State Management in React: From Local State to Redux

Managing state effectively is crucial for building maintainable React applications. Let's explore different approaches.

Local State

Start simple with useState for component-level state.

const [count, setCount] = useState(0);

return <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Count: {count}</button>;

Context API

Share state across multiple components without prop drilling using Context.

const UserContext = createContext();

function App() {
  const [user, setUser] = useState(null);
  
  return (
    <UserContext.Provider value={{ user, setUser }}>
      <Header />
      <Content />
    </UserContext.Provider>
  );
}

Redux

For complex applications, Redux provides predictable state management with actions and reducers.

MobX

A reactive state management alternative that's more concise than Redux.

Zustand

A lightweight state management library with minimal boilerplate.

Recoil

Facebook's atom-based state management for React.

Choosing the Right Tool

Simple app: useState
Multiple components sharing state: Context API
Complex state logic: Redux or Zustand
Real-time collaboration: Consider Yjs or similar

Best Practices

Normalize your state. Avoid deeply nested structures. Keep selectors pure.

The right state management choice depends on your application's complexity. Start simple and scale as needed.

State Management in React: From Local State to Redux