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Design Pattern

React Stack Patterns

React has come a long way since its early days of simple component libraries. By late 2025, the React ecosystem is rich but complex, offering multiple ways to choose your stack for building apps. Modern React developers face choices at every layer of the stack - from build tools and frameworks to routers and other libraries. The official React documentation (now at react.dev) encourages using higher-level frameworks for new projects[1][2]. In fact, Create React App (CRA) - once the go-to bootstrap tool - was deprecated in early 2025, signaling a shift in how we start React apps[1][3].

Instead of stitching together your own tooling from scratch, the recommendation is to either use a React framework (like Next.js or Remix) or, if you have special requirements, start from a modern build tool like Vite or Parcel[1][4]. In this opinionated guide, we’ll explore the 2025 React landscape: the toolchain and stack we suggest for mid-to-senior developers, covering build tools (Vite, Turbopack, Webpack), routing solutions (React Router vs. TanStack Router), popular frameworks (Next.js, Remix, etc.), key libraries for state and data management, and even how AI is influencing React development. Along the way, we’ll point to useful patterns and resources (including several Patterns.dev articles) for deeper dives on specific topics.

Target Audience: This guide is written for intermediate to senior React developers who know the basics and want to make informed choices about their stack in 2025. We’ll keep a balanced tone, explaining our best-guess recommendations with links to relevant documentation and guides. By the end, you should have a clear picture of the modern React landscape and how to navigate it.

Official Guidance and Evolving Best Practices

React’s core team has updated its guidance in line with community trends. The new React docs emphasize “don’t reinvent the wheel” when starting a project. Create React App served us well to quickly spin up React SPAs, but it struggled to scale to production needs (e.g. lacking built-in routing or SSR)[5][6]. With CRA now deprecated, developers are nudged either toward full-featured frameworks or assembling their own stack using lighter tools[1][7]. The rule of thumb given by React core: if your app needs routing, you will benefit from a framework[8]. Modern frameworks tightly integrate routing with data fetching, code-splitting, and more, so you don’t end up writing a mini-framework yourself[9]. React compares this to other ecosystems - just as Svelte has SvelteKit and Vue has Nuxt, React now “recommends using a framework” for most apps[9].

Why this shift? Over the last few years, React has introduced powerful features like hooks, concurrent rendering, and Server Components. But leveraging many of these in an optimal way often requires sophisticated tooling. Frameworks like Next.js have become the vehicle for React’s newest capabilities (e.g. streaming SSR, server-side data loading, etc.). The React 18+ releases (React 18 and the upcoming React 19/20) underscore this by focusing on concurrent UI patterns and server integration rather than new state management primitives. For example, React Server Components (RSC) landed as a production-ready feature in Next.js 13’s App Router, enabling a hybrid rendering model (server-driven UI with zero JS cost for server-rendered components)[10]. Early reports showed bundle size reductions over 20% when using RSC, since logic that runs on the server doesn’t ship to the client[11]. React 19 is also stabilizing Server Actions (invoked with a 'use server' directive) which let you define form submissions or other mutations to run on the server[12] - further blurring the line between front and back end. These advances make frameworks the ideal playground: they abstract the complex setup needed to use such features.

That said, not every project needs a heavyweight framework. The React team acknowledges there are cases for going lean: small widgets, adding React to an existing site, or learning by building from scratch[8][13]. If you choose the custom route, you can still follow React’s updated “Build from Scratch” guides using modern tools like Vite or RSBuild (more on these shortly)[1][4]. In the sections below, we’ll first discuss build tools (the foundation of any React app), then examine frameworks vs. custom stacks, and delve into routing, state, and data libraries.

Build Tools in 2025: Vite, Turbopack, and Beyond

The build toolchain is what transforms your React code (JSX, CSS, etc.) into something that runs in the browser. In 2025, the developer experience has greatly improved, mainly thanks to faster, slicker dev servers and bundlers that have emerged to replace the aging Webpack. Here’s an overview of the landscape:

  • Vite - “Next Generation Frontend Tooling” as it brands itself - has become the de facto choice for non-framework React projects. Vite provides a super-fast dev server (powered by ESBuild under the hood) and uses Rollup for production bundling. It was initially created in the Vue community, but now has official React plugins and wide adoption[14]. Vite’s popularity has surged, and by 2025 its React integration is the second most widely used build setup after Next.js, according to download stats[15][16]. The appeal of Vite is its instant server start and near-instant module hot reloads - a far cry from Webpack’s slower builds. It’s also configuration-light: many projects work with the defaults or a few plugins. If you’re migrating off CRA, the React team explicitly suggests Vite as a top choice[1][4] (and provides a CRA-to-Vite migration guide).

