.

Why Vite is Better Than CRA

✅ Instant startup time – Uses native ES modules instead of bundling everything upfront.
✅ Lightning-fast HMR – Updates reflect in the browser instantly.
✅ Smaller bundle sizes – Uses Rollup for optimized production builds.
✅ Built-in TypeScript & JSX support – No need for Babel or extra configuration.
✅ Better developer experience – Comes with modern tooling out of the box.

🚀 Example: Starting a Vite React project takes just a few seconds:

npm create vite@latest my-app --template react
cd my-app
npm install
npm run dev

With CRA, you would wait several minutes just for the development server to start.

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3. Performance Comparison: Vite vs. CRA

Feature	Create React App (CRA)	Vite
Startup Time	⏳ Slow (Webpack bundles everything upfront)	⚡ Instant (Native ES modules)
Hot Module Replacement (HMR)	🔄 Sluggish (Full page reloads common)	⚡ Near-instant updates
Build Time	🚀 Slow (Large bundles, inefficient tree-shaking)	⚡ Fast (Optimized via Rollup)
Bundle Size	📦 Large (Webpack includes unnecessary polyfills)	📦 Smaller (Modern bundling)
TypeScript Support	✅ Yes (via Babel)	✅ Yes (native)
Environment Variables	🌎 Process-based (.env files)	🌎 Vite-native (.env files)

With Vite, apps start instantly, reload faster, and ship smaller bundles.

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4. Migrating from Create React App to Vite

If you have an existing CRA project, migrating to Vite is straightforward.

Step 1: Install Vite and Dependencies

First, remove CRA-related dependencies and install Vite:

npm uninstall react-scripts
npm install vite @vitejs/plugin-react

Step 2: Update Project Structure

Delete the CRA-specific files:

rm -rf public src/setupTests.js src/reportWebVitals.js

Then, create a Vite config file:

📌 vite.config.js

import { defineConfig } from 'vite';
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react';

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [react()],
  server: {
    port: 3000,
  },
});

Step 3: Update Scripts in package.json

Replace CRA scripts with Vite commands:

"scripts": {
  "dev": "vite",
  "build": "vite build",
  "preview": "vite preview"
}

Step 4: Start Your App

Run the development server:

npm run dev

🚀 Your app now runs on Vite!

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5. Other Alternatives to CRA

If Vite doesn’t fit your project, here are other great alternatives:

1️⃣ Next.js (For Full-Stack & SSR Apps)

• ✅ Server-Side Rendering (SSR) & Static Site Generation (SSG)
• ✅ Built-in API routes
• ✅ Optimized for SEO & performance
• 🚀 Recommended for production applications

npx create-next-app@latest my-app

2️⃣ Remix (For Dynamic & Server-First Apps)

• ✅ Better handling of data fetching & mutations
• ✅ Built-in form handling & progressive enhancement
• ✅ Fast server-side rendering

npx create-remix@latest my-app

3️⃣ Parcel (For Zero-Config Bundling)

• ✅ Automatic dependency resolution
• ✅ Built-in TypeScript & JSX support
• ✅ Faster than Webpack

npx parcel index.html

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Final Thoughts: It’s Time to Ditch CRA

Create React App served its purpose, but modern development has outgrown it. Vite provides faster startup times, better HMR, and smaller bundles, making it the best choice for new React projects.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Create React App is outdated – slow, bloated, and not developer-friendly.
• Vite is the new standard – instant startup, fast HMR, and modern tooling.
• Migrating to Vite is easy – and improves your development experience significantly.

If you’re still using CRA, now is the time to switch. 🚀