@reduxjs/toolkit vs mobx-react vs @xstate/react
State Management Libraries Comparison
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@reduxjs/toolkitmobx-react@xstate/reactSimilar Packages:
What's State Management Libraries?

State management libraries are essential tools in modern web development, particularly in applications with complex state interactions. They provide structured ways to manage and synchronize application state across various components, improving maintainability and scalability. Each of these libraries offers unique approaches to state management, catering to different architectural needs and developer preferences. Understanding their core functionalities helps developers choose the right tool for their specific use cases, whether it's for predictable state management, state machines, or reactive programming.

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@reduxjs/toolkit4,192,45010,8856.14 MB30210 days agoMIT
mobx-react1,275,02827,751650 kB673 months agoMIT
@xstate/react1,036,12827,88736.3 kB1452 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: @reduxjs/toolkit vs mobx-react vs @xstate/react

State Management Approach

  • @reduxjs/toolkit:

    Redux Toolkit uses a centralized store to manage application state, promoting a unidirectional data flow. It emphasizes immutability, meaning that state changes are made through pure functions called reducers, which return new state objects without modifying the existing state.

  • mobx-react:

    MobX adopts a reactive programming model, where state is stored in observables. When observables change, the UI automatically updates, allowing for a more intuitive and less verbose way to manage state compared to Redux.

  • @xstate/react:

    XState leverages state machines and statecharts to manage state transitions. This approach allows developers to define states, events, and transitions explicitly, making it easier to visualize and reason about application behavior, especially in complex scenarios.

Learning Curve

  • @reduxjs/toolkit:

    Redux Toolkit has a moderate learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with Redux concepts. However, it simplifies many of the complexities of traditional Redux, making it more accessible for new developers while still requiring an understanding of actions, reducers, and middleware.

  • mobx-react:

    MobX is generally considered easier to learn due to its straightforward and less verbose syntax. The reactive nature of MobX allows developers to focus on the state and its changes without needing to manage complex state transitions manually.

  • @xstate/react:

    XState's learning curve can be steep due to its unique concepts of state machines and statecharts. Developers need to grasp the finite state machine paradigm, which may require a mindset shift for those used to traditional state management techniques.

Performance

  • @reduxjs/toolkit:

    Redux Toolkit is optimized for performance through techniques like memoization and selective rendering. However, performance can be impacted if not managed properly, particularly with large state trees and frequent updates, necessitating careful structuring of state and components.

  • mobx-react:

    MobX excels in performance due to its fine-grained reactivity. Only components that depend on observables will re-render when those observables change, minimizing unnecessary updates and improving overall application responsiveness.

  • @xstate/react:

    XState provides excellent performance for applications with complex state transitions, as it only re-evaluates states when events occur. This can lead to more efficient rendering and less unnecessary computation, especially in intricate workflows.

Debugging and Tooling

  • @reduxjs/toolkit:

    Redux Toolkit benefits from a robust ecosystem of developer tools, including the Redux DevTools extension, which allows for time-travel debugging and state inspection. This makes it easier to trace state changes and debug complex applications.

  • mobx-react:

    MobX provides basic debugging capabilities but lacks the extensive tooling found in Redux. However, its simplicity and reactivity can make debugging more intuitive, as developers can directly observe state changes in the UI.

  • @xstate/react:

    XState offers visual tools for debugging state machines, allowing developers to see the current state and transitions in real-time. This visualization aids in understanding complex state logic and can significantly improve debugging efficiency.

Community and Ecosystem

  • @reduxjs/toolkit:

    Redux has a large and active community, with extensive documentation and a wealth of resources available. The ecosystem includes middleware, libraries, and tools that enhance its functionality, making it a well-supported choice for state management.

  • mobx-react:

    MobX has a dedicated community, though smaller than Redux. It offers a simpler API and fewer conventions, which can make it easier to adopt, but the ecosystem is less extensive, requiring developers to sometimes implement custom solutions.

  • @xstate/react:

    XState has a growing community and is gaining popularity for its unique approach to state management. While it may not have as extensive an ecosystem as Redux, its focus on state machines is appealing for specific use cases, and community resources are increasing.

How to Choose: @reduxjs/toolkit vs mobx-react vs @xstate/react
  • @reduxjs/toolkit:

    Choose Redux Toolkit if you need a predictable state container that emphasizes immutability and a unidirectional data flow. It is particularly suitable for large applications where state changes need to be traceable and manageable, and it integrates seamlessly with React through hooks.

  • mobx-react:

    Opt for MobX if you prefer a more reactive and less boilerplate-heavy approach to state management. MobX allows for observable state and automatic dependency tracking, making it suitable for applications where state changes frequently and needs to be reflected in the UI without manual intervention.

  • @xstate/react:

    Select XState if your application requires complex state management with finite state machines and statecharts. It is ideal for applications that need to model complex state transitions and behaviors, providing a visual representation of state logic and making it easier to manage side effects.

README for @reduxjs/toolkit

Redux Toolkit

GitHub Workflow Status npm version npm downloads

The official, opinionated, batteries-included toolset for efficient Redux development

Installation

Create a React Redux App

The recommended way to start new apps with React and Redux Toolkit is by using our official Redux Toolkit + TS template for Vite, or by creating a new Next.js project using Next's with-redux template.