  • Turbopack - the new Rust-based bundler introduced by Vercel (the company behind Next.js) - is an upcoming star. Turbopack is positioned as the spiritual successor to Webpack, focused on incremental compilation for ultrafast reloads[17]. As of Next.js 13/14, Turbopack was in beta and opt-in (next dev --turbo), but by Next.js 15+ it’s maturing and shows impressive build-time gains[18]. Turbopack is integrated within Next.js, so if you use Next, you’ll likely benefit from it without extra effort. Outside of Next, Turbopack isn’t (yet) a generic tool you’d pick on its own - think of it as Next’s internal engine gradually swapping out Webpack. Our opinion: keep an eye on Turbopack if you use Next.js, as it promises faster dev iteration, but for standalone React apps Vite still has the ecosystem advantage in 2025.

  • Webpack - the long-time workhorse - is still with us, but mostly in legacy mode. Many large enterprise projects still run on Webpack (sometimes because of complex plugin ecosystems or legacy config), and some frameworks like CRA (until its deprecation) and older Next.js versions used it by default. However, for new projects, you’d rarely choose Webpack directly in 2025 unless you have very specific needs (e.g. a unique plugin or you’re extending an existing Webpack setup). If maintaining a Webpack project, you can consider gradually moving to newer tools. But as a rule of thumb: Webpack for legacy, Vite (or framework default) for greenfield. Webpack’s influence is visible in newer tools (Rspack, Turbopack) which aim for Webpack compatibility but with better performance[19].

  • Rspack / RSBuild - these are part of a new breed of Rust-powered bundlers. Rspack is a high-performance bundler written in Rust, largely compatible with Webpack’s ecosystem[19]. RSBuild is a zero-config build tool built on Rspack, offering an easy setup for frameworks including React[20][21]. In fact, RSBuild is one of the tools the React docs mention alongside Vite and Parcel[22]. The Rust-based tools shine in build speed, especially for large codebases. If you are performance-obsessed or hitting limits with Vite, experimenting with RSBuild could be worthwhile. That said, Vite’s performance is generally excellent for most apps, and its maturity and community support still make it the first choice. Parcel is another option (also mentioned by React) with a focus on zero-config builds, but its mindshare in the React community is smaller today compared to Vite or the Rust newcomers.

In summary, our pick for most cases is Vite - it’s quick to start, fast to run, and well-supported. Use Vite if you’re building a plain React SPA or a custom stack. If you go with a framework like Next.js, you’ll inherit its build tool (Webpack or Turbopack) - and that’s fine too, since the framework team tunes it for you. Just note that even Next.js now supports using Vite during development for some cases (Remix, for example, can run via a Vite dev server[23]). The ecosystem clearly favors faster build tools moving forward.

Frameworks and Starting Points

Choosing a starting point for a React project in 2025 often means choosing a framework. A framework combines a router, bundler, compiler, and often a server runtime to give you a cohesive development experience. Let’s talk about the major options:

Next.js (Full-Stack React Framework): If you ask a room of React developers for a framework recommendation, Next.js will be the most common answer. Next.js, maintained by Vercel, has become the go-to solution for production React apps. It provides out-of-the-box support for file-based routing, server-side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG), image optimization, API routes, and now React Server Components (with the App Router)[10][24]. Next’s strength is in its strong defaults and conventions - you create a pages/ or app/ directory and export components, and it handles the rest. Need a fast initial load? Use SSR or SSG. Want to fetch data? In Next 12 you had getServerSideProps/getStaticProps; in Next 13+ App Router, you can just fetch in an async component on the server (or use the new use hook) and use Suspense. Next.js also auto-splits your code by route and wraps each route in a Suspense boundary for progressive loading[25]. The result is an app that is performant by default and uses modern React features without a headache.

Next.js is versatile: you can deploy it serverlessly, run it as a Node server, or even export a static site. This flexibility, plus a huge community and plugin ecosystem, makes it our top recommendation for building a new React app when you want a complete solution. It shines especially for content-rich sites, dashboards, and applications where SEO and initial load speed matter (SSR gives you HTML for web crawlers and quick first paint[26]). The downside? Next.js brings constraints - it has its way of doing things (convention over configuration). For example, you must use their file-based routing structure; if you want something highly custom, you might fight the framework. Additionally, Next’s full-stack nature means you’ll be writing some server-side code (for SSR, etc.), which is a shift if you’re used to pure client-side React. But for most, the trade-off is worth it because of the productivity and performance benefits.

