redux vs mobx vs vuex vs flux
State Management Libraries Comparison
1 Year
reduxmobxvuexfluxSimilar Packages:
What's State Management Libraries?

State management libraries are essential tools in modern web development, particularly for managing the state of applications in a predictable and efficient manner. These libraries help developers maintain a centralized store of application state, facilitating communication between components and ensuring that the UI reflects the current state of the application. They provide various patterns and methodologies for handling state changes, making it easier to manage complex applications and improve maintainability and scalability. By using these libraries, developers can enhance the user experience through efficient data flow and state synchronization, ultimately leading to more robust applications.

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redux11,438,49261,073290 kB39a year agoMIT
mobx1,758,63527,7384.33 MB66a month agoMIT
vuex1,600,47228,462271 kB144-MIT
flux840,70117,499260 kB62 years agoBSD-3-Clause
Feature Comparison: redux vs mobx vs vuex vs flux

Architecture

  • redux:

    Redux follows a strict unidirectional data flow with a single store that holds the entire application state. Actions are dispatched to reducers, which return a new state based on the current state and the action. This architecture enforces immutability and predictability in state management.

  • mobx:

    MobX uses an observable-based architecture that allows for automatic tracking of state changes. It promotes a reactive programming model, where components automatically re-render when the observed state changes, leading to a more intuitive development experience.

  • vuex:

    Vuex is built on the principles of Flux and Redux but is tailored for Vue.js applications. It provides a centralized store with a clear structure for managing state, mutations, actions, and getters, making it easy to integrate with Vue components.

  • flux:

    Flux promotes a unidirectional data flow, where actions are dispatched to a central dispatcher, which then updates the stores. This architecture helps in maintaining a clear and predictable state management pattern, making it easier to debug and understand the flow of data.

Reactivity

  • redux:

    Redux does not inherently provide reactivity; however, it can be made reactive through libraries like React-Redux, which connect the Redux store to React components. This requires additional setup but allows for predictable state updates.

  • mobx:

    MobX excels in reactivity, automatically tracking dependencies and updating the UI when observable state changes. This reduces the need for boilerplate code and allows for a more natural way of managing state in applications.

  • vuex:

    Vuex provides built-in reactivity, allowing Vue components to automatically react to state changes in the store. This integration simplifies the development process and ensures that the UI is always in sync with the application state.

  • flux:

    Flux does not provide built-in reactivity; instead, it relies on the developer to manage updates to the UI based on state changes. This can lead to more boilerplate code, as developers need to manually subscribe to store changes and update the UI accordingly.

Learning Curve

  • redux:

    Redux has a steeper learning curve due to its strict principles and concepts like actions, reducers, and middleware. Understanding the flow of data and the need for immutability can be challenging for beginners, but it offers powerful tools for managing complex state.

  • mobx:

    MobX is relatively easy to learn, especially for developers familiar with reactive programming concepts. Its straightforward API and minimal boilerplate make it accessible for new users, allowing for rapid development.

  • vuex:

    Vuex is designed to be intuitive for Vue.js developers, with a gentle learning curve that aligns with Vue's reactivity model. Its integration with Vue components makes it easier to adopt for those already familiar with the Vue ecosystem.

  • flux:

    Flux has a moderate learning curve due to its unique architecture and the need for developers to understand the unidirectional flow of data. While it provides flexibility, it may require more effort to grasp compared to other libraries.

Middleware Support

  • redux:

    Redux has robust middleware support, allowing developers to extend its functionality with libraries like Redux Thunk or Redux Saga for handling asynchronous operations and side effects. This makes it highly customizable and powerful for complex applications.

  • mobx:

    MobX does not use middleware in the traditional sense, as it focuses on reactivity and simplicity. However, developers can create custom reactions and computed values to handle side effects in a more straightforward manner.

  • vuex:

    Vuex supports plugins that can act as middleware, allowing developers to extend its functionality. This feature enables the handling of side effects and custom behaviors, making it flexible for various use cases.

  • flux:

    Flux does not have a built-in middleware system, but developers can implement custom middleware to handle side effects. This flexibility allows for tailored solutions but may require additional effort to set up.

Community and Ecosystem

  • redux:

    Redux has a large and active community, with extensive documentation, tutorials, and a rich ecosystem of middleware and tools. It is widely adopted in the React community, making it a popular choice for state management.

  • mobx:

    MobX has a growing community and a supportive ecosystem, with various tools and libraries available to enhance its functionality. Its simplicity and reactivity model have attracted many developers, leading to an expanding user base.

  • vuex:

    Vuex is well-supported within the Vue.js community, with comprehensive documentation and resources available. Its integration with Vue makes it a go-to choice for state management in Vue applications, fostering a strong user base.

  • flux:

    Flux has a smaller community compared to Redux and MobX, but it is still supported by Facebook and has a dedicated following. However, the ecosystem of third-party libraries and tools is not as extensive as that of Redux.

How to Choose: redux vs mobx vs vuex vs flux
  • redux:

    Choose Redux if you need a predictable state container with a strict unidirectional data flow. Redux is well-suited for large applications with complex state management needs, where you want to maintain a clear history of state changes and leverage middleware for side effects.

  • mobx:

    Choose MobX if you need a more reactive and less boilerplate-heavy solution. MobX is ideal for applications that require fine-grained reactivity and simplicity in state management, especially when working with complex data structures.

  • vuex:

    Choose Vuex if you are working within the Vue.js ecosystem and need a state management solution that integrates seamlessly with Vue components. Vuex is designed specifically for Vue applications, providing a centralized store and a straightforward API for managing state.

  • flux:

    Choose Flux if you prefer a unidirectional data flow architecture and want to implement a more hands-on approach to managing state. It's suitable for applications where you want to have complete control over the flow of data and actions.

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