Which is Better State Management Libraries?
redux vs mobx vs flux
1 Year
reduxmobxfluxSimilar Packages:
What's State Management Libraries?

State management libraries are essential tools in web development for managing application state in a predictable and efficient manner. They provide a structured way to handle data flow and state changes, allowing developers to build scalable and maintainable applications. These libraries help in managing complex state interactions, ensuring that the UI remains in sync with the underlying data model. By utilizing these libraries, developers can improve the performance and reliability of their applications, making it easier to debug and test. Each library has its own unique approach to state management, catering to different development needs and preferences.

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redux10,569,67060,913290 kB39a year agoMIT
mobx1,677,62427,5564.33 MB64a month agoMIT
flux750,00417,470260 kB62 years agoBSD-3-Clause
Feature Comparison: redux vs mobx vs flux

Data Flow

  • redux: Redux also follows a unidirectional data flow, but it centralizes the application state in a single store. Actions are dispatched to modify the state, and reducers are pure functions that determine how the state changes based on those actions. This makes state changes predictable and easier to trace.
  • mobx: MobX uses a reactive programming model that allows for automatic updates to the UI when the state changes. It employs observable state and reactions, enabling developers to define how the UI should respond to state changes without having to manually manage updates.
  • flux: Flux enforces a unidirectional data flow, meaning that data flows in a single direction from actions to the dispatcher, then to the store, and finally to the view. This makes it easier to understand how data changes over time and helps prevent issues related to state inconsistency.

Mutability

  • redux: Redux enforces immutability by requiring that state updates be performed through pure functions (reducers) that return a new state object. This approach helps maintain a clear history of state changes and simplifies debugging, as the previous state can be easily compared to the new state.
  • mobx: MobX embraces mutable state, allowing developers to directly modify observable objects. This leads to a more intuitive and less verbose way of managing state, as changes are automatically tracked and reflected in the UI without the need for explicit updates.
  • flux: Flux allows for mutable state, meaning that the state can be changed directly. However, it encourages developers to follow a pattern where actions are dispatched to update the state, promoting a more structured approach to state management.

Learning Curve

  • redux: Redux has a steeper learning curve due to its emphasis on immutability, actions, and reducers. Developers need to understand the concepts of middleware, store enhancers, and the overall architecture, which can be overwhelming for newcomers.
  • mobx: MobX has a relatively low learning curve compared to other state management libraries. Its reactive programming model is intuitive, allowing developers to focus on the state and how it should change without worrying about boilerplate code or complex patterns.
  • flux: Flux has a moderate learning curve, especially for developers who are new to the concept of unidirectional data flow. Understanding the roles of actions, stores, and the dispatcher can take some time, but it ultimately leads to a clearer architecture.

Extensibility

  • redux: Redux is designed to be extensible through middleware, which allows developers to add custom functionality to the store. This extensibility is beneficial for handling side effects, logging, and other enhancements, making Redux a powerful choice for complex applications.
  • mobx: MobX is also extensible, enabling developers to create custom reactions and computed values. Its simplicity and flexibility allow for easy integration with other libraries and frameworks, making it a versatile choice for various projects.
  • flux: Flux is highly extensible, allowing developers to create custom stores and actions as needed. This flexibility makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, but it requires careful planning to maintain a clean architecture.

Community and Ecosystem

  • redux: Redux has a large and active community, with a wealth of resources, middleware, and extensions available. Its popularity in the React ecosystem means that developers can find extensive documentation, tutorials, and third-party libraries to enhance their applications.
  • mobx: MobX has a growing community and a decent ecosystem of tools and libraries. Its simplicity and reactivity have gained popularity, leading to an increase in resources and community support over time.
  • flux: Flux has a smaller community compared to Redux and MobX, which may result in fewer resources and third-party libraries. However, its concepts are foundational to many other libraries, making it a good choice for understanding state management principles.
How to Choose: redux vs mobx vs flux
  • redux: Choose Redux if you need a predictable state container with a strong emphasis on immutability and a centralized store. Redux is well-suited for larger applications where you want to maintain a clear and consistent state management strategy, especially when dealing with complex state transitions and side effects.
  • mobx: Choose MobX if you prefer a more reactive programming model that allows for automatic updates to the UI when the state changes. MobX is ideal for applications that require fine-grained reactivity and where you want to minimize boilerplate code, making it easier to manage state without a steep learning curve.
  • flux: Choose Flux if you need a simple and unidirectional data flow architecture that is easy to understand and implement. It is particularly useful for applications with complex data flows and where you want to maintain a clear separation between actions and state updates.
README for redux

Redux Logo

Redux is a predictable state container for JavaScript apps.