Remix (and React Router v7): Remix is another framework that gained traction, emphasizing web fundamentals and progressive enhancement. Created by the React Router team, Remix introduced an integrated approach to routing + data loading + mutations, leaning heavily on the platform (HTTP verbs, standard forms, etc.). It excels at making sure no unnecessary JS runs on the client for what could be done on the server. By 2025, Remix and React Router v7 have converged somewhat - React Router v7 (the library) adopted many of Remix’s patterns (like loaders and actions for routes) for use in traditional SPAs[27][28]. If Next.js feels too “all-in” or you prefer a different philosophy, Remix is a solid choice, especially for apps where you want fine-grained control over server-vs-client work. Remix supports SSR and even streaming, and because it’s from the React Router authors, you know the routing is robust. However, Remix requires adopting its specific conventions and it’s not as large a community as Next. In 2025, Next still outpaces Remix in usage[15], but Remix has influenced many best practices (even Next’s new router was clearly inspired by some Remix ideas).

“No Framework” Custom Setup (Vite + library stack): If you decide a full framework is not needed - perhaps you’re building a client-only SPA, or you have a very bespoke build environment - you can start with Vite (or Parcel/RSBuild) and then add pieces: e.g. React Router or TanStack Router for routing, React Query for data fetching, etc. This approach gives maximum control. The React team now provides a guide for “[[Building a React app from scratch]][11]” which essentially walks through setting up Vite/Parcel and adding what you need. You might choose this path for something like an internal tool or embed where SSR/SEO are irrelevant and you want to minimize complexity. Just be aware of the limitations: a basic build tool setup lacks solutions for routing, data fetching, and other concerns[6][29]. You will likely need to pull in libraries to fill those gaps (we discuss some in the next sections). There are also some new “minimal frameworks” emerging that sit between a Next.js and DIY - for example, TanStack Start is a project by the TanStack team (creators of TanStack Router/Query) that uses their router under the hood to give you a Next-like full-stack setup (with SSR, streaming, etc.) but more lightweight[30]. It’s still early-days for those, but worth keeping an eye on if you prefer composition over a monolith framework.

Other Notables: A few other starting points deserve mention. Gatsby, once popular for static sites, has seen a decline after being acquired by Netlify (it’s no longer officially recommended by React)[31]. In its place, Astro has gained attention for content sites - Astro isn’t React-specific (it lets you mix frameworks), but you can use React components in it. Astro’s approach of “zero JS by default” aligns with the trend of shipping less JavaScript. For a more application-centric full-stack framework, RedwoodJS offers an opinionated “React + GraphQL + Prisma + SSR” stack (inspired by Ruby on Rails). Redwood is great for startups who want a ready-to-go backend with React, though it’s a bit niche. And for mobile-heavy projects, Expo with the Expo Router brings React Native and web together (Expo’s Router is actually based on React Router concepts, but extended for native). The CRA deprecation notice even points to an Expo guide for those migrating mobile apps[32].

Our opinionated advice: for most web applications in 2025, Next.js is the default choice - it’s stable, powerful, and will likely cover your needs. If Next doesn’t fit (maybe you dislike its file routing or need something more tailored), consider Remix or a custom Vite-based stack. Use frameworks for anything public-facing or large-scale, and use Vite + libraries for smaller, internal, or highly custom SPAs. Next, we’ll drill deeper into one of the core pieces of frameworks and SPAs alike: the routing layer.

Routing Solutions: React Router vs. TanStack Router (and Framework Routers)

Every React app beyond the trivial will need routing - the ability to navigate between views. In 2025, there’s a renaissance in routing with new players entering the field and frameworks offering their own abstractions. Let’s break it down:

Framework-provided Routing: If you use Next.js or Remix, routing is largely solved for you by the framework. Next.js uses file-system based routing - you create files in the pages/ or app/ directory, and those become routes. It also handles nested layouts (especially in the App Router, where each folder can have a layout). Remix similarly uses file-based routes with nested layouts and differentiates between UI components and data (loader functions for fetching). These frameworks tie routing with data fetching closely, which avoids common pitfalls like loading waterfalls. For example, Remix and React Router v7 allow routes to declare data requirements that load before rendering, preventing deep nested components from each firing useEffect fetches (a source of slow cascades)[33]. The React team’s push against “waterfalls” is evident: even client-side routers are adopting patterns to fetch data at the route level[33].

