Which is Better State Management Libraries?
redux vs mobx vs vuex
1 Year
reduxmobxvuexSimilar 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. They help developers maintain a single source of truth for application state, enabling easier debugging, testing, and state synchronization across components. Each library has its own unique approach and philosophy, catering to different development needs and preferences. Understanding the differences between MobX, Redux, and Vuex is crucial for selecting the right tool for your project, depending on factors like complexity, scalability, and ease of use.

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redux11,418,02460,932290 kB39a year agoMIT
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Feature Comparison: redux vs mobx vs vuex

State Management Approach

  • redux: Redux follows a strict unidirectional data flow and uses a single store to manage the entire application state. State updates are performed through pure functions called reducers, which take the current state and an action to produce a new state. This approach enforces immutability and makes state changes predictable, which is beneficial for debugging and testing.
  • mobx: MobX uses a reactive programming model, where state changes automatically propagate to the UI. It employs observables to track state changes, allowing components to react to changes without manual intervention. This leads to a more intuitive and less verbose way of managing state, as developers can focus on the logic rather than the mechanics of state updates.
  • vuex: Vuex is designed specifically for Vue.js applications and follows a centralized store pattern. It uses a single state tree and provides a set of rules for managing state, mutations, actions, and getters. Vuex integrates deeply with Vue's reactivity system, allowing for efficient updates and a clear structure for managing shared state across components.

Boilerplate Code

  • redux: Redux often requires more boilerplate code due to its strict structure, including action creators, reducers, and middleware. While this can lead to a more organized codebase, it may also slow down initial development, especially for smaller projects.
  • mobx: MobX requires minimal boilerplate code, allowing developers to define state and actions in a straightforward manner. This simplicity makes it easier to get started and iterate quickly, especially for smaller applications or prototypes.
  • vuex: Vuex has a moderate level of boilerplate, as it requires defining state, mutations, actions, and getters. However, it is generally less verbose than Redux, making it easier to manage in Vue applications without overwhelming complexity.

Learning Curve

  • redux: Redux has a steeper learning curve due to its complex concepts such as middleware, reducers, and the need for immutability. New developers may find it challenging to understand the flow of data and the overall architecture, but mastering Redux can lead to a deeper understanding of state management principles.
  • mobx: MobX has a gentler learning curve compared to Redux, especially for developers familiar with reactive programming concepts. Its intuitive API and less rigid structure make it easier to grasp, allowing developers to quickly implement state management without extensive setup.
  • vuex: Vuex is relatively easy to learn for developers already familiar with Vue.js. Its integration with Vue's reactivity system simplifies the learning process, but understanding its centralized store pattern and the roles of mutations and actions is essential for effective use.

Performance

  • redux: Redux can experience performance issues if not optimized correctly, especially in large applications with many components. However, using techniques like memoization and selective rendering can help mitigate these issues. The predictable state updates can also simplify performance tuning.
  • mobx: MobX is highly performant due to its fine-grained reactivity, which allows components to only re-render when the specific observables they depend on change. This minimizes unnecessary updates and optimizes rendering performance, making it suitable for applications with dynamic UIs.
  • vuex: Vuex is optimized for performance within the Vue ecosystem, leveraging Vue's reactivity system. However, as the application grows, careful management of state and mutations is necessary to maintain performance and prevent bottlenecks.

Ecosystem and Community

  • redux: Redux has a vast ecosystem with numerous middleware options, extensions, and community resources. Its popularity means that developers can find extensive documentation, tutorials, and community support, making it easier to troubleshoot and learn.
  • mobx: MobX has a growing community and ecosystem, with various tools and extensions available. However, it may not be as widely adopted as Redux, which can affect the availability of resources and third-party libraries.
  • vuex: Vuex is tightly integrated with the Vue.js ecosystem, benefiting from the support of the Vue community. While it may not have as many resources as Redux, it provides adequate documentation and community support for Vue developers.
How to Choose: redux vs mobx vs vuex
  • redux: Choose Redux if you need a predictable state container that emphasizes immutability and a unidirectional data flow. It is well-suited for larger applications where state management can become complex, and you want to maintain a clear structure with middleware support for side effects.
  • mobx: Choose MobX if you prefer a more reactive programming model with less boilerplate code. It is ideal for applications where you want to manage state in a more intuitive way, leveraging observables and automatic dependency tracking.
  • vuex: Choose Vuex if you are working within the Vue.js ecosystem and need a state management solution that integrates seamlessly with Vue components. It provides a centralized store for all components in an application, making it easier to manage shared state.
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