It helps you write applications that behave consistently, run in different environments (client, server, and native), and are easy to test. On top of that, it provides a great developer experience, such as live code editing combined with a time traveling debugger.

You can use Redux together with React, or with any other view library. The Redux core is tiny (2kB, including dependencies), and has a rich ecosystem of addons.

Redux Toolkit is our official recommended approach for writing Redux logic. It wraps around the Redux core, and contains packages and functions that we think are essential for building a Redux app. Redux Toolkit builds in our suggested best practices, simplifies most Redux tasks, prevents common mistakes, and makes it easier to write Redux applications.

GitHub Workflow Status npm version npm downloads redux channel on discord

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
npm install @reduxjs/toolkit react-redux

For the Redux core library by itself:

npm install redux

For more details, see the Installation docs page.

Documentation

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

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.

Learn Redux

Redux Essentials Tutorial

The Redux Essentials tutorial is a "top-down" tutorial that teaches "how to use Redux the right way", using our latest recommended APIs and best practices. We recommend starting there.

Redux Fundamentals Tutorial

The Redux Fundamentals tutorial is a "bottom-up" tutorial that teaches "how Redux works" from first principles and without any abstractions, and why standard Redux usage patterns exist.

Help and Discussion

The #redux channel of the Reactiflux Discord community is our official resource for all questions related to learning and using Redux. Reactiflux is a great place to hang out, ask questions, and learn - please come and join us there!

Before Proceeding Further

Redux is a valuable tool for organizing your state, but you should also consider whether it's appropriate for your situation. Please don't use Redux just because someone said you should - instead, please take some time to understand the potential benefits and tradeoffs of using it.

Here are some suggestions on when it makes sense to use Redux:

  • You have reasonable amounts of data changing over time
  • You need a single source of truth for your state
  • You find that keeping all your state in a top-level component is no longer sufficient

Yes, these guidelines are subjective and vague, but this is for a good reason. The point at which you should integrate Redux into your application is different for every user and different for every application.

For more thoughts on how Redux is meant to be used, please see:

Basic Example

The whole global state of your app is stored in an object tree inside a single store. The only way to change the state tree is to create an action, an object describing what happened, and dispatch it to the store. To specify how state gets updated in response to an action, you write pure reducer functions that calculate a new state based on the old state and the action.

Redux Toolkit simplifies the process of writing Redux logic and setting up the store. With Redux Toolkit, the basic app logic looks like:

import { createSlice, configureStore } from '@reduxjs/toolkit'

const counterSlice = createSlice({
  name: 'counter',
  initialState: {
    value: 0
  },
  reducers: {
    incremented: state => {
      // Redux Toolkit allows us to write "mutating" logic in reducers. It
      // doesn't actually mutate the state because it uses the Immer library,
      // which detects changes to a "draft state" and produces a brand new
      // immutable state based off those changes
      state.value += 1
    },
    decremented: state => {
      state.value -= 1
    }
  }
})

export const { incremented, decremented } = counterSlice.actions

const store = configureStore({
  reducer: counterSlice.reducer
})

// Can still subscribe to the store
store.subscribe(() => console.log(store.getState()))

// Still pass action objects to `dispatch`, but they're created for us
store.dispatch(incremented())
// {value: 1}
store.dispatch(incremented())
// {value: 2}
store.dispatch(decremented())
// {value: 1}

Redux Toolkit allows us to write shorter logic that's easier to read, while still following the original core Redux behavior and data flow.

Logo

You can find the official logo on GitHub.

Change Log

This project adheres to Semantic Versioning. Every release, along with the migration instructions, is documented on the GitHub Releases page.

License

MIT