React Router: For a long time, React Router (now at v6 and evolving) has been the standard library for routing in React single-page apps. It’s battle-tested and widely used. React Router v6 introduced a simplified API with hooks (useNavigate, etc.) and nested routes via an element tree. By v6.4+, it added async data and suspense support, inspired by Remix (since the Remix team merged back improvements into RR). So, React Router in 2025 can do a lot: you can create a createBrowserRouter with routes that have loader functions to fetch data, use <Outlet> for nested layouts, and even suspense boundaries for pending states. If you’re not using a framework, React Router is still a top choice - it’s well-documented and will cover most needs.

TanStack Router: A newer entrant making waves is TanStack Router (formerly called Router by TanStack). TanStack Router is from the makers of React Query (now TanStack Query), and it aims to provide a “type-safe, data-loaded” routing experience for React (and also works with SolidJS)[34]. This router rose in popularity among those building custom stacks because it addresses some gaps in React Router and framework routers. Specifically, TanStack Router has: first-class TypeScript support (it generates types for your routes and route params, so you catch mistakes at compile time), built-in data loaders with caching (so you can fetch data for a route and TanStack Router will cache it, giving you instant nav on revisit)[34][35], and a rich API for search params and other advanced cases[36]. Essentially, it’s trying to give you the power of a Remix/Next router but decoupled from a specific framework - you can use it in a plain React+Vite app or even incorporate it server-side (TanStack Router supports SSR and streaming too).

So how do React Router and TanStack Router compare? Functionally, there’s overlap: both can do nested routes, both can do data loading (TanStack out-of-the-box, React Router via its newer APIs). The biggest differences: Type Safety and Developer Experience. TanStack Router is built “TS-first”, meaning your route definitions are strongly typed - if you have a route /user/:id, and you call link({ to: '/user/abc' }), the router can ensure id is the correct type (say, number vs string) at compile time. React Router doesn’t offer that - you might not know you mis-typed a route until you click it and it’s wrong. Also, TanStack’s handling of search parameters and context is more powerful, treating URL state as a first-class part of app state (they joke it’s like having useState tied to the URL)[37][36]. React Router is more minimal in those aspects (you manage URL params mostly manually aside from parsing via hooks).

Another aspect: control vs. convention. React Router is fairly low-level; you manually set up routes (either as JSX <Route> elements or via a config object). TanStack Router offers both a code-defined route API and an optional file-based approach via a Vite plugin[38][39]. The file-based option can automatically generate your route hierarchy from files (similar to Next/Remix) if you prefer that convenience, whereas React Router leaves it all to you. TanStack also provides niceties like devtools to visualize routes and their states[40][41].

One way to visualize the landscape is to see how each solution covers features:

Feature comparison of TanStack Router vs. other routing solutions (React Router, Next.js, Remix)[42]. As shown in the comparison above, TanStack Router stands out for deep TypeScript integration, search param handling, and flexible route contexts[43]. Frameworks like Next.js/Remix have more rigid conventions (file-based routing and predetermined data fetching patterns), while TanStack Router gives you full programmatic control suitable for large custom applications[44]. React Router, being older, lacks some of TanStack’s built-in features (like baked-in caching) and type safety, but it’s simple and proven.

In practice, if you opt for a custom stack (Vite or similar), we recommend TanStack Router in 2025 if you value type safety and can invest a bit of time learning it. It’s gaining adopters and is designed to scale with your app. However, React Router is still a perfectly valid choice, especially if your team is already familiar with it - it’s a smaller API surface to grok. Both libraries will do the job for client-side routing. If you’re using Next or Remix, you’ll just use their router (you wouldn’t add React Router on top of Next, for instance - Next’s file routing is its own system).

To give a flavor, here’s how a simple route is defined with TanStack Router in code (no framework needed):

import { createRootRoute, createRoute, createRouter, RouterProvider } from '@tanstack/react-router';

// Define a root route and a child route
const rootRoute = createRootRoute();
const indexRoute = createRoute({
  getParentRoute: () => rootRoute,
  path: '/',
  component: () => <div>Hello, world!</div>,  // component to render at this route
});

// Compose the route tree and create the router
const routeTree = rootRoute.addChildren([indexRoute]);
const router = createRouter({ routeTree });

export default function App() {
  return <RouterProvider router={router} />;  // provide the router to the app
}

In the snippet above, we programmatically created a router with a single index route. This highlights TanStack Router’s code-centric approach (you can also use file-based as mentioned). It’s fully typed - if you tried to add a link to /nonexistent, TypeScript would complain. By contrast, React Router might define routes via JSX, e.g. <Route path="/" element={<HomePage />} />, which is fine but offers no compile-time type checking for route paths.