Both of these already have Redux Toolkit and React-Redux configured appropriately for that build tool, and come with a small example app that demonstrates how to use several of Redux Toolkit's features.

# Vite with our Redux+TS template
# (using the `degit` tool to clone and extract the template)
npx degit reduxjs/redux-templates/packages/vite-template-redux my-app

# Next.js using the `with-redux` template
npx create-next-app --example with-redux my-app

We do not currently have official React Native templates, but recommend these templates for standard React Native and for Expo:

  • https://github.com/rahsheen/react-native-template-redux-typescript
  • https://github.com/rahsheen/expo-template-redux-typescript

An Existing App

Redux Toolkit is available as a package on NPM for use with a module bundler or in a Node application:

# NPM
npm install @reduxjs/toolkit

# Yarn
yarn add @reduxjs/toolkit

The package includes a precompiled ESM build that can be used as a <script type="module"> tag directly in the browser.

Documentation

The Redux Toolkit docs are available at https://redux-toolkit.js.org, including API references and usage guides for all of the APIs included in Redux Toolkit.

The Redux core docs at https://redux.js.org includes the full Redux tutorials, as well usage guides on general Redux patterns.

Purpose

The Redux Toolkit package is intended to be the standard way to write Redux logic. It was originally created to help address three common concerns about Redux:

  • "Configuring a Redux store is too complicated"
  • "I have to add a lot of packages to get Redux to do anything useful"
  • "Redux requires too much boilerplate code"

We can't solve every use case, but in the spirit of create-react-app, we can try to provide some tools that abstract over the setup process and handle the most common use cases, as well as include some useful utilities that will let the user simplify their application code.

Because of that, this package is deliberately limited in scope. It does not address concepts like "reusable encapsulated Redux modules", folder or file structures, managing entity relationships in the store, and so on.

Redux Toolkit also includes a powerful data fetching and caching capability that we've dubbed "RTK Query". It's included in the package as a separate set of entry points. It's optional, but can eliminate the need to hand-write data fetching logic yourself.

What's Included

Redux Toolkit includes these APIs:

  • configureStore(): wraps createStore to provide simplified configuration options and good defaults. It can automatically combine your slice reducers, add whatever Redux middleware you supply, includes redux-thunk by default, and enables use of the Redux DevTools Extension.
  • createReducer(): lets you supply a lookup table of action types to case reducer functions, rather than writing switch statements. In addition, it automatically uses the immer library to let you write simpler immutable updates with normal mutative code, like state.todos[3].completed = true.
  • createAction(): generates an action creator function for the given action type string. The function itself has toString() defined, so that it can be used in place of the type constant.
  • createSlice(): combines createReducer() + createAction(). Accepts an object of reducer functions, a slice name, and an initial state value, and automatically generates a slice reducer with corresponding action creators and action types.
  • combineSlices(): combines multiple slices into a single reducer, and allows "lazy loading" of slices after initialisation.
  • createListenerMiddleware(): lets you define "listener" entries that contain an "effect" callback with additional logic, and a way to specify when that callback should run based on dispatched actions or state changes. A lightweight alternative to Redux async middleware like sagas and observables.
  • createAsyncThunk(): accepts an action type string and a function that returns a promise, and generates a thunk that dispatches pending/resolved/rejected action types based on that promise
  • createEntityAdapter(): generates a set of reusable reducers and selectors to manage normalized data in the store
  • The createSelector() utility from the Reselect library, re-exported for ease of use.

For details, see the Redux Toolkit API Reference section in the docs.

RTK Query

RTK Query is provided as an optional addon within the @reduxjs/toolkit package. It is purpose-built to solve the use case of data fetching and caching, supplying a compact, but powerful toolset to define an API interface layer for your app. It is intended to simplify common cases for loading data in a web application, eliminating the need to hand-write data fetching & caching logic yourself.

RTK Query is built on top of the Redux Toolkit core for its implementation, using Redux internally for its architecture. Although knowledge of Redux and RTK are not required to use RTK Query, you should explore all of the additional global store management capabilities they provide, as well as installing the Redux DevTools browser extension, which works flawlessly with RTK Query to traverse and replay a timeline of your request & cache behavior.

RTK Query is included within the installation of the core Redux Toolkit package. It is available via either of the two entry points below:

import { createApi } from '@reduxjs/toolkit/query'

/* React-specific entry point that automatically generates
   hooks corresponding to the defined endpoints */
import { createApi } from '@reduxjs/toolkit/query/react'

What's included

RTK Query includes these APIs:

  • createApi(): The core of RTK Query's functionality. It allows you to define a set of endpoints describe how to retrieve data from a series of endpoints, including configuration of how to fetch and transform that data. In most cases, you should use this once per app, with "one API slice per base URL" as a rule of thumb.
  • fetchBaseQuery(): A small wrapper around fetch that aims to simplify requests. Intended as the recommended baseQuery to be used in createApi for the majority of users.
  • <ApiProvider />: Can be used as a Provider if you do not already have a Redux store.
  • setupListeners(): A utility used to enable refetchOnMount and refetchOnReconnect behaviors.

See the RTK Query Overview page for more details on what RTK Query is, what problems it solves, and how to use it.

Contributing

Please refer to our contributing guide to learn about our development process, how to propose bugfixes and improvements, and how to build and test your changes to Redux Toolkit.