React State Management

Comprehensive guide to modern React state management patterns, from local component state to global stores and server state synchronization.

When to Use This Skill

• Setting up global state management in a React app
• Choosing between Redux Toolkit, Zustand, or Jotai
• Managing server state with React Query or SWR
• Implementing optimistic updates
• Debugging state-related issues
• Migrating from legacy Redux to modern patterns

Core Concepts

1. State Categories

2. Selection Criteria

Small app, simple state → Zustand or Jotai
Large app, complex state → Redux Toolkit
Heavy server interaction → React Query + light client state
Atomic/granular updates → Jotai

Quick Start

Zustand (Simplest)

// store/useStore.ts
import { create } from 'zustand'
import { devtools, persist } from 'zustand/middleware'

interface AppState {
  user: User | null
  theme: 'light' | 'dark'
  setUser: (user: User | null) => void
  toggleTheme: () => void
}

export const useStore = create<AppState>()(
  devtools(
    persist(
      (set) => ({
        user: null,
        theme: 'light',
        setUser: (user) => set({ user }),
        toggleTheme: () => set((state) => ({
          theme: state.theme === 'light' ? 'dark' : 'light'
        })),
      }),
      { name: 'app-storage' }
    )
  )
)

// Usage in component
function Header() {
  const { user, theme, toggleTheme } = useStore()
  return (
    <header className={theme}>
      {user?.name}
      <button onClick={toggleTheme}>Toggle Theme</button>
    </header>
  )
}

Patterns

Pattern 1: Redux Toolkit with TypeScript

// store/index.ts
import { configureStore } from "@reduxjs/toolkit";
import { TypedUseSelectorHook, useDispatch, useSelector } from "react-redux";
import userReducer from "./slices/userSlice";
import cartReducer from "./slices/cartSlice";

export const store = configureStore({
  reducer: {
    user: userReducer,
    cart: cartReducer,
  },
  middleware: (getDefaultMiddleware) =>
    getDefaultMiddleware({
      serializableCheck: {
        ignoredActions: ["persist/PERSIST"],
      },
    }),
});

export type RootState = ReturnType<typeof store.getState>;
export type AppDispatch = typeof store.dispatch;

// Typed hooks
export const useAppDispatch: () => AppDispatch = useDispatch;
export const useAppSelector: TypedUseSelectorHook<RootState> = useSelector;

// store/slices/userSlice.ts
import { createSlice, createAsyncThunk, PayloadAction } from "@reduxjs/toolkit";

interface User {
  id: string;
  email: string;
  name: string;
}

interface UserState {
  current: User | null;
  status: "idle" | "loading" | "succeeded" | "failed";
  error: string | null;
}

const initialState: UserState = {
  current: null,
  status: "idle",
  error: null,
};

export const fetchUser = createAsyncThunk(
  "user/fetchUser",
  async (userId: string, { rejectWithValue }) => {
    try {
      const response = await fetch(`/api/users/${userId}`);
      if (!response.ok) throw new Error("Failed to fetch user");
      return await response.json();
    } catch (error) {
      return rejectWithValue((error as Error).message);
    }
  },
);

const userSlice = createSlice({
  name: "user",
  initialState,
  reducers: {
    setUser: (state, action: PayloadAction<User>) => {
      state.current = action.payload;
      state.status = "succeeded";
    },
    clearUser: (state) => {
      state.current = null;
      state.status = "idle";
    },
  },