Finally, note that TanStack Router and React Router are both client-side routers (though they support SSR rendering of the initial HTML). They do not fetch data on the server by default (unless you integrate with a custom server). Frameworks like Next or Remix go further by running data loaders on the server, then hydrating the UI on the client. If you use a client-side router and still want SEO or faster first load, you could implement your own SSR by rendering your app on a Node server (or using something like TanStack Start which provides a skeleton for that). It’s more work than using Next, which is why many opt to just use Next. But at least with modern routers, you can achieve good loading performance even in SPAs by prefetching data and splitting code - both React Router and TanStack Router support route-level code splitting and parallel data loading to avoid serial waterfalls[45][46].

Bottom line: For most devs, if you need a router outside a framework, give TanStack Router a serious look for its modern feature set. If you stick with React Router, use its latest data APIs to approximate framework-like behavior (load data in loaders, use <Suspense> for pending states). And if you’re in Next/Remix, leverage their built-in routing fully - define your routes and let the framework optimize the loading and transitions for you.

State Management and Data Fetching Libraries

Beyond routing, any non-trivial app needs to manage state (both client state - UI state, form inputs, etc. - and server state - data from APIs). In 2025, the React ecosystem has settled on a few patterns and libraries for these concerns, moving away from some older practices.

Local and Global State with Hooks (Context, Reducers, etc.): With the advent of React Hooks, many use cases that once required a heavy library can be handled with built-in APIs. For local component state, useState and useReducer suffice. For passing state around, the combination of useContext and useReducer (or useContext and custom hooks) can replace simpler flux stores. React’s Context API is often used for lightweight global state, but be careful: context updates will re-render all consumers, so it’s best for relatively static or infrequently updated data (like theme, user auth info, etc.). For anything more dynamic, a dedicated state library might be better - which leads us to Redux and its alternatives.

Redux (and modern Redux Toolkit): The word “Redux” might spark debate, but in 2025 Redux is “not dead yet” - it’s very much alive and maintained, though its usage is more concentrated in large applications that truly need a global store[47]. The patterns for using Redux have modernized: today you’d use Redux Toolkit (RTK), which significantly reduces boilerplate and enforces best practices (like using Immer for immutable updates, and including Redux Thunk or RTK Query by default). Mark Erikson, Redux maintainer, emphasizes that React Context is not a full state management solution for complex scenarios (context lacks things like structured updates, middleware, devtools, etc.)[47]. So, when should you reach for Redux? Probably if your app has very complex state transitions, a lot of different components needing to sync state, or you need features like undo/redo, caching, etc., and you want the robustness of a time-tested library. Redux is also framework-agnostic, so if your React app might have to interface with non-React parts, a central store is handy. In our opinion, small to medium apps may not need Redux - you can manage with React’s own patterns or simpler libs - but large apps or teams that already know Redux can continue to leverage it. Importantly, Redux now isn’t an all-or-nothing thing; you can adopt it for some global state while still using context or other solutions for other parts.

Zustand, Jotai, and lightweight state libraries: For cases where you want a global store but find Redux too much, libraries like Zustand (bear in German 🐻) have become popular. Zustand provides a minimalistic, hook-based global state store with no boilerplate - you define a store and then use it in components via a hook. It’s great for quickly sharing state without context performance issues (it uses subscription under the hood to trigger only parts of the tree). Jotai is another lightweight state library following the atomic state pattern (pieces of state as separate atoms). These libraries are simpler than Redux but not as sprawling in features. They don’t enforce a structure like Redux does, so it’s on you to keep things organized. For many apps, Zustand can handle things like “global modals open/close”, selected items, or even more complex state if needed. We won’t dive deep into them here, but know that you have options - and these tools play nicely with React’s concurrency (they use useSyncExternalStore under the hood, which was added in React 18 specifically to better integrate external state libs with React).

Server State and Data Fetching - React Query (TanStack Query) et al.: Managing server state (data that comes from an API) has its own set of challenges: you need to fetch, cache, update, and possibly re-fetch or invalidate data. In early React days, many used global state (like Redux) for this, or did manual useEffect calls on each component and stored in local state. By 2025, a category of libraries has made this far easier. The leader here is TanStack Query (formerly React Query). TanStack Query provides hooks like useQuery and useMutation to declaratively fetch and cache data. For example, to fetch a list of todos you might do:

import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';

function TodoList() {
  const { data: todos, error, isLoading } = useQuery(['todos'], fetchTodos);
  if (isLoading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  if (error) return <div>Error: {error.message}</div>;
  return <ul>{todos.map(t => <li key={t.id}>{t.title}</li>)}</ul>;
}

This simple snippet sets up a query that will fetch from the fetchTodos function and cache the result under the key ['todos']. React Query handles background refreshing, caching (so if you navigate away and back, it can use cached data), and provides the convenient isLoading/error states. It’s a huge productivity win and prevents bugs like forgetting to handle loading or refetch, etc. There are alternatives: SWR (by Vercel) is another popular data fetching hook library with a similar purpose, and Apollo Client if you’re using GraphQL (Apollo is heavier but gives an normalized cache for GraphQL queries). Redux Toolkit even has RTK Query, which is similar in spirit to React Query but built into Redux (so if you are using Redux, you might use that for data fetching to avoid an extra library).

However, if you use a full framework like Next.js with React Server Components or loaders, do you need React Query? This is a good question. The ecosystem is in flux here: frameworks are trying to make data fetching more automatic (e.g., Next’s server components let you await data on the server and then stream UI). If you fully embrace that, the need for a client-side caching library diminishes for initial page load. But client-side interactions (after initial render) can still benefit from React Query. For instance, if you have an app that shows a list of items (fetched on the server via RSC for first paint) and then allows editing or adding an item without full page refresh, React Query on the client can cache and update that list as the user interacts, without always going back to the server. So, React Query and friends remain relevant even in the age of RSC - they just might be used more for mutations and real-time updates while initial loads might shift to server-side.

Form State and Validation: Managing forms is another piece of state management. By 2025, React Hook Form has established itself as a great library for forms. It’s efficient (minimizes re-renders), uses the ref/register model to track inputs, and makes things like form validation (often with a schema library like Yup or Zod) straightforward. If your app has any non-trivial forms, using React Hook Form or Formik can save a ton of effort. React Hook Form in particular meshes well with functional components and hooks. Coupled with a library like Zod for defining data schemas, you can validate inputs declaratively and even share those schemas with the backend.

Other Key Libraries: There are many more libraries in the React ecosystem, but a few worth mentioning:

  • UI Component Libraries: Instead of building every button or modal from scratch, you might use a component framework. By 2025, MUI (Material-UI), Chakra UI, Ant Design, and Blueprint are still popular for ready-made components. There’s also a trend toward headless component libraries like Headless UI or Radix UI, which provide unstyled, accessible primitives you can style yourself (often combined with Tailwind CSS). Tailwind CSS itself is massively popular for utility-first styling in React apps. Our advice: use these libraries as needed to speed up development and ensure consistency. Patterns.dev doesn’t have specific articles on them, but the design patterns section can help in structuring components if you use such libraries (e.g., the Compound Component Pattern[48] is useful when creating flexible UI components, whether from scratch or wrapping library components).

  • Performance and Rendering Utilities: If you’re dealing with performance issues like very large lists, you’d reach for tools like react-window or react-virtualized for virtualization (only rendering visible items). Patterns.dev has a List Virtualization article covering this[49]. Also, understanding memoization and rendering patterns is crucial for seniors. React 18’s concurrent mode and transitions can help with perceived performance for state updates (use useTransition when appropriate to keep UI responsive under heavy updates).

  • Testing Libraries: Testing is an often overlooked part of the stack. The React community largely uses Jest for unit tests (with React Testing Library for component tests, promoting testing the output and user interactions rather than implementation). For end-to-end tests, Cypress or Playwright are common choices that integrate well with React projects. Ensure your stack includes testing tools if you’re building anything serious - it’s easier than ever to set up, e.g., Vite has a vitest tool which is Jest-compatible but faster.

To sum up this section: state and data management in 2025 is about using the right tool for each kind of state. Use React’s built-in capabilities for local state and simple context sharing, add a state library like Zustand or Redux for complex global state, and use React Query (TanStack Query) or similar for server data fetching and caching. By doing so, you’ll write much less bug-prone code compared to manually wrangling everything with useEffect and global variables. For more on how to design state logic in React, you can check Patterns.dev’s design pattern guides like the Hooks Pattern and Container/Presentational pattern which encourage separating stateful logic from pure UI[50][51] - principles that still apply even if the implementation is now hooks rather than classes.

React + AI: The New Frontier of “Vibe Coding”

No 2025 guide would be complete without discussing the impact of AI on software development. The term “vibe coding” has emerged to describe a workflow where developers collaborate with AI coding assistants (like GitHub Copilot, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, or newer model-based IDEs) to build applications in a more interactive, improvisational way[52][53]. In the context of React, AI is changing both how we build apps and what we can build. Let’s explore this:

AI-Assisted Development (Coding with AI): Today’s React dev isn’t working alone - tools like Copilot or ChatGPT (with plugins) can generate components, suggest hooks usage, and even configure build tools via natural language. This “text-to-app” generation trend means you can spin up a new project by literally describing what you want. As an example, platforms like Replit’s Ghostwriter or Cursor IDE allow you to say “create a Next.js app with Tailwind and a login page” and get a scaffold in seconds[54][55]. Andrej Karpathy dubbed this “vibe coding”, where instead of carefully planning a structure, you let the AI give you something and you tweak from there[56]. It’s important to note that this doesn’t eliminate the need for developer expertise - rather, it accelerates the grunt work. An experienced developer will quickly correct or refine AI-generated code (which may be flawed or not idiomatic) and use AI as a partner to explore solutions. In fact, one paradox of AI-assisted coding is that senior developers get more out of it than juniors, because they know what to ask and how to verify the output[56][57]. If you’re a mid/senior React dev, training your workflow to incorporate AI can boost productivity. Some tips for “vibe coding” effectively: - Use AI for boilerplate and configuration: Have it set up your ESLint, Prettier, Vite config or Webpack, etc. It’s great at these repetitive tasks. - Generate component templates: For instance, ask “Create a React component that fetches a list of products and displays a grid, using Tailwind for styling”. You’ll likely get a decent starting point which you can then tailor. - Leverage AI for tests and types: AI is surprisingly good at writing unit tests from component descriptions, or adding TypeScript annotations to plain JS code. - Stay in control: Always review and understand the AI-generated code. Ensure it aligns with best practices (AI might not know the latest patterns or might produce class components when you prefer hooks, etc.). Use it as a helper, not an autopilot.

One interesting development is the notion of AI as part of the build/test loop. AI can help not just in writing code but in reviewing it. There are “AI pull request reviewers” and tools that suggest changes. We might even see AI handling merges or optimizing bundle splitting automatically. As a thought experiment, the idea of an “AI-native Git flow” is floated[58][59] - where instead of committing handcrafted code, you commit AI prompts and tests, and the code is just a build artifact. We’re not fully there yet, but keep an eye on how tools like Veracity (AI for PRs) or Graphite’s AI reviewer evolve[60][61]. In day-to-day terms, you can already use AI to refactor code (e.g., “convert this class component to a functional component with hooks”), which eases upgrading older React codebases.

AI in the React Apps (AI-powered UI): On the flip side, React developers are increasingly asked to build UIs that incorporate AI features. Whether it’s a chatbot in your website, an autocomplete powered by GPT, or some AI-driven personalization, this is becoming common. Building these requires integrating with AI APIs and handling things like streaming responses, loading states, and possibly fine-tuning prompts. A typical example is adding a ChatGPT-like chatbot to your app. Patterns.dev has a dedicated article on AI UI Patterns for React that covers how to structure such interfaces in both a plain React (Vite) app and a Next.js app[62][63]. Key considerations include: - Prompt management: how you maintain the conversation state (user messages and AI responses) in React state, perhaps using context to pass it to a chat component. - Streaming responses: using features like Server-Sent Events or web sockets to stream tokens from the AI so the answer appears gradually (like how ChatGPT types out answers). React can handle streaming in SSR (with Suspense) or on client via state updates. Libraries like Vercel’s AI SDK provide hooks like useChat that abstract some of this[64][65]. - Error handling and fallbacks: ensuring the UI can show errors if the AI API call fails or if content needs to be filtered. - AI-specific UI elements: chat bubbles, loading dots, etc., which you might create as reusable components.

If you’re implementing such features, leverage existing tools: for example, the Vercel AI SDK is a great resource - it works with OpenAI, Anthropic, etc., and provides React hooks to manage streaming and caching of responses[64][66]. The Patterns.dev AI UI Patterns guide demonstrates using this SDK in both Next.js (via an API Route) and in a Vite app (with a simple Node server)[63][67]. It’s a fantastic read to get started with React + AI integration. In short, AI can be treated as another data source - you’ll fetch (or stream) data from an AI API similarly to how you might from REST, but you must design for the conversational, unpredictable nature of AI outputs.

Ethical and Practical Considerations: While AI can speed up development, be mindful of code quality and security. AI often regurgitates code from its training - always check for vulnerabilities or deprecated practices. Also consider licensing; AI might produce code that resembles licensed material. For AI features in your app, be transparent with users when AI is used (e.g. if an answer is AI-generated). And remember performance: loading a large model in the browser (for on-device AI) can be heavy; often you’ll use cloud APIs for AI, which introduces latency - design your UI to handle that (spinners, async loading states, etc.).

Our take: Embrace AI as a tool in your React development workflow, but do so with your eyes open. It can drastically reduce setup time and even help with complex migrations (want to move your legacy Redux logic to Zustand? You can ask AI for a starting refactor). However, don’t treat AI-generated code as gospel. As a senior dev, use your expertise to guide the AI: you define the architecture, let the AI fill in the boilerplate, then you refine the results. Teams that figure out this human+AI collaboration will have a velocity advantage. Meanwhile, keep building your fundamental skills - ironically, the easier AI makes it to produce “okay” code, the more valuable a deep understanding of React becomes, so you can distinguish good solutions from bad ones. The AI era is exciting and a bit wild, but in the end it should empower us to focus more on the creative and complex aspects of development while offloading the repetitive tasks.

(For further reading on AI-assisted development patterns, see the a16z article on Emerging Developer Patterns[54][68], and for implementing AI in React UIs, refer to Patterns.dev’s “AI UI Patterns” guide[62][63].)

Conclusion

React in 2026 offers an abundance of choices - which can be both thrilling and overwhelming. This opinionated guide walked through the major decisions you’ll face:

  • Build tool: Start with Vite for most cases (or Turbopack if you’re inside Next.js and it’s stable for your project) to get fast, hassle-free bundling and dev server experience. Webpack is there if you need it, but likely as part of a framework or legacy support.

  • Framework or not: Lean towards using a React framework (Next.js being the frontrunner) for any sizeable app, especially if SEO, performance, and long-term maintainability are concerns. Frameworks give you a bunch of best practices out of the box - routing, SSR, code splitting, etc. - so you don’t have to reinvent them. If you choose not to use a framework, be prepared to assemble your stack (Vite + router + libraries) and understand the trade-offs (you gain fine control but lose some built-in optimizations).

  • Routing: If on Next/Remix, use what’s built-in and follow their conventions. If building your own stack, decide between the reliability of React Router and the modern prowess of TanStack Router. We favor TanStack Router in new projects for its type safety and integrated features, but React Router is still a safe choice with a huge community. In either case, structure your routes and data fetching to avoid pitfalls like loading waterfalls - use route-level data APIs (loaders) or tools like React Query to preload data. Patterns like streaming SSR and selective hydration are already employed by frameworks (e.g., Next’s <Suspense> boundaries) to improve UX[69][70], so try to leverage those techniques where you can (e.g., code-splitting your routes, using Suspense for lazy loads, etc.).

  • State and data libraries: Don’t shy away from bringing in libraries to manage complexity. Use React Query for server data - it will simplify your life for anything beyond trivial fetch calls. For client state, choose the lightest approach that works: context for simple stuff, Zustand or Redux for more complex global states. The key is to manage state updates in a way that’s maintainable and performant (e.g., avoid deep prop drilling by using context or a store; avoid excessive re-renders by structuring state properly or using React.memo/useMemo as needed).

  • Embrace new React features: Hooks are standard (class components are largely legacy now - the official docs recommend function components + hooks for all new code[71]). Make sure you are comfortable with useEffect, useMemo, useCallback to avoid pitfalls, and explore React 18+ features like useTransition (for smoother UI on state changes) and useDeferredValue. Also, if you’re in a framework, understand Server Components - they let you offload a lot of work to the server and can improve performance significantly[10][24].

  • AI in your workflow: Enhance your productivity by integrating AI coding assistants. They can scaffold and even refactor code quickly, but always validate their output. Use them to automate the boring stuff, while you focus on the architecture and critical thinking parts. On the flip side, consider where AI features might add value in your app (for example, a support chatbot, or AI-driven recommendations) and leverage React patterns to implement those cleanly.

Finally, keep learning and stay adaptable. The React ecosystem continues to evolve - for instance, we may see React 20 bring new optimizations or patterns that shift some best practices. Libraries come and go; today’s hot TanStack Router could be complemented by another tool tomorrow. Our opinionated guide gives you a snapshot and some strong recommendations, but always evaluate them against your project’s unique needs. Use the links we provided to dive deeper: the Patterns.dev articles on rendering patterns (CSR vs SSR vs RSC) can enrich your understanding of React performance techniques, and their design pattern guides cover timeless UI patterns (like compound components, render props, etc.) that transcend any single library.

React is more powerful than ever. By choosing the right stack - a solid build tool, a framework or router that fits your needs, and libraries that simplify state management - you’ll be well-equipped to build robust, scalable applications. And with AI joining your toolkit, you might even have fun “vibing” your way through the code.

Happy coding, and may your components re-render only when necessary!